Getty Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich responds to criticism kicker Rodrigo Blankenship received after missing a potential game-winning field goal in Week 1.
Plenty of players made mistakes for the Indianapolis Colts in the team’s Week 1 tie against the Houston Texans on September 11. But inevitably, a lot of blame will be placed on kicker Rodrigo Blankenship.
The third-year kicker had a chance to erase all of Indianapolis’ issues in Week 1 with a 42-yard field goal in overtime. The attempt would have given the Colts their first win in a season opener since 2013.
But Blankenship’s kick went wide right, and the game eventually ended in a tie.
Facing competition during training camp, Blankenship’s role for the Colts was anything but firmly secure coming into the season. After the missed opportunity in Week 1, his job security might be as low as ever.
Colts head coach Frank Reich, though, isn’t ready to throw Blankenship to the curb.
“I can’t even begin to think [about that]. I mean, in my mind, he’s our kicker,” Reich said during his postgame press conference. “We go back and everybody gets evaluated. We all — coaches, players, we all get evaluated. So, if I’ve learned one thing over the years, it’s don’t rush into those kinds of decisions.”
Blankenship Misses Makable Field Goal
The Colts faced a third-and-5 at the Texans 19-yard line late in overtime. Reich explained in his postgame interview that he called a “naked bootleg pass” with the idea that the worst case scenario would be a 40-42 yard field goal attempt on fourth down. Reich also said that it was a kick that he felt was in the “80th percentile” in terms of makability.
Unfortunately for the Colts, that worst case scenario came to fruition. Quarterback Matt Ryan lost 5 yards on a sack, leading to the 42-yard attempt.
But Blankenship didn’t nail the kick that great kickers around the league nail quite often.
Reich told the media that he didn’t see anything wrong with the snap or hold. Blankenship confirmed that the entire operation went fine except for his attempt. After the game, he said the kick “didn’t feel great coming off” his foot.
“Snap and hold were great,” Blankenship said according to The Athletic’s Zak Keefer. “I just need to do my part and finish it off.”
Blankenship made his 2 other field goal attempts, including a 45-yarder, and 2 extra points. But twice late in the game, Blankenship had kickoffs land out of bounds, which allowed the Texans to begin drives at the 40-yard line.
While the kickoff mistakes didn’t cost Indianapolis as the missed field goal did, they just add more concern to Blankenship’s job security going forward. Normally, Blankenship doesn’t kick off for the Colts, but he will this season with punter/kickoff specialist Rigoberto Sanchez out for the season.
Colts Fans, Media Calling for Blankenship’s Dismissal
There’s always a chance the organization changes its mind while evaluating the game film, but Reich sounded like a coach supporting and trying to give confidence to his kicker — not a coach looking to make a change at kicker.
Blankenship likely won’t find much support on social media this coming week.
You gotta cut him. Gotta. That’s inexcusable
Just for the record, since halftime, #Colts kicker Rodrigo Blankenship sent two kickoffs out of bounds for penalties, and now missed the game-winning 42-yard field goal. Not great.
Colts Chris Ballard not bringing in an upgrade or even serious competition for Rodrigo Blankenship has to be one of the blunders of the offseason.
Blankenship hasn’t had an NFL leg since day 1. Ballard’s stubbornness has cost this team
Blankenship left 7 points on the field with two missed field goals and an extra point against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 5 last season. The Colts lost that game, 31-25.
But that was Blankenship’s final game of last season. Following that contest, the Colts placed him on IR with a hip injury, which likely contributed to his misses against the Ravens.
Health didn’t appear to be a concern for Blankenship in his latest missed opportunities. Although Reich is still “in his corner,” the 25-year-old kicker will have to make his next game-winning attempt to silence his critics.