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Raheem Morris addresses Younghoe Koo situation after miss vs. Bucs
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- Raheem Morris addresses Younghoe Koo situation after miss vs. Bucs
There are no shortage of people questioning whether Younghoe Koo should kick for the remainder of the season after he missed what would have been a game-tying 44-yard field goal in the final seconds of the Falcons' 23-20 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers .
Earlier in the game, Koo made a 36-yard field goal that hit the post and bounced its way on through the uprights. The first kick was questionable, but Koo's miss in the fourth quarter may be cause for concern.
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And it didn't take long for both head coach Raheem Morris and quarterback Michael Penix Jr. to get asked about the subject after the game.
"Yeah, he missed it," Morris said. "I'm not going to sit here and pretend like I can tell you about the technique and what happened on that miss. But we've got to make those kicks. Those are great, makeable kicks and we have to lock in and make those kicks and get it done."
Morris was also questioned as to what gave him the confidence to start Koo this season after some blunders at key times last season, and he reiterated that there was an open competition over the offseason and that it is always "competitive every week" in the position group.
He also said that no "whiplash decisions" would be made about the situation, meaning we should fully expect to see Koo next week and for the foreseeable future.
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"It goes into preparation, the offseason, watching them train and watching them do what they have to do. We have a lot of confidence in what he's done for us in the past (but) you've got to make those changes and those corrections."
And this is more than just coach speak, depending on how you look upon it.
According to ESPN Research, Koo has made five of his past five attempts over the last two seasons on game-tying or go-ahead field goals on attempts within the last two minutes of regulation/overtime. That put him in a tie with Tyler Bass for the most made attempts without a miss over that time frame.
At the same time, as noted by team reporter Tori McElhaney, Koo is 11-of-16 (68.5 percent) in his career on field goal attempts within the final minute of the contest that give the team a shot at tying or coming away with the win. He had also made seven consecutive kicks in this situation before Sunday's miss.
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In addition to Morris' comments, quarterback Michael Penix Jr. also offered his support for Koo, saying he "doesn't look at him any type of way because of his missed field goal because that's not who he is."
It will be interesting to see how things continue to evolve at placekicker, but it's easy to get the sense that Koo may be under the gun sooner rather than later if he doesn't clean up his mistakes.
He'll have a chance to redeem himself when the Falcons hit the road on Sunday, Sept. 14 to face the Minnesota Vikings . Kickoff is set for 8:20 p.m. ET in U.S. Bank Stadium.
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Atlanta Falcons: Raheem Morris on Younghoe Koo's status
