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Nobody wants to see the outcome of an NFL game determined by a kicker.The real football players fight for 60 minutes, only to have the smallest guy on the field decide the winner. But it happens every week and often doesnt end well.Midway through this season, seven teams have failed to win games because a kicker missed a field goal in the final 30 seconds or in overtime. Kickers also have missed 30 extra points.The most glaring blunders occurred in Week 7 in overtime of the same game. Arizonas Chandler Catanzaro had a 24-yard field goal clang off the left upright, and Seattles Steve Hauschka pulled a 28-yard attempt wide left. The teams tied 6-6.A week later in London, Washingtons Dustin Hopkins missed a 34-yarder in OT and the Redskins and Bengals tied 27-27.The Browns wouldnt be winless if Cody Parkey made a 46-yarder at the end of regulation in Week 3. He also missed two other field goals in that game and Cleveland lost to Miami in overtime.Considering the importance of field goals and the fact extra points are from a longer distance, this stat makes no sense in todays NFL: one team, the Baltimore Ravens, employs a kicking coach.The league has become so specialized that teams invest in sports science coaches, analytics assistants, football information managers and other gurus for various positions. The Cardinals have a pass rush specialist and the Chiefs have a special projects coach on board.Yet only one team pays a coach to work solely with kicking specialists. Randy Brown, the mayor of a town in New Jersey, joined John Harbaughs staff in 2008 after stints with the Eagles and Bears. Under Brown, Justin Tucker has developed into the second-most accurate kicker in NFL history. Hes 34 for 34 this season (22 field goals, 12 extra points).Tucker, punter Sam Koch and long snapper Morgan Cox have been to the Pro Bowl under Browns guidance.Randy is one of the most important people around the building, Tucker said. What he does is unmatched around the league. The production speaks for itself.Brown spends two days at practice with the Ravens and also goes to games. He coaches Tucker, Koch and Cox the same way other position coaches work with their players. That allows Ravens special teams coach Jerry Rosburg to focus on coverage, blocking schemes and returns.What we do is technical, its finite, Tucker said. The success comes from having an attention to detail that Randy and Jerry have been good about instilling in all of us. Its something we build on every single day.Teams have no limits on the size of coaching staffs. Some positions have two or three different coaches.Yet kickers get no love. Theyre left alone to figure out their mechanics, timing and everything else to make that crucial kick.Sure, every team has a special teams coordinator and several teams also have an assistant to help. But they dont work closely with the kicker, punter and long snapper.Its mind-blowing that more teams dont have kicking coaches, said David Akers, a six-time Pro Bowl kicker during 16 seasons in the NFL. There has to be a value teams place on teaching specialists. You can have a guy with the strongest leg in the world, but the whole operation has to be perfect. The snap, the location, the hold have to be perfect or leg strength doesnt matter.Akers spent time during training camp visiting the Ravens. Harbaugh was Philadelphias special teams coach for several years when Akers played for the Eagles, and Brown coached him in 2004-05.The Ravens are so precise with everything, Akers said. They have it down to an exact science with Randy and thats why their guys are so good.The Titans had an assistant who specifically worked with the kicking group, Steve Hoffman, before he was promoted to special teams coach in October. Hoffman began his coaching career as the kicking coach for Dallas in 1989 and held the job for 16 years while also performing other duties on special teams.If you get a little out of whack one way or the other, hes got a great eye to be able to see, `Hey youre doing this, maybe try this, Titans kicker Ryan Succop said.Former Cowboys kicker Chris Boniol served as the kicking coach in Dallas from 2010-2013. He worked a few seasons with Dan Bailey, the most accurate kicker in NFL history.Anytime you can bounce ideas off somebody thats been in your shoes before, I think you can only benefit from that, Bailey said. It was great to have him be a mentor.Many kickers, punters and even long snappers work with independent coaches in the offseason. They break down film and analyze technique. Its still not the same as having a coach monitoring them every day during the season.Honestly, I think it depends on the situation, said Hopkins, who gets together with a group of specialists to work with Jamie Kohl in Wisconsin during the offseason. For some guys, thats a really healthy environment for them to constantly be on top of their stuff. And other guys might do better without it.Eagles kicker Caleb Sturgis has worked with kicking coaches Dan Mowry, Dan Lundy and Kohl. Sturgis and Akers both mentioned money as a possible reason teams dont hire kicking coaches.Are you going to pay them enough to leave what they do now? Sturgis said. The real money for kicking coaches is working with high school players who are trying to get college scholarships. And, how long are you good for? If your kicker struggles for a year, do you get fired? So, is it worth it for these guys?Akers said former kickers like Boniol would be ideal for these jobs if it makes sense for them to do it.Is it worth moving your family when other position coaches are likely getting much more to do their jobs? Akers said.Whatever it costs, teams ought to know its worth the wins.---AP Pro Football Writers Teresa M. Walker and Howard Fendrich and Sports Writers David Ginsburg and Schuyler Dixon contributed to this report.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP-RobMaaddi Andrelton Simmons Jersey .H. -- Matt Kenseth made it 2 for 2 in the Chase, holding off teammate Kyle Busch to win Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Dick Williams Angels Jersey . The giant slalom world champion slipped during her first run in the morning, landing on her back and then twisting forward before getting her leg caught in the protective material on the side of the slope. https://www.cheapangels.com/ . Louis Blues teammates who would also be participating in the Olympics, Alex Pietrangelo felt right at home, no different in some ways to the travel experience of any old road trip – save for the length of the journey, that is. Matt Thaiss Jersey . Houston won 3-0 to advance to face New York in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Last in the game, Di Vaio and Romero got into a shoving match with several Houston players. Romero appeared to elbow and kick Houston defender Kofi Sarkodie. Jose Rodriguez Angels Jersey . Pirlo limped out of Sundays 1-0 win over Udinese after just 13 minutes. Juventus says Pirlo underwent tests on Monday which revealed he has "a second-degree lesion to the collateral medial ligament in his right knee. TAMPA, Fla. -- Tampa Bay first-round draft pick Vernon Hargreaves III has a lasting memory of the first time he matched up against Oakland Raiders receiver Amari Cooper.Nothing the young cornerback saw on film before the two met in college two years ago prepared him for what would be one of the most humbling days hes had on a football field.Thats the first time I played against somebody that was better than me, that I felt like was significantly better than me, and he knows that, Hargreaves said, recalling Cooper catching 10 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns to pace Alabamas 42-21 victory over Florida in 2014.For me, I was young. I was a sophomore, and at that point he was already playing like he was in the NFL, the rookie cornerback added. So covering him, after the game I kind of sat down and thought: `Wow, he really got me better in a way, if that makes sense. And he knows that.Cooper, a junior at the time, went on to become the fourth pick in the 2015 NFL draft.Hargreaves, selected 11th overall this year, gets another shot at one of the games budding stars when the Bucs (3-3) host the Raiders (5-2) on Sunday.Ive talked to him before ... and he knows were going to get after it, Hargreaves said. Im excited to see him again.Cooper leads the Raiders with 40 receptions for 614 yards, but has only gotten into the end zone once this season. Teammate Michael Crabtree has 39 catches for 461 yards and is tied with Bucs receiver Mike Evans for the league lead in TD receptions with six.Its going to be exciting to go against those guys and see where we really are, said Hargreaves, whose transition to the NFL has been helped by the presence of four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Brent Grimes, who signed with Tampa Bay as a free agent last spring.Hargreaves gives Cooper credit for helping prepare him for the type of receivers hes facing in the pros.He was already an NFL player in college. So seeing the routes he ran, getting to cover him, when you play against good players you just naturally get better, the rookie said. I dont why that is, how that works, I just know thats how life works, in all aspects. And Im glad I got to see that early in my college career, somebody of his caliber, because it prepared me well.Some other things to watch for when the Raiders visit the Bucs:NOT SO SWEET HOME: The Raiders are aiming for their fifth straight road win. The Bucs are 00-2 at home, 3-15 since the start of the 2014 season, and at a loss to explain why.dddddddddddd Oakland won 33-16 at Jacksonville last Sunday, then remained in Florida to prepare for Tampa Bay instead of returning to the West Coast. The extended trip also provides coach Jack Del Rio an opportunity to watch his son, Luke, play for the University of Florida this weekend.FILLING IN: The Bucs have won two straight, beating Carolina and San Francisco on the road, to climb to .500 after a 1/3 start. RB Jacquizz Rodgers is one of the biggest reasons why , posting career highs rushing with 101 yards against the Panthers and 154 against the 49ers while standing in for the injured Doug Martin, out since Week 2 with a sore hamstring.PROTECT THE PASSER: Ever since watching his brother David get sacked 76 times as a rookie in Houston in 2002, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr has known how important an offensive line can be. Hes always had good protection in three years in the NFL, and this season might be the best. The Raiders have allowed a league-low seven sacks, led by left tackle Donald Penn, who was cut by Tampa Bay following the 2013 season.When you got guys that it means that much to them to do their job and it means that much to them that it makes them sick, not only to have a sack but for those guys to even touch you, you know you have the right person protecting you,Carr said.FAMOUS JAMEIS: Bucs QB Jameis Winston threw eight interceptions and lost two fumbles during Tampa Bays 1/3 start. With Rodgers keying an effective rushing attack, the second-year pro has only turned over the ball once in the past two games.BIG PLAY PUNTER: Raiders punter Marquette King has played a big role in the teams success this season. He leads the NFL with 19 punts of at least 50 yards, is second in gross average at 50.6 yards and is tied for second with 15 punts inside the 20. He delivers even when things dont go right, as evidenced by his 27-yard run for a first down after a low snap last week in Jacksonville. That run was longer than the any this season for top backs such as Frank Gore, Todd Gurley and Lamar Miller.---AP Sports Writer Josh Dubow in San Francisco contributed to this report.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '