Overreactions litter Twitter after Rams K Joshua Karty struggles vs. Cowboys

When it comes to being a rookie field goal kicker in the NFL, it don't come easy. That's just how it goes, and the sooner fans come to accept the challenges of the roller coaster ride of a rookie placekicker, the better. After all, disappointment is not what LA Rams rookie placekicker Joshua Karty does this season, it's what fans expect him to do. If fans expect him not to miss any field goals, that opens the door for deep disappointment.

Even while Karty is listed as the top kicker on the Rams first unofficial depth chart, he will have days and games when he openly struggles. Like the performance against the Cowboys at their joint practice and scrimmage:

With his three-for-three kicking field goals against the Los Angeles Chargers, Karty is now five for eight when booting field goals so far. That is only a 62.5 percent accuracy rate. But if you were looking for 90.0+ percent accuracy from the former Stanford kicker, that is on you. We had discussed the struggles of a rookie kicker several times this offseason, It is one of the reasons why we have continued to share the status of second-year kicker Tanner Brown as not rolling over for Karty in training camp just yet.

Karty will win the kicking competition. But it will not be based solely on his superhuman accuracy or leg strength that will decide the matter. He simply has a rough rookie season to navigate, and then he will be firmly entrenched as an experienced NFL kicker.

Fans overreact to Karty's kicking struggles

Despite reports surfacing that Joshua Karty only made two of five field goal attempts, let's be a bit objective. This was during a joint practice and scrimmage session. We have no data regarding the distance of any of the kicking attempts, And perhaps most of all, we have to remind ourselves that kicking in these circumstances are meaningless in terms of actual NFL statistics.

This was nothing more than an embellished practice.

But you wouldn't guess that from some of the reactions on social media after the fact. Here is one fan's reaction who completely disregards Karty's three-for-three performance against the Los Angeles Chargers, and is now completely changing his mind about Karty from one bad day:

And then there is another fan chiming in, suggesting that Karty 'looks awful,' from one bad outing.

And then there's this overreaction suggesting that the Rams failed to adequately address the kicking position by not signing UFL star kicker Jake Bates:

The Detroit Lions signed Bates to a two-year contract after former starting kicker Michael Badgley suffered a season-ending injury. But even Jake Bates does not come with any guarantees. He played extremely well for the UFL Michigan Panthers. But I don't think that I'm stretching the truth by claiming the NFL is a much bigger and brighter stage.

Occasionally, a voice of reason appears reminding everyone not to bail on Joshua Karty too quickly. Rams elite placekicker Greg 'The Leg,' Zuerlein was not golden footed in his rookie season.

Former Rams Pro Bowl kicker Matt Gay only made 77.1 percent of his field goal attempts as a rookie for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And to complicate matters even more, he failed to make 90.0+ percent of his extra point attempts for the Buccaneers.

I'm not suggesting that rookie kicker Joshua Karty will not have great outings, he will. But I am recommending three strategies to avoid deep disappointment and overreacting to Karty's single game performance this season by considering:

1. How does this performance shape up for his overall season's performance?
2. Was the game won or lost by his performance?
3. Is he in a multiple-game slump, or was this simply one bad performance?

Even as fans have high expectations of Karty's kicking in 2024, Joshua Karty has just as much right to expect a reasonable amount of patience from fans this season. Not every game will end with a three for three performance. Sometimes he will miss.

Let's give him the time to figure it all out this season.

Thanks for reading.