Cowboys fans should be concerned with kicker competition updates

The Dallas Cowboys kicking situation has been a tumultuous one for quite some time now. Last year, fans held their breath every time veteran Greg Zuerlein lined up to make a kick — no matter the distance. Greg the Leg missed two kicks inside 40 yards, three over 50 yards, and an embarrassing six extra-point kicks.

To try and solve the problem, the Cowboys signed inexperienced kicker Chris Naggar, but both he and Zuerlein were released before the start of offseason programming. The front office also chose not to draft a kicker despite impressive talent like Gabe Brkic and Cameron Dicker being available.

Instead, they went with UDFA Jonathan Garbay out of Texas Tech. After fans saw the rookie’s impressive, record-setting field goal that he made to beat Iowa State with the clock winding down, it seemed that a sense of relief came to Cowboys Nation. Everyone assumed the college standout would be the starting kicker and that was that.

Most people didn’t even bat an eye when the team decided to bring in 32-year-old kicker Lirim Hajrullahu to give the rookie some competition. It was par for the course for there to be some kind of competition in camp.

Now, the story could not be more different. Instead of watching a well-fought training camp battle for the starting spot, both kickers have been tough to watch, especially Garibay. It’s still early, but at this point, the team may be even worse off than they were with Zuerlein.

Both Jonathan Garibay and Lirim Hajrullahu miss several kicks and extra-point attempts during Cowboys’ training camp

Over the weekend, Hajrullahu seemed to be leading the charge. The veteran wasn’t executing perfectly, but he was making more than his counterpart.

Then came what Mike McCarthy calls “Mojo Moments.” The team will suddenly get thrown into a tense, game-like scenario and have to execute. Given how important kicks were last year, including field goals in these surprise moments is a good call. But, it seems the surprise of it all got to both kickers.

On Monday, Hajrullahu got to attempt hurried kicks from 49, 54, and 59 yards. He only made the first. When Garibay was given an opportunity to do those same three distances, the rookie didn’t make a single attempt.

Unfortunately, Tuesday wasn’t any better. Some reporters tried to site the “breeze” in Oxnard for the issues the kickers were having. However, a slight wind in Southern California will be nothing compared to what they’ll face in the fall and winter of the NFL season.

More time also didn’t seem to add any help in the Mojo Moments.

Tuesday’s practice also had the two kickers try out some extra-point attempts. That didn’t seem to go very well either. Garibay went six-for-eight and Hajrullahu went three-for-eight.

What started as hope that a rookie would come in and easily win the job is turning into skepticism and fear. Hajrullahu seemed to jump out in front over the weekend, but now both are not executing at the level they need to be. Things could change. But for now, it doesn’t look good.

At this rate, don’t be surprised if the Cowboys toss another kicker into the competition. It seems like the team has a long way to go before they figure out who will be the starting kicker in Week 1.