Seahawks kicker Steven Hauschka took the blame for his missed kicks on Saturday against the Cardinals.
Steven Hauschka made it clear he would take all the blame for the missed extra point with one minute left that kept the score tied at 31 rather than allowing Seattle to take the lead on Saturday against the Cardinals.
And he did so again and again and again.
Asked about the miss as reporters approached in the locker room, Hauschka said “I’ve got to do better. That’s all I’ve got to say.”
Asked a follow up about what happened on the play, he said “I’ve got to do better.’’
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Then to four more questions on the topic, Hauschka said “I’ve just got to do better” or “I’ve got to do better.”
A few minutes later, when another group of reporters approached, Hauschka repeated the phrase.
That left it to coach Pete Carroll to try to provide a little more insight about another shocking miss by Seattle’s usually reliable kicker — he is now 28 for 33 on points after touchdowns this season in what is the second year since the kick was moved back to becoming essentially a 33-yarder.
“The last one, the ball was high on the snap, so the timing was just a little bit challenged,’’ Carroll said, a reference to rookie snapper Nolan Frese. “(Punter) Jon’s (Ryan) great at getting the ball down to the ground, and other than that I don’t know. But the ball was high.”
Arizona coach Bruce Arians said he thought the Cardinals’ defense impacted the kick.
“I just love the way we pressured the kick at the end and made him pull it,” Arians said.
Hauschka also had a 27-yard field goal blocked in the first quarter, the second time he has missed from inside 30 yards this season on 12 attempts this year.
The other came when he missed a 28-yarder field goal wide left at the end of overtime that denied Seattle a chance to beat Arizona in Glendale in what was ultimately a 6-6 tie on Oct. 23.
Hauschka was 43 for 45 from 20-29 yards prior to this season.
“We didn’t kick the ball very high on the block,’’ Carroll said. “Jon responded to a snap that was high there, too.’’
Frese took over this season after winning a competition after the Seahawks decided in March to release veteran Clint Gresham, who had been with Seattle since 2010. Seattle cut Gresham largely to save some money under the salary cap — the difference in the cap from Gresham’s salary to what the team is paying Frese is just over $200,000.
Seattle’s had a few issues with snaps this season but Carroll has generally said he has been pleased with Frese.
Seattle also had a punt blocked in the third quarter, the first of the season.
On the punt, Arizona’s Alex Okafor blew past punt protector Brandon Williams to get the block.
“They weren’t trying to block the kick,’’ Carroll said. “That was a one-man rush, he just pressured and got it. I think we probably didn’t block it as well as we needed to.’’