49ers Kicker Jake Moody Discusses his Struggles this Season

Jake Moody is having a bad season.

He has made just 8 of 15 field goal attempts on the road, which could suggest that the pressure of hostile environments has affected him. He also missed a few games with a high-ankle sprain which may have impacted his performance.

On Thursday, Moody stood at his locker and discussed his struggles.

Q: Does your confidence waver as you go through some of these inconsistencies?

MOODY: "That's the great thing about kicking. You can be as talented as whomever and you can struggle. I feel like this year, I've struggled. My confidence doesn't really waver. Throughout my entire life, I've gone through struggles, I've gone through high points. The biggest thing is to just stay consistent, not change anything, not change your mindset, not change your warmups, your form or anything like that. The biggest thing is just stay consistent. You'll go through highs and lows. Just have to keep a straight head and move forward."

Q: The misses this year have come on the road. Are you still learning how to assess each stadium?

MOODY: "I actually didn't know that. That's pretty interesting. I don't think that necessarily has anything to do with it -- being home or away. The misses, I've got to hit better kicks. It's not any specific reason why I missed, I've just got to make sure I'm dialed in on my form. I'll take a look at it, but I don't think it's really an issue."

Q: Do you ever have the urge to try something new? Does that ever enter your mind?

MOODY: "Yeah, it's tough. I compare kicking to golf a lot. Some golfers go through swing changes and it can take years and years for it to finally feel like you're dialed in. In this business, you don't have that much time to try to dial in big changes like that. For me personally, I've thought about it, changing the form, fixing certain things. But you've got to be consistent and you can't be changing too many things, otherwise you'll be overwhelmed."

Q: Did missing a chunk of time during the season with a high-ankle sprain affect your performance?

MOODY: "It was just a new experience for me, and I learned a lot from it. Coming back from injury, making sure that you feel ready to get back on the field, which I did, and picking up where you left off, which can be tough after taking time off, especially with kicking. When you get in that rhythm, that flow, a nice, consistent rhythm, it's tough once you break that, come back and try to pick up where you left off. Learned a lot from it. It's a good lesson going forward."

MY TAKE: Moody deserves credit for standing up at his locker and facing the media. Not every player would do that after having a bad game. What Moody did took guts and character. I commend him.

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