Ravens Coach Outlines Key for Rookie Kicker

His perfect outing was a huge boost to his confidence and came on the heels of the team releasing his only competition, fellow rookie John Hoyland, the day before, on Saturday. While Loop has had other training camp practices where he hasn't missed a kick, this one was the most impressive by far because he got to showcase his accuracy and strong leg in front of a big crowd that got rowdy, which not only didn't faze him, but he even playfully engaged with.

In order to not only sustain his success in practice but carry it over to preseason and eventually regular season games, Ravens special teams coordinator Chris Horton believes that consistency is the key above all else.

"Obviously, leg strength is not going to be an issue with Tyler," Horton said Monday. "He can boom it. It's about just being consistent, and he's done a great job of that throughout this camp. You guys saw it yesterday. He was phenomenal out there just kicking the ball, and he was dialed in, he was locked in. If [he] takes that same focus to the game, he's going to be fine."

From the day Loop arrived at the Under Armour Performance Center, senior special teams coach Randy Brown has been breaking down what the team is looking for and expects in a "step-by-step-by-step" process from mechanical and execution standpoints.

"It's getting a consistent plant foot and then getting consistent foot-to-ball," Horton said. "Once you get that, and the ball is going straight, the ball is going to be going between the uprights all the time. So, I've seen a lot of change in that, and that's something that they work on every day."

One of the tools the Ravens have been using to further emphasize and help improve the details of their rookie kicker's process at the micro level is the GoPro camera that is mounted on his helmet, because it gives them a closer look at the point where Loop's foot connects with the ball.

"You see where your foot actually is on the ball when you're hitting it," Horton said. "Did my toe wrap around the ball? Well, that might change the trajectory of the ball. So, that's one of the things that you don't get to see on the coaches' cam. So, the closer we are foot-to-ball, where's the plant? All those things are very crystal clear, and Randy is with him every day, saying, "Hey, this was too wide, this was too tight. Let's get it here.' Those things make a difference."

Loop is the first kicker the Ravens have ever drafted in the 30-year history of the franchise, and he is well aware of the long shadow that his predecessor casts as not only the most accurate kicker of all-time but also one of, if not the most, clutch to ever play the game as well. Replacing him is a tall task, but a challenge he embraces and isn't phased by as he intends on heeding both of his coaches' tutelage and focusing on the process of being consistent.

"Tuck is incredible, I would say he is the greatest of all time at this position and he got there by being process-oriented, picking his targets, hitting his targets," Loop said Sunday. "That's something Randy and I talked a lot about. We're going to build your process, and we're going to stick to it."