Precious points going wide

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This article was published 22/07/2015 (3703 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If he listened to every piece of advice readily available from any number of “experts” out there, Lirim Hajrullahu would soon be lining up for every kick with all the confidence of a hungover tightrope walker stepping out during a hurricane.

If he listened to every piece of advice, the Winnipeg Blue Bomber would be attempting kicks with his left leg, maybe even barefoot. He’d be closing one eye or holding his breath — or both — on impact. He’d be keeping his head down and his chin up. He’d be clutching lucky charms and whispering positive-thinking mantras to himself, all after making sure he was outfitted in his lucky cleats/socks/Stanfields.

Make no mistake, Hajrullahu is open for suggestions, especially after whiffing on four of his 10 convert attempts this season. It’s just there is only so much worth digesting, only a few voices with merit.

There’s Bombers special-teams co-ordinator Pat Tracey and head coach Mike O’Shea, of course. But his inner kicking circle includes fellow Western University alum Darryl Wheeler — he was in camp here in 2008 — and Ken Urquhart, “Coach Kick” as he’s known by his proteges all over the CFL and CIS.

“We’re all in it together,” said Hajrullahu Tuesday. “They’ve been with me since I’ve been playing football. They’ve helped me to get where I am today.

“(Wheeler) is the one that understands me the best. I can just text him what I may be doing wrong and, if it’s a little bit more complicated, I send him a quick video of myself during that practice or game. I’ve always appreciated his help. This weekend just didn’t go my way.”

Hajrullahu, to his credit, stood in front of a throng of cameras and reporters after practice Tuesday, answering more questions about his continuing struggles on extra points this season. His punting has been solid, his kickoffs outstanding. He’s 6-for-8 in his field-goal attempts — concerning, but not-yet alarming numbers for a guy who hit on 87 per cent of his tries last year.

But when it comes to connecting on converts from the new distance of 32 yards, Hajrullahu is just 6-for-10. And those numbers have baffled him and everyone who watched last year’s West Division Most Outstanding Special Teams Player confidently hammer it home just about every time the ball was placed on the tee.

“One of the things I say to Lirim is you shouldn’t be out chasing something new every day, right?” said O’Shea. “Don’t try and fix something every day. It will come. You’ve got to start having some fun.”

That’s all well and good advice, especially when it comes from the boss. But when a club loses by a single point to the Grey Cup champs — in their house, no less — it can eat away at a kicker when he misses a convert and also has a punt blocked and returned for a touchdown.

“I’ve got to look past that,” Hajrullahu said. “I’m trying to be more confident and kick the way I kicked last year. I’m just trying to get back in my groove so I’m just putting in extra time after practice. I’m not trying to fix things every week… I’ve just got to trust in my mechanics and I thought we did a great job today.”

Hajrullahu hammered away at his craft before and after Tuesday’s workout with long-snapper Chad Rempel and holder Brian Brohm. Essentially, this is what every kicker in a slump does — much the same way a golfer hits the range to make corrections or work out kinks.

‘I’m just trying to get back in my groove so I’m just putting in extra time after practice… I’ve just got to trust in my mechanics’

— Lirim Hajrullahu

“The best way to explain it for people is it’s just like golf,” said Hajrullahu. “You’re not going to try and fix your swing in the middle of a round. You’re going to keep trusting your swing, keep trusting your holder and snapper. And sometimes things don’t go your way. From (last weekend) all the kicks were six inches away from being in.

“It’s a brand-new week. We’re into our next opponent, we’ve looked at everything on tape and fixed that and have tried to flush that because, for me, that was… that was unlike me to do those things.”

But a guy can only ride on last year’s numbers for so long and Hajrullahu gets that. His coach might still be spitting out the line that he expects his kicker to hit the game-winner in the Grey Cup, but those are public slaps on the back in July.

If this trend continues, however, there might not be any kicks to attempt in November. That’s simply the nature of pro football.

“As specialists, we expect perfection, but it’s so hard to achieve that,” Hajrullahu said. “Little mistakes are going to happen. Sometimes they happen in a loss, which is unfortunate. But I’m taking that as a learning experience myself, to help move on mentally from this point on. Down the road that can help our team win instead of having the loss.”

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @WFPEdTait