Barth added the 'Special' in Special Teams
But the Bucs pulled a coup, and made a draft trade for Kellen Winslow Jr, and all was good in Buc land.
K2 as he is known was the leading receiver yardage wise for the Buccaneers in 2009, but over all, he may not be the best free agent pickup of the year.
That honor may go to Placekicker Connor Barth. You see, the Bucs were pretty good at Tight End before K2 was brought it, with Jeremy Stevens more than capable and When blocking was needed Gilmore was called upon.
And yes you could say the kicking position was also well cared for with Matt Bryant, but the problem is, most fans are still living in 2006, when Bryant made his famous 62 yarder that made a holiday for the rest of us. Since then, Bryant could not nail a single kick over 50 yards in 2008. And, he was on the wrong side of 30. Clearly a new kicker was needed, but a clunker was brought in his place. Mike Nugent was a Nugget the Jets tried to pawn, and he bombed from the get-go. At this point, the average Bucs fan lost count of how many kickers were brought in to miss big kicks for our beloved Orange, Red, and Pewter colored team.
And then came Connor….Straight from Chapel Hill in North Carolina, where the second team All-American via Kansas City and Miami, nailed 3 Field Goals of over 50 yards….IN ONE GAME, against his former team. In one game, he nailed more 50+ FGs than Matt Bryant did in all of 2008, and oh did I mention that was an NFL record? The Three FGs of more than 50 yards in a single game?
Barth seemed to hit a little skid when he missed a FG by clanking it up against the side bar at Seattle, but then nailed 4 in a row, and a 5th when he kicked the game winner in Overtime against the New Orleans Saints.
On a team where ‘Special Teams’ are the bright spot of the franchise, Barth could be the silver lining in the cloud that was the 2009 season.
