During training camp, first-year New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel had a kicking battle between former Virginia Tech kicker Parker Romo and former University of Miami kicker Andres Borregales. When the dust settled, Vrabel went with Borregales over Romo, and two weeks into the season, it's looking like the right decision.
Patriots' decision to cut Parker Romo looks worse after the first two weeks
Borregales has struggled in his two weeks kicking for New England. In a Week 1 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders at home, 20-13, the rookie went 2-for-3 on his field goal attempts. Then came Sunday afternoon in Miami in an early-season AFC East showdown.
The Patriots found the end zone on their first two drives, but Borregales missed both extra points to force New England to chase points from th beginning. To Borregales' credit, he did come back and drill a huge 53-yard field goal with 1:47 left in a 33-27 victory. Then Sunday Night Football happened and raised more questions as to whether Vrabel made the right decision at the end of thcome backe summer.
The Atlanta Falcons promoted former Virginia Tech kicker Parker Romo to handle the kicking duties on the road against the Minnesota Vikings, and he literally booted them to win. Romo went 5-for-5 on field goals and nailed his extra points in Atlanta's 22-6 win.
New England has gone through a handful of kickers over the last couple of seasons, including another former Virginia Tech kicker, Joey Slye. They went with Borregales in the end and let Slye and Romo go, and now every time they lineup for a field goal or extra point, nothing will be a given for a team that has a slim margin for error. You can bet that if Vrabel has to dip into the free agent kicker market, he'll be regretting his decision to cut ties with Romo in August.