Bill Belichick isn't a man of many words but the New England Patriots' head coach was very complimentary of multiple players on the Baltimore Ravens. Among them, Belichick called Ravens' Justin Tucker “the best kicker in the history of the league.”
Tucker was an undrafted free agent for the Ravens in 2012 out of Texas. There's no way that Baltimore expected him to become the kicker that he's developed into over the years.
Since 2012, Tucker has made 253 of his 279 career field-goal attempts (90.7 percent). At the same time, he has converted on 261 of his 262 extra-point tries in his career.
The efficiency and consistency of Tucker have made him into the best placekicker that resides in the NFL. But Belichick is taking a step further in believing that the veteran kicker is the best to ever play his position.
Considering that Belichick has coached Adam Vinatieri and Stephen Gostkowski, that is mighty high-praise for Tucker. Vinatieri is in his 24th season in the NFL and is still hitting game-winners for the Indianapolis Colts.
Over his 24 years in the league, Vinatieri has made 593 of his 705 attempts (84.1 percent). Above all, Vinatieri is the all-time leader in points scored with 2,646 points. He's also made two go-ahead field goals to help New England win two Super Bowls.
As for Gostkowski, he stands at 12th all-time with 1,775 points—all coming with the Patriots. Even with those guys providing production for Belichick, the legendary coach is siding with Baltimore's current kicker.
It remains to be seen if Belichick is just saying that as a prisoner of the moment or if he actually believes it. Regardless, he will be rooting for Tucker to be inefficient when the Patriots take on the Ravens on Sunday night.
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