Bucs’ kicker misses two more field goals and an extra point The Tampa Tribune, published 4 October 2015 In the past two games, Bucs kicker Kyle Brindza has missed five field-goal attempts and two extra-point attempts. His immediate future? Given his lack of production, Brindza is approaching it realistically. “I’m living day to day right now,’’ Brindza said. “It has to get better.’’ Sunday, it got worse. Against the Panthers, Brindza made a 42-yard field goal, but was wide right on a 29-yarder just before halftime that could have cut Carolina’s lead to 17-13. Brindza said he slipped after planting his foot, but added that was no excuse for the miss. He was wide left on a 43-yarder early in the third quarter after the Bucs recovered a Cam Newton fumble on the Carolina 25-yard line. On the Bucs’ final touchdown with 58 seconds remaining, Brindza was wide left on the extra-point attempt. “Any day can cost you (your job), whether it was last week, this week,’’ said Brindza, a rookie from Notre Dame. “My philosophy right now is get better each day. Today’s a horrible day, just like last week. I have to somehow get over this.” Last week, Bucs coach Lovie Smith stood by Brindza. Sunday, he was less convincing. “We’re not going to start kicking people off (the team) in the press conference after the game,” Smith said. “We’re disappointed in Kyle’s play today. We have to do a better job with extra points, with field goals when we need them. Those were critical parts of the game. We need to get more production from there.” Evans waiting his turn After being targeted 17 times last week at Houston and producing a 101-yard game, Bucs second-year receiver Mike Evans wasn’t nearly as active against the Panthers. Evans finished with three receptions for 32 yards. “That was our game plan, what it called for,’’ Evans said. “I’m cool with that. When the ball comes my way, I’ve got to make the plays.’’ After a 1-3 start, Evans is taking personal accountability. He had at least three dropped passes against the Texans, along with two other non-completions where he had his hands on the ball. “We’ve got to be better, starting with me,’’ Evans said. “I will be better. We went 1-3 in this first quarter. Now we’ll come back and try to put a beating on Jacksonville before our bye week.’’ Feeling a rush Doug Martin had 20 carries for 106 yards and a 5-yard touchdown run. It was his eighth career 100-yard rushing game, tying him for fourth in franchise history with Ricky Bell, Michael Pittman and Errict Rhett. James Wilder, the franchise’s all-time rushing leader, had 14 games of 100 or more yards, followed by Warrick Dunn with 11 and Cadillac Williams with nine. “I’m really proud of him and excited for him that he got a 100-yard game,’’ Bucs center Joe Hawley said. “I love blocking for him. He runs really hard and he’s never out of the fight. He just keeps going, low to the ground. It’s nice to play with a guy like that.’’ Martin had 73 yards in the second half, including a game-long run of 26 yards. “Doug has been great all year,’’ Vincent Jackson said. “The fact that we’ve been in some games where we’ve had to throw the ball a little more, get away from the run game, has been unfortunate. We love our running backs. We’ve got to stay in ballgames so we don’t have to rely on the pass. We’ve got to keep feeding those guys.’’