Husted misses opportunity Ernest Hooper, The St.Petersburg Times, published 19 October 1998 After missing two field-goal attempts in a game the Bucs lost by six points, placekicker Michael Husted knows the No. 4 on his jersey looks more like a bull's-eye after New Orleans' 9-3 victory. "This is the NFL, and when you're in the public eye, people are going to take shots at you, call for your job or whatever," Husted said. "But hey, I know I go out there and give 110 percent every time. You can't make them all even though you try to make them. It's not as bad as it gets. I've seen worse, I've been through worse, but obviously I wanted to make those kicks, and they would have been crucial to the game, but I didn't make them." The offense struggled throughout but had a chance to tie New Orleans on a 32-yard attempt. Officials ruled that Husted's kick curved to the left. Husted saw it differently. "Not that it would have made a difference - I'm supposed to make them down the middle - but I firmly believe that short one was good," Husted said. "It was curling a little bit, but I really believe it was good. But hey, they called it no good. It should be more down the middle, and that's that." Husted got a shot at redemption in the fourth quarter but missed a 48-yard attempt that again would have tied the score. Like the other miss and the extra point he missed last week, the ball hooked to the left. Husted said nothing is wrong with his timing or mechanics. Nor did he characterize this as a slump. Last season Husted went through a skein in which he missed three extra points in four games, but he didn't draw similarities between that and this series of misses. "You may call it a slump, but I don't call it a slump," Husted said. "I missed a 48, I missed a 32. There's been other times in my career where I've missed two kicks in a game. I don't think it's a slump. I'm not down. I'm not worried about my confidence. I'm just going to go out there like I do every week and prepare for the next game." Husted's disappointment was a direct contrast to how his day began. He put the Bucs on the scoreboard with a 52-yard field goal. It was his 10th field goal of more than 50 yards, a team record. Tony Dungy was disappointed with the misses but said if the team had played better, they would not have been as crucial. Running back Warrick Dunn shared the perspective. "(Husted) should have never been put in that situation," Dunn said. "We had opportunities to score touchdowns today. He has a job, and we have a job also. Our job is to let him kick extra points instead of field goals." With defensive end Chidi Ahanotu out for the season and safety Damien Robinson expected to be put on injured reserve after breaking his right arm Sunday, the Bucs have two roster spots available. Dungy did not rule out bringing in another kicker, saying he would look at everything. Still, it seems unlikely the Bucs would do that. They stuck with Husted through last season's slump, and until Sunday he had made five of six. Now he is six of nine, and only four kickers have a worse field-goal percentage than his 66 percent. Husted said he would like to be above 80 percent. "I don't have any control over what they do," Husted said of possible competition."I can only control what I do. All I can do is take care of myself. I've said