Barth kicks his way into record book Roy Cummings, The Tampa Tribune, published 16 November 2009 Connor Barth kicked himself into the NFL and Bucs record books Sunday. As a result, the likelihood of Barth getting the boot from the Bucs anytime soon has been greatly diminished. "That was a glowing positive for us today," Bucs coach Raheem Morris said of Barth's performance, which included going 3-for-3 on field-goal tries, all of which were 50 yards or longer. Barth kicked field goals of 51, 50 and 54 yards to set a franchise record and tie a league record and keep the Bucs in what proved to be a 25-23 loss to the Dolphins at Land Shark Stadium. He was also good on each of his two extra-point tries, which probably didn't come as much of a surprise to the Dolphins. After all, they've seen Barth perform at that rate before. Barth, a Kansas City Chiefs castoff who is in his second NFL season, was with the Dolphins during training camp this year, and what he did for them was similar to what he did for the Bucs. Hitting on each of his four extra points and on two field goals, Barth was barely beaten out for the Dolphins kicker's job by incumbent Dan Carpenter, who had an extra point blocked Sunday. "He did a heck of a job for us when we had him," Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said. "He really did. And the way he was knocking them through today, it was pretty impressive." It was pretty rare, too. Not only did Barth become the first Bucs kicker to kick three field goals of 50 yards or more in the same game, but he also became only the fourth NFL kicker to pull off such a feat, joining Atlanta's Morten Andersen (1995), Arizona's Neil Rackers (2004) and Houston's Kris Brown (2007). "It was just one of those days where you're on," Barth said. "On the first one I was a little nervous because that was the first 50-yarder of my career. But after that it was just go out there, have fun and be smooth." The smooth calm of a windless, cloudless, picture postcard day helped Barth. So, too, did the fact that he was familiar with the surroundings of Land Shark Stadium. " Having been here a lot before, that really helped today," he said. "But you have to give credit to the offense and to the snapper (Andrew Economos) and the holder (Dirk Johnson). You can't do it without them and the offense and the defense both busted their butts to get us down there and into the position. At the end of the day, I'm just a finisher." The Bucs are hoping Barth has finished their search for a kicker. They've been on the hunt for an upgrade since the end of last season and he's the latest in a line of contenders for the job. "I just take it week by week," Barth said of his future. "It's a tough business. That's why you can't put too much pressure on yourself. You just have to do the best you can and try to stay positive." After what he did Sunday, that shouldn't be a problem.