And through those conversations, Fitzgerald was the same quietly confident guy, who has the hustler’s nerve but the look of a golf pro. Jansen, who has seen a lot of kickers, likes that.
“He is extremely confident,” Jansen said. “To use words like cold-blooded or ice in his veins. He’s got that temperament, there is confidence, especially for big kicks, and there’s a determination. I always worry about guys who are outwardly expressive how confident they are because that’s usually a sign of insecurity. He doesn’t say a whole lot.”
But he did suggest that he might be in the middle of it all again.
“So we prepared for it. We planned for it,” Jansen said. “We wanted to kick with the wind if we got to the fourth quarter in a close game. And then Ryan, he had a really good pregame in that direction because that was a more predictable wind. And, so it was very thoughtful, but it was also very confident, and Ryan’s been really good with that all year.”
With so many people praising him — and wanting to talk to him — Fitzgerald did a lot of those sheepish grins and spreading the praise around.
“Yeah, just, I mean, so proud of these guys,” he began. “Giving me a 49-yarder and offense driving the ball down the field, and the crucial interception we had on defense, and just a great team.”
And then, of course, it was just him, just like against Dallas.
“It’s fun. It’s fun. It’s really fun when they go in,” Fitzgerald said. “I think there is a sort of comfort level in the fact that I’ve done it before. I’m still learning new experiences, tough environment on the road this week, tough conditions, you know. There’s a lot of firsts for me, and I’ve still got to keep getting better and as I get used to these conditions, keep getting better at my game.”
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