Dein erstes Forum » wasnt the first time Aguayo played under the lights

METAIRIE, La. -- New Orleans Saints fans have seen this act before, and previously it hasnt ended well for them.The Saints are once again on the verge of climbing back to .500 and into the NFC playoff picture after opening the season with three straight losses.Similar stories played out in 2007, 2012, 2014 and last season after starts of 1/3 or worse. Each time, New Orleans got back to .500 and played well enough to keep its games meaningful into December, but missed the playoffs.Time will tell if this season will be different; coach Sean Payton and his players certainly would like to think it will be. There are some good reasons for optimism based on the way theyve played in their past four games, going 3-1 with the lone loss a close, competitive game at Kansas City.New Orleans has played better defense during that span, and on Sunday in the Superdome, the Saints found balance for their prolific passing offense from an unlikely source in a 25-20 victory against Seattle.Reserve running back Tim Hightower had the first 100-yard rushing game by a New Orleans player this season, finishing with 102 yards on 26 carries.Hightower, who missed the 2012 to 2014 seasons because of injuries, said his experience in resurrecting his career was helpful as he watched the Saints resurgence after the slow start this season.I keep going back to those three years that I was away from football, Hightower said Monday. There was light at the end of the tunnel. We had high hopes going into the season but we didnt start off well. We got on a roll then we got knocked down. When you go through tough times you use some of those parallels.The Saints defense had one of its best performances of the season against Seattle, allowing just one offensive touchdown and withstanding a final drive that ended with an incomplete pass in the end zone on the games final play.At the end of the game we stood up and made plays when we had to, said linebacker Nate Stupar, whose second-quarter interception led to the Saints first touchdown.Seattle had taken an early 7-0 lead when safety Earl Thomas picked up Mark Ingrams fumble and ran 34 yards for a touchdown. It was the second critical fumble by Ingram in two weeks and came on what wound up being his final play in the game.Ingrams benching was meant to be more temporary than it was, but lasted the whole game, coach Sean Payton said, because the way Tim was running, he was getting into a pretty good groove.The Seahawks offense never got into a good groove against a New Orleans defense that has methodically improved from No. 31 to No. 28 in the NFL. And that was without key defensive players who could return as early as Sunday when the Saints visit struggling San Francisco. Cornerback Delvin Breaux and defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, the teams rookie No. 1 draft choice, both have practiced recently and Rankins is eligible to come off of injured reserve this week.His progress has been good, Payton said. Well see how practice is day to day and go from there.The defense has allowed fewer than 400 yards in three of the last four games after allowing more than 400 in each of the first three losses.We struggled a little bit against the run at first, but weve really started to jell, Stupar said. Weve really been playing good up front.With Drew Brees continuing to operate one of the perennially elite passing games in the NFL, the improved running game and defense have New Orleans making the kind of comprehensive progress they hoped to see heading into the second half of the season.On offense, weve had pretty good time of possession and done pretty well on third downs and thats helped us, Payton said of the three victories. Conversely, defensively, our numbers in those wins have been good. 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His teammates rushed to greet him and celebrate.I was excited, Aguayo said after the game. I was just ready to go for that first one, that long one. ... I hit it smooth right down the middle.He admitted to feeling relaxed before the game, even with the way things have gone for him lately. In addition to the three misses in preseason games, he mustered only 3 of 6 field goals during Tuesdays practice.Building up to the game, just going out there, being comfortable, doing what I do pregame -- I was comfortable, drilling them, Aguayo said. Ive done this my whole life. I just sit back and think. ... My college career didnt happen on accident.Aguayo was a perfect 198-for-198 on extra points at Florida State and 69-of-78 on field goal attempts, making him the most accurate kicker in college football history.He was a first-team All-American all three years as a Seminole before declaring early for the 2016 NFL draft. The Bucs traded into the second round to select Aguayo at No. 59, making him the highest-drafted kicker since Mike Nugent?(No. 47) in 2005.At the time, the selection was greeted with skepticism and criticism, with many critics believing No. 59 was far too high to draft a kicker. That criticism intensified as Aguayo struggled this preseason.On Wednesday, while the team conducted its second joint practice against the Browns, Aguayo and the rest of the special-teams unit quietly came to the stadium. He kicked about 25 times with the scoreboard on.Coacch Dirk Koetter said he believes that helped settle down the kicker.ddddddddddddHes a tough-minded kid, Koetter said. He was definitely in a little bit of a slump there, theres no question. For three, four, five days ... whatever it was, he was in a slump. It was great to see [him bounce back]. Thats definitely the guy we drafted.In addition to his 48-yard field goal, Aguayo made kicks from 21 and 27 yards and made all three of his extra point attempts.Hes resilient, said wide receiver Mike Evans. Guys are writing him off already, guys in the media and things like that. But we know why we took him [in the second round]. Special kicker. Hell be great for us.It wasnt the first time Aguayo played under the lights and came away victorious at Raymond James Stadium. When he was 12 years old in 2005, he won a Punt, Pass and Kick competition there. Even back then, he had dreams of being like his idol, Martin Gramatica, and playing for the Bucs.On Friday, Aguayo experienced the joy of setting the tone just like Gramatica did for five seasons with the Bucs. Aguayos teammates fed off it.You see he made one [kick], and it was a domino effect, said defensive tackle Gerald McCoy. It just kept going. I told him just to stay the course and keep going.Aguayo expressed his gratitude for the support he has received from his teammates.This team is a family. These guys got my back, Aguayo said. Thats one thing I noticed since I got here and Ive noticed through the preseason -- not just any one person ... its everyone.He also said he needed to get back to having fun.Sometimes at the professional level or at any level, you sometimes lose track of that ... try to overthink things, he said. When you overthink it too much, you put more pressure than [you] need on [yourself]. Just go out there and do what [you] do. ' ' '