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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Detroit Lions might have a kicking conundrum for the second straight season. Rookie Nate Freese, who won the job during the preseason, missed two more field goals Sunday. He is now 2 of 5 on the season and his job could in a little bit of peril. “We’re not going to make any rash decisions now five minutes after the game’s over,” Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. “We certainly want to take a look at all of our options and see where we’d like to go from here.” Where Detroit goes is unknown. Freese has missed on all of his attempts beyond 30 yards, including a pair of 49-yard attempts Sunday during a 24-7 loss to the Carolina Panthers. The Lions chose him over Giorgio Tavecchio during training camp, even though Tavecchio appeared to be the more consistent kicker. But the Lions used a seventh round pick on Freese, who did not miss a field goal during his final season at Boston College. “It was definitely windy but that’s one of those things it happens so fast it’s hard to tell right away,” holder Sam Martin said. “But he’s a pro. He’ll go watch film and he’ll figure it out.” Caldwell said the Lions’ goal is to make “100 percent” of their kicks during the season, although he allows leeway there due to long field goals and other extenuating circumstances. Despite the wind, there didn’t seem to be many of them Sunday against the Panthers, though. This is the second straight season where kicking has been a question for Detroit since the retirement of stalwart Jason Hanson. The Lions kept veteran David Akers over rookie Havard Rugland last season and Akers was one of the worst kickers in the league, converting 79.2 percent of his field goals. Last season, 26 kickers made at least 80 percent of their attempts. Martin said he felt Freese would be able to bounce back from his rough start, in part because of the way Freese handles himself with every kick. But it is an area that certainly needs improvement. And if the Lions were to look at kickers, among the names out there would be Tavecchio, Jay Feely and Rob Bironas. “That’s an area we need to be able to count on,” Caldwell said. “We certainly can get better in a lot of different phases.”
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