Day 2 of Lions training camp ends with pair of missed field goals

The Detroit Lions' kicker battle between Nate Freese and Giorgio Tavecchio doesn't seem to be off to a great start. There were reports that both players were having issues with consistency during the Lions' mandatory minicamp in June, and there hasn't been a lot of positive news on this battle through the first two days of training camp. On Day 2 especially, the reports on the kicker battle weren't very promising. Case in point:

Lions end training camp with two 49 yard field goals, both kickers missed. Tavecchio short, Freese wide left

— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) July 29, 2014

The obvious disclaimer here is that we shouldn't overreact to a couple of kicks early on in training camp, especially without knowledge of factors like the wind, how the snaps were and if there were any issues with the holds. Plus, the more important thing will really be how Freese and Tavecchio perform during preseason games rather than what happens with random field goal attempts during training camp.

With all that said, it will be interesting to see what happens if Freese and Tavecchio continue to miss kicks on a regular basis. The Lions certainly aren't going to quickly give up on Freese considering they spent a draft pick on him, and there's a reason they kept Tavecchio around when they released John Potter back in May. However, if Freese and Tavecchio both struggle going forward, the Lions may have to explore some outside options and consider adding another player to the kicker competition.