In Cundiff's words

It's safe to say that Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff isn't the most popular person in Baltimore right now. In fact, I was only semi-joking when I said he might want to join the Witness Protection Program after missing last night's field goal in the AFC Championship Game against the Patriots. 

But, if you're curious about what was going through Cundiff's head before and during his kick last night, you should revisit our 2010 article by contributing writer Mike Unger called "What It Feels Like," where we asked players to describe certain moments in the game of football.

What It Feels Like...to Make a Game-winning Field Goal
Billy Cundiff, Kicker
"You’re trying to absorb the situation: What's the distance, what are the field conditions, the wind. I do my pre-shot routine, and then just act. If you prepare the right way, the rest takes care of itself. The roar of the crowd will tell you what happened before your eyes will be able to. With my technique, I’m trying to keep my head down longer. If you look up, nine times out of 10, generally you’re going to find a ball you missed. So you just trust your line. A lot of times it doesn’t really sink in because that’s what I was supposed to do. For me, it’s not shock, [I’m] more pleasantly surprised."

And, what Unger didn't include in the piece was Cundiff's point-of-view when he misses a field goal:
"Normally just a lot of disappointment, because that obviously is not what I set out to do. Sometimes there’s a little bit of guilt, kind of like I let a lot of guys down. In that situation, you're out there to kind of prove why you're on the team. When you don't do well, you're not really proving why you're on the team."

[Image: courtesy of US Presswire]