OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Besides the dejection of hooking a pressure field goal wide of the uprights, there aren’t many worse feelings for an NFL kicker than the harsh reality of people being brought in to audition for his job.

For Baltimore Ravens kicker Steve Hauschka, that’s what he’s going through after missing two clutch kicks during losses to the Cincinnati Bengals and the Minnesota Vikings.

One day after the Ravens tried out free agent kickers Mike Nugent and Billy Cundiff before ultimately deciding to stick with Hauschka for the time being, the replacement for veteran Matt Stover was back at work trying to fix his accuracy problems.

“I figured they probably would," Hauschka said Wednesday when asked about the tryouts. "That’s not my job, though. They're going to do what they have to do and I'm going to have to do my job, go out there and make kicks in a game. My skin’s gotten a lot thicker.

“I’m 90 percent of the way there. I think I’ve done a good job. I just need to do a little better out there. Sometimes, you don’t hit the ball the way you would like.”

Hauschka has proven that he’s capable of converting field goals, making 8 of his 11 kicks this season and every extra point.

However, he has yet to deliver on a pivotal kick having hooked a 38-yarder wide left in the fourth quarter against the Bengals and flubbing a potential game-winning 44-yard try in the final seconds against the Vikings.

“Guys are backing me up, a lot of the veterans are still supporting me," Hauschka said. "The organization wants me to be the guy, and I want to be the guy, too. I think they still have a lot of confidence in me, they see that I’m a real talented kicker.

"It’s just part of the development. It's a little painful at times to miss kicks and let the team down and to let the fans down, but my job is to go out there and make the next kick.”

Ravens coach John Harbaugh emphasized Monday that Hauschka’s errant kicks can be attributed to poor technique, saying, “If you look at those two swings, those are both poor swings.”

Harbaugh also reiterated Tuesday night during his weekly WBAL radio program that Hauschka remains the kicker going forward.

"Steve works really hard, he's really got a lot of talent," Harbaugh said. "He's our best option."

Hauschka said that he hasn’t lost confidence in himself, adding that he continues to excel during practice.

"I'm very confident," he said. "I've been kicking the ball real well in practice; it's just a matter of transferring it to the game. That's the next development I have to make: kick the ball in the game with as much confidence."

As the replacement for Stover who now kicks for the Indianapolis Colts, Hauschka beat out Graham Gano during training camp. Gano is now kicking for former Ravens offensive coordinator Jim Fassel for the Las Vegas franchise in the United Football League.

As the kicker for Division III Middlebury College before one terrific season at North Carolina State where he connected on 16 of 18 field goals, Hauschka has missed more field goals this year than during an entire season for the Wolfpack.

This slump is unprecedented for Hauschka.

"I've missed kicks before, but not that many,” Hauschka said. “This is probably the first time I've gone through something like this. In college, I had a streak where I hit 20 in a row. .. I wish it didn’t happen this early in my career, but I knew it was going to happen eventually.”

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