(WGR 550) -- You've heard and read the stats. I know you have, because announcers thrive on them.

"Automatic" from closer than 40 yards, the most consecutive extra points in team history, game-winning kicks and then some. Rian Lindell's had it all.

Now, fair or unfair, he has the blame, too.

For the second time in three games, Lindell has missed. Sure, they weren't as dramatic as a potential game-winner on Monday Night with a three-game losing streak in the balance, but Lindell's two misses from 20 and 28 yards Sunday were killer for a team that needed points in the worst way, eventually falling to San Francisco, 10-3, at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

"I am not going to make excuses," Lindell said. "I stunk, I don’t know what to tell you."

What a time for a slump. Lindell had been a hero already in 2008, atoning for an early game miss by connecting to beat the Raiders, 24-23, capping off a comeback that had Western New York in the throes of euphoria. Would these Bills be the ones?

Well, yes, the ones to find a new and unique way to disassemble the minds of their fans.

Lindell's fall has been one of the more surprising developments in the Bills' fall. The Washington-state native came to Orchard Park in 2003 after three years in Seattle, and immediately struggled, connecting on just 17 of 24 field goals.

Yet, he put it together. Lindell hadn't missed from 39 yards or less since 2005. He hit 50-yard field goals or longer in each of the last four years. He was as automatic as your trusty alarm clock.

Then, November surprise.

"It was going along pretty good, just in general," Lindell said. "I just haven’t hit my target line this year, it has just been kind of an uphill climb. I get something going then something like today happens and that’s ridiculous."

Lindell's a guy who is feeling his failure, and taking it hard. The best of times become the worst of times in a hurry for kickers, and Lindell's leg is downright Dickensian, as he twisted the ball of the upright twice from distances weekend warriors attempted during their Turkey Bowl football games last Thursday.

The good news for Bills fans, even those calling for Lindell's head, is that he's a smart kicker, and a confident guy.

"I know I am good. I hit good balls all the time, I line up try and stay smooth try to hit a good ball and I am just not going down my line."

Walk the line, Rian. Just walk the line.

Email: nick@wgr550.com