Image courtesy of Andy Borregales 

FOXBOROUGH – With no true competition other than himself this summer, Andy Borregales started hot early in camp, but the road got real bumpy real quick.

A poor preseason performance against Indianapolis. struggles in practice and then ultimately, a rebound as summer came to an end.

The roller coaster ride certainly wasn’t what the staff or locker room wanted to see from the second-year kicker, but given how he handled pressure kicks as a rookie, there’s some leeway there.

One guy who certainly believes that Borregales will be ready for any moment when the Pats face Seattle on Wednesday night is special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer.

“Oh, he’s ready to go,” Springer saids with a grin when I asked him on Sunday. “I doubt have any doubts of Andy being ready to go. He’s a very mature athlete as a kicker and he prepares that way. He never gets too high or too low. I’ve said that a million times here. Whether it’s a good game, bad game, good practice, bad practice, he learns from it. He studies it and he comes back better the next day.”

What about having no real competition in a sport inherently extremely competitive, where guys are always fighting for roles. Could that have played a factor in the up-and-down camp and preseason?

“No, not at all, because as a kicker you’re always being evaluated,” Springer added. “As a kicker, if you’re missing too much, they’re going to find somebody else to do it, right? So, I think that level of like, knowing that’s always there in the back of your head, you don’t need anybody next to you at all to be honest.”

If the Patriots need to rely on Borregales for a big time kick in the opener in the most hostile environment in the NFL, hopefully we get AFC Championship Andy and not summertime Andy.