Steve Wilks wasn't going to talk to kicker Phil Dawson after his late miss Sunday against the Seahawks, a miss that ultimately cost the Cardinals the game.

"I don't think you approach kickers or quarterbacks in certain situations like that," Wilks said. "You let them work through the process."

Instead, Wilks called Dawson up on Monday -- which Dawson admitted with a smile can be nerve-wracking.

"I've been living on egg shells for 21 years," Dawson said. "Yeah, anytime you get summoned to the head coach's office, it makes you think twice, especially coming off a game like I had."

Dawson hadn't tried a field goal this season until he had three attempts against Seattle. He missed two, from 50 and 45 yards, and it brought back memories of his rough start a year ago, a year in which Dawson ultimately missed eight field goals. But he finished the second half of the season strong, and the Cardinals hoped he would be that kicker this season, the last of his contract.

Dawson said he and Wilks "had a nice conversation and are on the same page." For those wondering about a potential change at that position, nothing is coming at this point. In the meantime, Dawson said both he and Wilks expect improvement. Dawson took all the responsibility with the last kick, going as far to saying it didn't matter what hash mark the ball was on (and therefore making David Johnson's acceptance of blame for putting it on the wrong hash unnecessary.)

"It was just poor execution on my part," Dawson said. "I wish I could say it was a snap, a hold, wind, footing, and those things can all be factors, but there was none of that. It was just a good, old-fashioned miss."

Dawson said there have been times when he was making all his kicks and still knew he wasn't kicking well, so he will do what he always does -- go back and analyze his mechanics. He was up front with all of this Wednesday, as he talked to a throng of media for about 10 minutes. He knew it had been coming.

"You want to feel encouraged?" Dawson said he told his teammates the day after the loss. "You (could) be me this week."