Vikings Message Board.Com

So far, I am liking this punter. In this game alone he has had more punts land inside the 5 than Kluwe did in his entire career.

Yeah that nose down style seems so much better to pin teams.

But, there were comments about hang time on the longer punts, I wonder if that could become an issue on the longer punts?

He looked good. I'm just worried his poor leg is going to get overworked from all the punting we'll be doing. Kidding.

He--and our punting unit as a whole--looked very good tonight. Good thing! We need those guys!

I wouldn't somewhat throw Kluwe under the bus just because the highlight of our team tonight was the punter, though. That's just sad...all the way around.

Eh.... the punt coverage, except for unfielded punts that they downed inside the 10 yard line, didn't look so good. Locke has a big leg, but I get the impression that he hasn't yet gotten a feel for balancing hang time vs. distance and that he may be outkicking his coverage until he does.

Eli wrote:Eh.... the punt coverage, except for unfielded punts that they downed inside the 10 yard line, didn't look so good. Locke has a big leg, but I get the impression that he hasn't yet gotten a feel for balancing hang time vs. distance and that he may be outkicking his coverage until he does.

Ah. You could be right. I might be a little off with my "very good" eval. I think their highlights were worth getting excited about, especially considering the rest of the night. I got carried away. They did look very good at times though--punting and returning.

Eli wrote:Eh.... the punt coverage, except for unfielded punts that they downed inside the 10 yard line, didn't look so good. Locke has a big leg, but I get the impression that he hasn't yet gotten a feel for balancing hang time vs. distance and that he may be outkicking his coverage until he does.

Exactly my thoughts, he definitely kicked a couple where the distance / hang time ratio wasn't so great and the returner was able to make most of it back. We kept the damage to that but those are the types of punts that go for TD's as well. I imagine they'll get on him about that right away and start working a bit more on hang time. A 45 yard punt that has to be fair caught is better than a 60 yard punt that can be returned 20 yards or go the distance!

mondry wrote: Exactly my thoughts, he definitely kicked a couple where the distance / hang time ratio wasn't so great and the returner was able to make most of it back. We kept the damage to that but those are the types of punts that go for TD's as well. I imagine they'll get on him about that right away and start working a bit more on hang time. A 45 yard punt that has to be fair caught is better than a 60 yard punt that can be returned 20 yards or go the distance!

Last week Locke had a couple of punts under 40 yards, which Priefer even mentioned in a press conference. I have a feeling that he may have been conscious of that and overcompensating. Hopefully, they can get him settle by the regular season. He certainly has a great touch for the shorter punts to inside the twenty, but I'm not sure I've seen him do a directional punt yet, something Kluwe was famous for botching.

Demi wrote:Yeah that nose down style seems so much better to pin teams.

But, there were comments about hang time on the longer punts, I wonder if that could become an issue on the longer punts?

I could be wrong but I think he does the Aussie-style kick only when he's trying to pin the ball. On a regular punt, I think he kicks it like any other punter.

Eli wrote:
Last week Locke had a couple of punts under 40 yards, which Priefer even mentioned in a press conference. I have a feeling that he may have been conscious of that and overcompensating. Hopefully, they can get him settle by the regular season. He certainly has a great touch for the shorter punts to inside the twenty, but I'm not sure I've seen him do a directional punt yet, something Kluwe was famous for botching.

Ah yeah, as a rookie all that stuff can be a lot to take in I imagine. He certainly had the distance today, just gotta put both together.

I imagine that being a rookie kicker in the NFL, during the preseason, is a lot like a baseball player during spring training. They're being cognizant of the situation, but they aren't necessarily playing themselves perfectly into that situation. It's all about refining the mechanics and taking that emphasis of the week to get better and to see the results. I wouldn't be at all surprised if a lot of Locke's deficiency's are hashed about before Week 1....Not all though.