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dead_poet wrote: It would be consistent with what Kluwe said why his own numbers were down slightly from previous years.

I'll buy it if I see some hang time stats. What I remember seeing this season were short punts with short hang times.

808vikingsfan wrote:I'll buy it if I see some hang time stats. What I remember seeing this season were short punts with short hang times.

I don't know where to find the stats but the return yardage suggests effective hang times.

If they can find an upgrade, great. I just don't think it's a big problem or something they should prioritize over other, more glaring, needs this offseason.

Anyone have PFF? They have hang time stats.

Mothman wrote:Locke's average isn't great but there's more to consider than just distance (and hopefully, that will improve when he's playing more than half of his games indoors each season).

For example, among punters with more than 50 kicks, Locke had the second fewest return yards against his punts last season. That and the difference between his 41.6 average and his 37.8 net average tells me teams don't gain many yards at all returning his punts. I get the feeling he's coached to get good hang time and minimize returns more than to kick for distance.

A third of his kicks were inside of the 20.

It's always worth looking to upgrade but I don't see this position as a major offseason priority.

His net of 37.8 was 30th in the league. So I suppose it comes down to what your team's chief concern is.

If your chief concern is field position, then Locke is failing. A 37-yard punt with a fair catch is worse than a 47-yard punt with an 8-yard return.

If you're worried about opponents taking punts to the house, then I guess Locke's your man. His relatively short punts do help prevent return yardage.

Personally, I'd love a weapon like Johnny Hekker of the Rams. Led the league in net and average, only allowed 40 returns out of a whopping 96 punts, and put nearly half his punts inside the 20. But those punters are rare. We're probably stuck with Locke, although like others, I wouldn't mind a later-round draft pick on somebody with a truly talented leg.

J. Kapp 11 wrote:Personally, I'd love a weapon like Johnny Hekker of the Rams. Led the league in net and average, only allowed 40 returns out of a whopping 96 punts, and put nearly half his punts inside the 20. But those punters are rare. We're probably stuck with Locke, although like others, I wouldn't mind a later-round draft pick on somebody with a truly talented leg.

Heck, I'd settle for some real competition in camp, even from walk-ons.

OTOH, I'd prefer an offense so formidable that the punter is used all that often.

losperros wrote: Heck, I'd settle for some real competition in camp, even from walk-ons.

OTOH, I'd prefer an offense so formidable that the punter is used all that often.

I am ok with his punting... it isn't great, but I still think he is better than Kleuwe... However, I want to see what happens to Walsh if he has a different holder. That is what has me more concerned, because his misses have cost us points. I'm not saying Locke is the problem there, but it would be an interesting experiment.

I was willing to give Locke and his "5th round value" a chance, but eh...

Pros:

-Great at pinning opponents inside the 20
-The Vikings defense can bail him out on short punts, so he's not as big a liability as he should be

Cons:

-He has to be at least at his own 45 in order to pin opponents inside the 20
-The Vikings offense is prone to short drives and 3 and outs. Locke is unable to reverse field position when deep or even not-so deep in their own territory
-Not a good holder


Get rid of the guy for all I care...Jon Ryan will be available, but will come with a much higher price tag. The Vikings can probably afford him though unless they plan to go all out in free agency, but I just don't see that with this team. That's not their MO. Spending on a proven and reliable punter with what we know about the Vikings offense and defense could be a huge investment and solid piece of a championship team.

Locke is an aussie style punter...

PacificNorseWest wrote:Locke is an aussie style punter...

A non-Aussie imitator! But you're right...I'd forgotten that; I had to look it up and refresh my memory.

PacificNorseWest wrote:I was willing to give Locke and his "5th round value" a chance, but eh...

Pros:

-Great at pinning opponents inside the 20
-The Vikings defense can bail him out on short punts, so he's not as big a liability as he should be

Cons:

-He has to be at least at his own 45 in order to pin opponents inside the 20
-The Vikings offense is prone to short drives and 3 and outs. Locke is unable to reverse field position when deep or even not-so deep in their own territory
-Not a good holder


Get rid of the guy for all I care...Jon Ryan will be available, but will come with a much higher price tag. The Vikings can probably afford him though unless they plan to go all out in free agency, but I just don't see that with this team. That's not their MO. Spending on a proven and reliable punter with what we know about the Vikings offense and defense could be a huge investment and solid piece of a championship team.

Maybe short drives but they were ranked #2 in 3 and outs.

Wow. Good call...I'm shocked. How about 3 and outs on the second series of the drive?

Seriously though, that's a Championship team percentage. They need to not stall so much...Dang...

So the Vikes are near the top of the league in 3 n outs as well as TOP.
Think about that for a minute or two and ask yourself what's the difference between and run run pass 3 n out, vs one that takes couple shots down the field?

Maybe Locke is sacrificing yardage for more hang time as some have suggested, but that goes against the Vikings' other punting stats. We are in the middle of the pack in terms of return yards allowed per kick, and toward the bottom of the league in terms of number of fair catch calls by opponent kick returners. I would assume both of these stats to be higher if Locke was putting more conservative distance on his kicks.

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