Vikings Message Board.Com

Mothman wrote:I get the feeling he's coached to get good hang time and minimize returns more than to kick for distance..

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.

PurpleKoolaid wrote: But it isnt only his punting thats at fault (or what I think is at fault), its his holding the ball for FG's and PATs. Unless Walsh told him to hold the ball at different angles, and sometimes with the hashtags out. To me he is nothing special. Try and fix that, and try and find someone better, coach him up, and then have someone better. If we lose, we still wont be worse then just having Locke (I dont think). I think they use the wrong philosophy with linemen too. They are the most important bunch, yet we hardly had depth, let alone starters this year.

Punter Jeff Locke had another subpar season in 2015. He pinned opponents inside their 20-yard line more often than he did in 2014 and booted one fewer touchback. But for the second straight season, his net punting average dipped. He ranked 30th in the NFL with a 37.8-yard average.

Blair Walsh will be under the microscope this spring and summer after missing the would-be game-winner in the playoff loss to the Seahawks. But he is not the only Vikings specialist who should be scrutinized.

Punter Jeff Locke had another subpar season in 2015. He pinned opponents inside their 20-yard line more often than he did in 2014 and booted one fewer touchback. But for the second straight season, his net punting average dipped. He ranked 30th in the NFL with a 37.8-yard average.

Under special teams coordinator Mike Priefer, the Vikings ask their punters to sacrifice some gross punting yards in order to limit or completely eliminate return yardage. And for the most part, Locke did that.

Only 43.9 percent of his punts were returned, which ranked 14th in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. And opposing returners averaged just 5.2 yards when they did return them, the league’s fifth-stingiest mark.

But still, for a team that so heavily relies on defense and field position to win, they can’t afford to leave so many punting yards on the field.

Locke is trending in the wrong direction there.

dead_poet wrote:Time for the Vikings to bring in competition for punter Jeff Locke?

http://www.startribune.com/time-for-the ... witterfeed

I agree. I think he can work on his holding, but if we can get a punter with good holding experience, we should go in that direction

The Breeze wrote:I'm not so sure averages and net averages are a clear indicators of field position when it comes to punting.
I'd like a guy who could pretty consistantly boom it 50plus when punting from behind his own 30. Wouldn't we all? I'd take an 8-9 yd return on a 50 yd punt vs a 5-6 yd return on 42yarder.
In the end I'm not sure how big a difference it makes unless the guy is one extreme or the other. Locke is pretty mediocre as far as NFL punters go, IMO. Not what I hoped for when they drafted him, as I was content with Kluwe (salary aside).
I'm more concerned about his reliability as a holder.
I think he should be faced with some competition and really have to work on all aspects of his game, jut like everyone else. If some guy comes in and kills it...sign him. I don't think i'd feel good about drafting another punter though...unless the guy was the real deal.