Vikings: Blair Walsh may have to work on hang time

Minnesota Vikings kicker Blair Walsh may be called upon to work on an aspect of his game that kickers are rarely asked to worry about.

Kicking off is pretty simple: You hit it as hard as you can in hopes of pinning the returner as deep as possible. Occasionally you are asked to onside or squib kick and less frequently you are asked to kick the ball high and short.

A change in NFL rules may however add a little wrinkle to the kicking game that we haven’t seen before.

This year, teams will get the ball at the 25 on touchbacks. You’d think this would automatically mean fewer chances for returners, with teams taking a more risk-averse approach to deciding when to bring the ball out of the end zone, but there’s a line of thinking that says it could actually mean fewer kicks going into the end zone and therefore more returns.

We discussed this before on TVA: What if the new rule encourages teams to try more high, short kicks in an attempt to pin returners deep?

There are some in the NFL who think this strategy might be viable in certain situations, and one of those people is Mike Priefer:

So in addition to working on his confidence, Blair Walsh this summer may be asked to work on his hang-time. Don’t forget that these pop-up kicks also have to be executed without accidentally booting them out of bounds.

Next: Zimmer on Bridgewater

Look at all the extra pressure that is being put on kickers with these new rules. First they move the extra point back, then they put in a touchback rule that might actually require kickers to develop more touch off the tee.

If this keeps up, kickers might go on strike demanding more pay.