ChiefsKing
09-18-2005, 09:29 AM
The emblem on Chris Kluwe's shorts was testament to the fact that job security doesn't come easily for rookie punters in the NFL.
Four days after averaging 54.3 yards on four punts, Kluwe walked out of the Winter Park locker room wearing shorts with the logo of his former employer, the Seattle Seahawks.
This did not go unnoticed.
"What is that?" long snapper Cullen Loeffler said.
"It's the only shorts I have. Give me some of your shorts," Kluwe shot back.
If Kluwe booms the ball against Cincinnati on Sunday like he did in the opener -- his average was the second-best in team history -- he likely will be given as many pairs of Vikings shorts as he wants.
"The young kid is just scratching the surface," coach Mike Tice said. "He has got a big leg, and he's very composed."
His composure was the most impressive thing about Kluwe in his first game as a Viking.
Punting before a crowd of 60,000-plus at the Metrodome that included five family members, Kluwe hit a 62-yarder in the second quarter on his first attempt and a 55-yarder on his second. He set a team record for the longest initial NFL punt.
Kluwe, 23, said a combination of concentration and technique are the keys to his success.
"What I do is I focus in on the ball and really make sure I concentrate on it because that tends to drive everything else out of my mind," he said. "If I'm focusing in on it, you get that tunnel vision and everything else kind of fades away."
A baseball player at Los Alamitos High School in California, Kluwe combines that focus with something that was drilled into his head in the batting cage: Keep your head tucked and your eye on the ball.
"By focusing in on the ball I found that I kicked it a lot better than when I kind of pulled my head up early to see where it was going," he said. "I actually got it from baseball where you follow the ball in and when you swing through you still keep your head down where the ball was."
That the 6-4, 215-pound Kluwe also has a leg that appears to be turbocharged doesn't hurt. On Friday, he launched a ball into the ceiling of the Vikings' indoor practice facility. The ball hit one of the hanging lights in the roof, knocking it to the ground and sending Loeffler running for cover.
The damaged light sat on the back of a cart for the rest of practice.
Tice's favorite thing about Kluwe might be how fast he gets his punts off.
"This young man averaged a 1.87 get-off in the game," Tice said. "Virtually, you could have a guy run free and they can't block the kick. So that's the great thing."
A soccer player growing up, Kluwe gave punting a try in high school.
"Normally, you get the soccer guys out there who are kickers and really don't know how to punt," said Vikings receiver Keenan Howry, a teammate of Kluwe's at Los Alamitos. "But actually, coming in his first year on the varsity as a sophomore, he could punt."
Kluwe eventually shifted his focus primarily to football and received a scholarship to UCLA. Last season he averaged 43.4 yards per punt, ranking second in the Pac-10 and 14th in the nation. He was one of three finalists for the Ray Guy Award, which goes to the top college punter.
The Seahawks signed Kluwe as a rookie free agent in April; he averaged 42.1 yards per punt and 38.6 net in nine preseason kicks. Seattle, though, decided to play it safe and kept veteran punter and former Viking Leo Araguz. The Seahawks wanted to stash Kluwe on their practice squad, but the Vikings grabbed him off waivers on Sept. 4 after cutting struggling veteran Darren Bennett.
Kluwe didn't exactly come to Minnesota with job security. A day after he arrived, the Vikings brought in three veteran punters for auditions. Unfazed, Kluwe kept the job.
After his Week 1 performance, it appears to be all his -- at least for now.
"They haven't told me," Kluwe said. "The way I figure is if I just go out and keep kicking well hopefully there will be no reason for them to replace me. If they do, hopefully someone else likes what they see. But I would love to stay here permanently; I just have to go out, kick well and make it hard for them to let me go."
He's off to a good start. Now, about those shorts ...
http://www.startribune.com/stories/503/5619695.html
Four days after averaging 54.3 yards on four punts, Kluwe walked out of the Winter Park locker room wearing shorts with the logo of his former employer, the Seattle Seahawks.
This did not go unnoticed.
"What is that?" long snapper Cullen Loeffler said.
"It's the only shorts I have. Give me some of your shorts," Kluwe shot back.
If Kluwe booms the ball against Cincinnati on Sunday like he did in the opener -- his average was the second-best in team history -- he likely will be given as many pairs of Vikings shorts as he wants.
"The young kid is just scratching the surface," coach Mike Tice said. "He has got a big leg, and he's very composed."
His composure was the most impressive thing about Kluwe in his first game as a Viking.
Punting before a crowd of 60,000-plus at the Metrodome that included five family members, Kluwe hit a 62-yarder in the second quarter on his first attempt and a 55-yarder on his second. He set a team record for the longest initial NFL punt.
Kluwe, 23, said a combination of concentration and technique are the keys to his success.
"What I do is I focus in on the ball and really make sure I concentrate on it because that tends to drive everything else out of my mind," he said. "If I'm focusing in on it, you get that tunnel vision and everything else kind of fades away."
A baseball player at Los Alamitos High School in California, Kluwe combines that focus with something that was drilled into his head in the batting cage: Keep your head tucked and your eye on the ball.
"By focusing in on the ball I found that I kicked it a lot better than when I kind of pulled my head up early to see where it was going," he said. "I actually got it from baseball where you follow the ball in and when you swing through you still keep your head down where the ball was."
That the 6-4, 215-pound Kluwe also has a leg that appears to be turbocharged doesn't hurt. On Friday, he launched a ball into the ceiling of the Vikings' indoor practice facility. The ball hit one of the hanging lights in the roof, knocking it to the ground and sending Loeffler running for cover.
The damaged light sat on the back of a cart for the rest of practice.
Tice's favorite thing about Kluwe might be how fast he gets his punts off.
"This young man averaged a 1.87 get-off in the game," Tice said. "Virtually, you could have a guy run free and they can't block the kick. So that's the great thing."
A soccer player growing up, Kluwe gave punting a try in high school.
"Normally, you get the soccer guys out there who are kickers and really don't know how to punt," said Vikings receiver Keenan Howry, a teammate of Kluwe's at Los Alamitos. "But actually, coming in his first year on the varsity as a sophomore, he could punt."
Kluwe eventually shifted his focus primarily to football and received a scholarship to UCLA. Last season he averaged 43.4 yards per punt, ranking second in the Pac-10 and 14th in the nation. He was one of three finalists for the Ray Guy Award, which goes to the top college punter.
The Seahawks signed Kluwe as a rookie free agent in April; he averaged 42.1 yards per punt and 38.6 net in nine preseason kicks. Seattle, though, decided to play it safe and kept veteran punter and former Viking Leo Araguz. The Seahawks wanted to stash Kluwe on their practice squad, but the Vikings grabbed him off waivers on Sept. 4 after cutting struggling veteran Darren Bennett.
Kluwe didn't exactly come to Minnesota with job security. A day after he arrived, the Vikings brought in three veteran punters for auditions. Unfazed, Kluwe kept the job.
After his Week 1 performance, it appears to be all his -- at least for now.
"They haven't told me," Kluwe said. "The way I figure is if I just go out and keep kicking well hopefully there will be no reason for them to replace me. If they do, hopefully someone else likes what they see. But I would love to stay here permanently; I just have to go out, kick well and make it hard for them to let me go."
He's off to a good start. Now, about those shorts ...
http://www.startribune.com/stories/503/5619695.html