WINDERMERE, Fla. – Kickers have a rough time and get some (unnecessary) rough messages from fans when they miss important kicks.
So when former Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings kicker Ryan Longwell was asked of his opinion on Blair Walsh's short miss that cost the Vikings their NFC wild-card game, he hoped that observers would look closer at the whole situation.
“My analysis is more about the operation of the kick than it is of Blair," said Longwell, who was briefly Walsh's teammate in the 2012 offseason. "It’s the snapper’s job to throw it back there with the laces forward, and he missed twice that game.