Blair Walsh does his job in short bursts, and he usually does it well.
But after a rough start which is one of the few flaws in the Vikings’ 4-0 start, the veteran kicker didn’t have too much to say.
According to Chad Graff of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Walsh answered eight questions with 10 clipped sentences in 59 seconds, which is about all the time you’d think anyone would want to discuss his struggles.
“Being in the NFL, you’ve got to make kicks,” Walsh said. “That’s part of your job.”
Asked how he was feeling, and Walsh replied: “Fine.” Asked if constantly being asked about misses was getting old, he said: “It’s, . . . whatever.”
Walsh has missed three field goals and two extra points this season, which is out of character for him. He hit 87.2 percent of his field goals last year, but his playoff miss was a haunting memory, and this year’s struggle has kept it at the front of minds.
Vikings coach Mike Zimmer responded, “No, not yet,” when asked if they were bringing in kickers for tryouts, which is hardly an endorsement. Asked if he had any extra words of encouragement for his kicker, Zimmer replied: “No. I don’t talk to Eric Kendricks when he makes a bad play. We correct it and move on. That’s what we do here.”
Others were more generous.
“You can ask anyone in this locker room: We have the utmost faith in Blair,” punter Jeff Locke said. “We have no doubt that he’s going to get on a roll here and make every kick coming up. We have no doubts in this locker room.”
Maybe they have some doubts, as he’s missed at least one kick in three of their four games. So far, it hasn’t been costly, but he knows how precarious his position could be.