Seahawks coach Pete Carroll wasn’t the only member of the organization who opted to be both literal and philosophical after a Monday night blunder. Kicker Blair Walsh, the reigning admiral of the missed field goal, served also as captain of the obvious after the loss, sealed by a 52-yard field that came up short.
“Obviously I need to drive it a little more to get it there,” Walsh told reporters. “So in hindsight, that’s what I would do is drive it more and not leave it short.”
He thought the kick was good when he hit it -- as did anyone else who has gotten used to seeing kickers routinely put enough oomph on attempts in the 50-55-yard range.
“That was in our range and in hindsight, I would’ve just driven it more,” Walsh said. “I would’ve driven it more and not left it short. I was too accurate and didn’t have enough on it. . . .
“It’s tough when you’re not there for your team in a moment like that. I’ll keep working my tail off and committing to what I’m doing. I was happy with everything else that I did in the game but it’s tough that the last play is what it comes down to. That’s part of football.”
Part of modern NFL football is having a kicker with the ability to consistently drive the ball far enough to make a field goal of less than 55 yards. Ultimately, that’s what’s the most surprising about Walsh’s latest miss. It’s easy to understand wide left or wide right. Short, when the distance is anything less than 55 yards, makes no sense.
Unless the unspoken truth is that Walsh was so concerned about hitting it straight that he didn’t hit it hard enough. Anyone who has ever golfed can relate to that one, and that may be the best explanation for what ultimately transpired.