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COPYRIGHT 2005 Century Publishing
HE'S THE BUTT OF LOCKER-room jokes, and fans rarely recognize the name on the back of his uniform. Come contract time, he lives at the lowest point on the pay scale.
In the NFL, there is little love given to the punter.
But for the team that possesses a truly great punter, it's a luxury on par with having an elite tight end. Laugh at him, sure, but live without a good one? Forget it. Just ask Rich McKay, president and general manager of the Atlanta Falcons.
In January, McKay's club was one game away from reaching the Super Bowl. The 17-degree weather in Philadelphia for the NFC Championship Game was the perfect climate for a tug of war, a game in which the winner of the battle for field position would wind up in Jacksonville for the Super Bowl. Both punters--the Philadelphia Eagles' Dirk Johnson and Atlanta's Chris Mohr--kicked into the same elements that day, but Johnson handled them much better. He averaged 38.3 yards per punt compared to Mohr's 26.0 average. That 12-yard difference allowed the Eagles to work with a shorter field all afternoon, with an average starting position on their own 39-yard line. Atlanta's average starting position was on its own 26. The outcome: Philadelphia 27, Atlanta 10.
McKay won't...
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