Keep Away

Although the main stat most people look at for punters (at least, those few who ever look at punter stats) is average distance, the great punters are truly great for their ability to create angles and arcs that limit the potential for returns.

This weekend's Vikings/Bears match-up should be quite a challenge for Minnesota's chris Kluwe, who must try to keep the ball away from Chicago return specialist (and Public Enemy #1 for the NY Giants) rookie Devin Hestert.

Said Kluwe in the Twin City's Star-Tribune:

"I just need to be that extra bit more careful about trying to get the ball to the sideline, make sure he doesn't have a lot of field to work with," Kluwe said of his approach. "He's a very dynamic returner, so as much as possible [we want to] prevent him from returning the ball."

This should be a great special teams game to watch.