Vikings' Blair Walsh airs out frustration with questions on kicking woes
MINNEAPOLIS – Blair Walsh hadn’t missed a kick in his past three games before he bonked an extra point off the right upright in the third quarter Sunday, then had a field goal blocked in the fourth quarter of the Minnesota Vikings’ 22-16 overtime loss to the Detroit Lions.
Walsh heard boos from the crowd, as he has after every miss since a hook from 27 yards cost the Vikings a playoff win back in January. And the fifth-year kicker made clear his frustration with answering familiar questions from reporters who gathered at his locker after the game.
“They didn’t go in, man,” Walsh said. “You watched it.”
Asked if the extra point felt good coming off his foot and if he was shocked it didn’t go through, Walsh said: “Obviously not. It didn’t go in, right? I mean, you guys are going to ask me this question a million times: ‘Did it feel good?’ Did I make it? No, I didn’t. Do I have to? Yes. Do I want to? Yes. If you’ve got something else, please. Seriously.”
Walsh said he wasn’t frustrated with the media specifically, but rather, “It’s just that you guys have got to understand – what do you want the answer to be?”
As for the 46-yard field goal attempt, which seemed to come out low and allow Lions defensive tackle Tyrunn Walker to knock it down, Walsh said: “Probably didn’t hit it well enough.”
Signed to a four-year contract extension in July 2015 that included $5.25 million in guarantees, Walsh, 26, is now 12-of-16 on field-goal attempts (75%) this season and has missed three of 16 extra-point attempts. He has made 84.2% of his field-goal attempts in his career.
Vikings coach Mike Zimmer sidestepped a question about his confidence in Walsh at his postgame media conference, saying it wasn’t the day to make evaluations.
Does Walsh feel he has the backing of the Vikings locker room?
“I have no idea. I would hope so,” Walsh said. “I’ve been in this league long enough and I’ve had success, but I’m in a place where I’ve got to make kicks. And I know that. I need to be there for my team. So that’s really what it comes down to.”
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