Green Bay Packers punter JK Scott spent his offseason working toward something that has eluded him in his first two NFL seasons — consistency.
“There’s a couple of things that go into that,” Scott told reporters last week, “and things that I was focusing on this offseason.
“One is just kind of the physical managing my body throughout the season and just kind of the physical fatigue and those types of things. I have a little bit of a different strategy this year with that.
“And the other thing is just when you’ve got to get into some different conditions and wind, those type of things, you kind of got to make some adjustments and not just hit away, hit bombs. You’ve kind of got to make some adjustments, and those were also some things I was focusing on this offseason that I plan on doing this year to help with that.”
With more punts than any player in Alabama history, Scott holds the Crimson Tide school records for punting average in a season at 48.0 yards in 2014 and punting average in a career at 45.6.
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That turned him into a fifth-round draft choice of the Packers in 2018, and while he’s shown a record-worthy leg at times in the NFL, it just hasn’t been all the time.
Last season, Scott averaged 49.2 yards on his 35 punts through the first seven games. Over the next four games, Scott averaged 36.6 yards on 18 punts.
For the entire 2019 campaign, Scott averaged 44.0 yards on 77 punts, which ranked 28th in the NFL. His net average was 39.9, which ranked 24th in the league.
In last season’s NFC Championship Game, Scott nailed a 62-yard punt. But he also got off a 23-yarder that put San Francisco at the Green Bay 37-yard line and set up a touchdown as the 49ers took a 17-point lead in the second quarter on their way to a 37-20 victory.
Scott was asked if he’d been hit by the flu bug that swept through the Packers the week of the NFC title game.
“I was pretty sick,” Scott said. “I kind of wasn’t keeping anything down. I was like throwing up and that whole thing, so I definitely kind of lacked some strength and was kind of not feeling 100 percent.
“But I’ve actually had games before — not in the NFL, but in college and high school — where I’ve kind of had that, where I’ve been sick and had to go to a game. I feel like it’s more of a mental thing. You’ve got to prepare mentally to kind of stay within yourself and not try to do anything crazy because sometimes when you’re not feeling 100 percent, you try to kick harder, you swing harder, do something to try to make up for it.”
The loss sent Scott into what turned into a unique offseason. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the NFL mandated that its teams hold online offseason programs. That kept Scott from working on the field with the Green Bay coaches, Packers long snapper Hunter Bradley and kicker Mason Crosby, for whom Scott serves as holder.
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To compound matters, Bradley spent Aug. 3 through Aug. 19 out of action on reserve/COVID-19 after training camp started.
“The virtual offseason was interesting,” Scott said. “It was good for me. I was able to just keep my training going, the training I’ve been doing on my own. I was able to do that and continue to kick. I had my dad and some different people helping me with that.
“Really the thing about Hunter and us getting into a rhythm, that’s something that over the last couple of weeks we’ve really been able to do. And that’s something that really doesn’t take a whole lot of time — to get into a rhythm with Hunter. We’ve already had two seasons, so we’ve kind of gotten into a rhythm, so that wasn’t really an issue, in my opinion.”
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1.
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