While out of football for a year, Blair Walsh, who starred at Georgia, had time to reconsider his lot in life.
“Being on the streets is never fun,” Walsh said after his first practice Sunday with the Falcons.
Walsh, 29, went to the Pro Bowl and was named All-Pro as a rookie back in 2012 with the Vikings. He found himself out of the league after a promising start to his career. Now, Walsh is in a one-week kicking competition against Giorgio Tavecchio for the Falcons' kicking job.
The two will both play in the exhibition season finale against Jacksonville at 7 p.m. Thursday at EverBank Field.
Walsh’s NFL career started to go sideways after he missed a potential game-winning kick in the 2015 playoffs. With Seattle ahead 10-9 with 26 seconds to play, Walsh missed a 27-yard field attempt wide left.
Walsh missed eight more kicks over nine games in 2016 and was released by the Vikings.
In 2017, Walsh was signed by the Seahawks. After missing eight of 29 field goals, he was not re-signed. He didn't play in the league last season.
With Tavecchio struggling, Walsh, Younghoe Koo and Elliott Fry received tryouts Saturday with the Falcons. Walsh won the kick-battle and was signed to compete with Tavecchio for the job.
Walsh won the Falcons over with his accuracy.
“He threw a great workout to go through it,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. “We’ll let both guys kick this week. We’ll look at where we are at. That’s what we decided to do.”
The Falcons released veteran kicker Matt Bryant in February. He's healthy and ready to go, but the Falcons opted not to call him.
"We definitely discussed Matt, but we didn't bring him in for a workout," Quinn said.
Tavecchio has missed 4-of-8 field goal attempts over four exhibition games. Perhaps, the Falcons could have added some competition to the 90-man roster sooner.
“I don’t know if it’s hindsight, but anytime that you’re missing the mark, I think it’s the thing to do, what else do we need from a competition standpoint,” Quinn said.
After being released by Seattle, Walsh had to determine if he wanted to continue kicking and then hope for an opportunity.
“Just training hard and committing to this process,” Walsh said. “Being on the streets is never fun. But there are only 32 of us in the league. There are no backups. When that spot does come open and you get a chance to come in and compete. That’s all you can ask for.”
Walsh plans on winning the job.
“That’s what I’m here to do, just compete and show them what I can bring to the Falcons,” Walsh said. “We have a (exhibition) game Thursday, where I get to do that. So, it’s a great opportunity, honestly.”
The time away from football allowed Walsh a period for introspection.
“I just kind of reassessed where I was at physically and mentally as a kicker,” Walsh said. “I made some changes. I started working more with a sports performance coach. I put about 10 pounds on, which I needed to.”
Walsh contends that he’s a changed kicker.
“I feel good,” Walsh said. “I’m hitting the ball strong. I’ve got a little bit of a renewed attitude here. I’ve always been a hard worker and somebody who’s committed to their craft, but like I said, being out of the league for a year makes you even hungrier to come back and prove to yourself and others that you can still be a really good kicker in this league.”
Some contend that Walsh hasn’t been the same since he missed the 27-yard chip-shot in the playoff game.
“It’s a fair question,” Walsh said. “It’s a fair point. But the way I’ve always looked at it, that was an isolated moment. As much as people want to harp on it and talk about it, it something (that) doesn’t cross my mind and I don’t think about.
“I go out here every day, I want to compete and I want to make kicks. I want to perform for my team. That one moment that happened however many years ago, it’s not on my mind whenever I’m playing or when I’m just being myself. It’s just not.”
In five years with the Vikings, Walsh converted 133-of-158 field-goal attempts, including 24 field goals at 50-plus yards. In 2017, with Seattle he was 21 of 29.
#Falcons PK Blair Walsh said he’s here to compete. “May the best man win.” pic.twitter.com/uADztdPnYn
— D. Orlando Ledbetter (@DOrlandoAJC) August 25, 2019
But can the Falcons decide on the kicker based off a week of practice and one exhibition game?
“You can’t focus on that,” Walsh said. “The only thing I can focus on is showing them what I have. What they use to make the decision is up to them. I know that Giorgio is a great kicker and a great guy.
“But I’m here to compete and be the Falcons kicker for the 2019 season. That’s the way I’m approaching it and that’s how I’m looking at it. May the best guy win.”
Walsh doesn’t know how the kicks attempts will be distributed.
“I just know that when my number is called, I’m ready,” Walsh said. “I’m ready to go.”
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