We saw some really ugly Vikings special teams play in 2008, especially on the punting team and it's return-coverage. Almost set a new NFL record of the sort you don't get to live down for decades. Granted, Farwell was out, but one man does not an entire coverage team make. Childress pointed the dirty finger at Kluwe, and while I think Childress was excessive in his public display of anger, I think he's right on target with who is responsible for the problem.

Chris Kluwe caught the rash because his punting wasn't accurate; he was told to put the ball on the sideline, and he dropped it in the center field instead. What also comes to mind, however, is the strength of his punting. If he was able to punt the ball high enough, he'd get the necessary hang-time that would allow our special teams guys to be standing around the receiver, waiting to cream him if a fair-catch wasn't called. That's always so nice to see, isn't it? Kinda ensures that there'll be no unpleasant punt returns that result in TDs. 

According to NFL.com, Kluwe's a upper-middling-ranked punter (#12), so it shouldn't be too hard to find an upgrade there.

If the Vikings were to consider a replacement punter in FA for Kluwe, according to WalterFootball.com, here's the best of who's available;

Rank 1 - Shane Lechler, Raiders, age 33, 48.8 yard average

Rank 7 - Sam Koch, Ravens, age 27, 45 yard average

Rank 38 - Matt Cassell, Patriots, 57 yard punt, he's only booted it once, but hey, maybe he works as a dual purpose player, lol. Shades of Bob Lee!

Thoughts on the subject?