Interview: Punter Jeff Locke

After the Wednesday afternoon practice I was able to snag punter Jeff Locke for a very brief interview.  It seems fitting that the very first Vikings player I've ever interviewed is a punter, because that also happens to be the same topic as my very first front page article.  I was not particularly kind to Jeff Locke in that article, but I have a feeling he's going to be a much improved player in 2014.  In any case, I didn't get a chance to get my voice recorder app going, so what follows is a paraphrase of the interview.

CCN: So, I saw you throwing passes there with the punt team at the end of practice, how was that?

Locke: Oh god, I threw a few ducks out there didn't I.

CCN: Ha, is that something we can expect to see in a game this season?

Locke: Oh, I don't know, we're just running some fake plays to potentially keep the other team off balance.  I can't really speak to any potential game plans, that's up to the coaches.

CCN: So, does this mean you might be the #4 quarterback in emergency situations?

Locke: Ha ha, no.  I would expect Kain Colter to be the #4 guy, and then probably Cullen Loeffler.  Loeffler throws a better ball than I do.

DN: Wow, interesting, well thank you for taking a few seconds and speaking with me, and it was nice to meet you.

Locke: No problem, nice to meet you too, thanks!

I have to admit, I was scared sh**less to approach any of the players for an interview, and I was not really as prepared as I should have been to do it.  But, I saw Locke approaching and thought it might be fun to talk to him about his throwing session.  As a result, I think I may have inadvertently gotten some interesting information about the emergency quarterback depth chart, don't you think?  We've joked in some of the open threads here at the Daily Norseman about Kain Colter being a potential quarterback, but the notion certainly doesn't seem as far-fetched at this point, especially with Locke basically confirming that Colter is likely the #4 guy after Ponder.  Perhaps that gives Colter some more value on the roster and gives him better odds of making the team?

And yes, Locke's throwing was really not all that great, sad to say.  He did have one nice looking throw to close out the session as I noted on Twitter, but if the team is relying on Jeff Locke as an emergency quarterback, we're in a world of hurt.  His punting today looked great on the far side of the field for what it's worth, so I'm hopeful that he's able to prove some of the doubters wrong (myself included) after a mixed rookie year.  Thanks to Jeff Locke for taking a second to speak with me after practice.  You can follow him on twitter: @jefflocke18.