WWLTV.com's 10 Indispensable Saints 2013
No. 6: P Thomas Morstead (+3 from 2012, 3-time list member)
Credit: (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
A punter, you say?
Yes, a punter. And one of the league’s best. When the Saints’ offense is struggling, Thomas Morstead is the team’s biggest weapon. On about 4-5 snaps a game, he’s having a huge impact.
Morstead nearly set an NFL record in 2012 for net punting average at 43.2 yards per punt. He has the league’s No. 3 and No. 4 seasons in the category and shows no signs of letting up.
The fifth-year punter is New Orleans’ all-time leader in both gross (47.1) and net (40.3) averages.
Morstead earned his first-ever Pro Bowl berth on the back of a campaign in which he averaged at least 45 yards per punt eight times. He pinned 20 punts inside the 20-yard line and only six of his punts bounced into the end zone for touchbacks.
But he’s more than just a punter. The team relies on Morstead for kickoffs. He was tied for sixth in the NFL in 2012 with 45 touchbacks, or on 50 percent of his kicks, and 78.3 percent of his kicks reached at least the end zone.
His worth, though, comes in his ability to answer the call just about every time the Saints ask him to change the field position.
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