Justin Tucker Is Hitting The Weight Room Hard Because Of New Kickoff Rules
Kickers are now more important than ever in terms of covering returns. They have to be able to tackle. It’s just a reality of the new rule changes. Justin Tucker is switching up his training routine because of the new rules.
Tucker, arguably the greatest kicker in NFL history, weighed in on what’s doing to adjust to the new reality of the kickoff return.
“We are in the lab, and, more recently, my lab has actually been the weight room,” Tucker said Thursday, according to Nick Shook of NFL.com. “This might be really surprising to a lot of you guys and a lot of my teammates because I don’t (tend) to hang out in the weight room too frequently.
“But after watching a lot of these XFL plays over the last couple of years, the kicker seems to be involved in 20-25% of the tackles, so I’ve mixed it up a couple of times, I’ve gotten in there. But now I’ve got to get some more shrugs, get the traps going a little just to make sure I’m prepared for a little more contact.”
“Just like a pitcher tries to develop his stuff, I’m doing the same thing out here trying to figure out whichever way we can in our minds gain an advantage, gain an edge,” Tucker said. “Whether that means putting the ball in different spots, making it challenging for a returner to scoop up the ball easily. All those things we’re looking at right now.”
Tucker, 34, has a grand total of eight tackles during his NFL career. He might match that total just this year if things shake out the way we think they will.
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