Chiefs punter Dustin Colquitt critiques Marcus Peters’ form: ‘You can tell he’s done it before’

Marcus Peters is a Pro Bowl cornerback who says he also wants to be a backup punter. And even if he’s not completely serious, we know there is some truth behind every joke.

Now, technically, the Chiefs are not in the market for a backup punter. Like most teams, that job goes to the place-kicker.

But football teams are obsessive about planning for every scenario. Two and a half weeks ago, with Alex Smith injured and Nick Foles playing, Anthony Sherman and Spencer Ware were next in line at quarterback.

And, if the last two games are any indication, the Chiefs may have the NFL’s best punter depth.

“No kidding,” said Dustin Colquitt, the Pro Bowler and league’s highest-paid punter. “I think a lot of people think (Peters) might be our punter. He obviously got more attention than I have in the last 12 years on two punts.”

Nobody enjoys helping a man who may someday replace him, but Colquitt was kind enough to take a few minutes in the Chiefs’ locker room on Wednesday to analyze video of Peters’ latest punt.

It was the second consecutive week that Peters — who was, actually, his high school team’s punter — booted the ball into the stands. He did it in the Jaguars game after the Chiefs forced a fumble at the goal line, and he did it against Carolina after his incredible strip of Panthers receiver Kelvin Benjamin effectively won the game.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid has been plain about discouraging Peters’ punts. On Sunday, he said he would try to block the next one, and here we can all agree that we hope there is some truth in that joke, because that would be amazing.

Peters, for his part, has told reporters and teammates he is done punting. But as long as it’s only a five-yard delay of game penalty, who knows? Maybe Peters can get some practice in.

He has some talent, too. You can see it when he gets up from being tackled after the strip, takes five quick steps and then plants with his left foot, dropping the ball in front of him, swinging that right leg through with vicious force. In the still frame, you can see his eyes where they’re supposed to be, watching the ball into his foot, and on the video the follow through is smooth and compact.

“Perfect rugby style, nice hang time, good form,” Colquitt said watching the video. “End-over-end, just a bomb into the stands. You can tell he’s done it before.”

Games can be decided on punts, and over the years the Chiefs have won more than they’ve lost here. Colquitt is one of the game’s best, a rare combination of consistency, loft, distance and accuracy when asked to put it near the goal line.

Peters has some raw tools to get started as a punter, but like anyone trying to be the best at something, there are finer points to clean up.

“He hit the laces,” Colquitt said. “So I’m sure that didn’t feel too good.”

The basic mechanics of punting call for you to form something of a “C” when you make contact. So while your leg is out powering through the ball, your upper body is hunched over a bit, cupped, like you’re sitting down.

Peters’ “C” is strong.

“Needs a little more bend in his knee,” Colquitt said. “And usually in punters, that right hand comes across the body. Other than that, it’s perfect.”

Punters don’t get much shine in the NFL, but they do dream, and Colquitt has always thought that if he ever scored a touchdown he’d kick the ball into the stands. Nobody’d ever done that, at least not much, but now Peters is making it a weekly routine, like some regular poker game with the guys.

“So he just showed me how to do it,” Colquitt said. “And I would try to hit the upper deck.”

Colquitt didn’t mean it like this, but that’s where he has the advantage. Peters’ punts were higher than they were far, but if he ever wanted to reach the upper deck, he’d need both the “X” and “Y” axis.

This is where Colquitt’s advantage comes in. Peters may be the Chiefs’ third-string punter, with some ambition to move up the depth chart, but Colquitt is the only man on the roster with upper-deck power.

Well, at least until Peters fixes the laces, bends his knee a bit, and gets that right hand coming across the body at contact.

“That’ll come with practice,” Colquitt said, laughing. “Yeah, he’ll get it.

This story was originally published November 16, 2016 at 4:14 PM with the headline "Chiefs punter Dustin Colquitt critiques Marcus Peters’ form: ‘You can tell he’s done it before’."