Packers Punter JK Scott Tried to Adjust His Mechanics and it Totally Messed Up His Game

Green Bay Packers punter JK Scott started off his second season in the NFL the best way any punter could. His booming leg racked up 428 punting yards in a Week 1 win over the Bears, and after that, he was on a roll.

But then in the middle of the season, in search of true perfection, he decided to mess around with the way he dropped the ball to see if he could get even more hang time on his punts. Unfortunately, his performance has slipped in a big way as a result.

In @WiStateJournal and on @madisondotcom ~ #Packers punter JK Scott fiddled with his drop in search of more hang time. Instead, it led to a three-game struggle that has him working to regain his early-season form. https://t.co/7tR8IIC01D
— Jason Wilde (@jasonjwilde) November 30, 2019

All it took was one bad game against the Chiefs using those new mechanics to completely devolve Scott from one of the league's best punters to one of its very worst.

The attempted mechanical tweak totally messed up a good thing. After averaging a season-high 55.3 yards per punt in Week 7 against the Raiders, he's managed just 36.6 yards per boot in four games. He has failed to top 40 yards per punt in any of those contests.

It’s time to officially worry about JK Scott, who’s putting together another poor second half. Gutey’s first draft is getting worse by the week.
— Michael Rodney (@PackersNotes) November 25, 2019

It's a staggering drop-off. Now, he faces the incredibly difficult task of trying to recapture the form that earned him so much recognition in the first place.

He needs to get out of his own head and start punting like there's a stick of dynamite strapped to his foot.

Grading the #Packers against the #Niners. Among the players that must play significantly better in December are P JK Scott, C Corey Linsley, QB Aaron Rodgers, OLB Rashan Gary and WR Davante Adams. https://t.co/EQ3kwmYqEc
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— Bob McGinn (@BobMcGinn) November 26, 2019

Punters often have a thankless job. Fans don't care to hear too much about when they're doing well, but are outraged when they're struggling in the way that Scott is.

Hopefully for his and the Packers' sake, he can regain his form and get back to his booming ways.