New Orleans Saints Review

Tommy Barnhardt played for the Saints during 8 of his 14 years in the NFL.  He was one of the most consistent and productive punters in the NFL, finishing his career with a 42.1 average.  Tommy was so successful as a Saint, he was named to their 40th anniversary team, which recognizes him as the greatest punter in team history.

Tommy was kind enough to answer a few questions for The New Orleans Saints Review:

1. When you came to the Saints in 1987, the team was winning a lot of games.  Do any particular games or plays stand out to you?
My first Monday night game against the Eagles. I couldn’t believe how loud it was on the field..

2. Looking at your career numbers, you were very consistent and certainly one guy that coach Mora never had to worry about.  What was the key to your consistency?
My flexibility

3. The Saints were very fortunate to have both you and Morten Andersen leading the special teams.  Did you and Morten help to make each other better?
That was a big part of our competitiveness. We always held each other accountable and we always tried to make ourselves better by coming through in pressure situations.

4. When you were just coming into the league, were there any punters you admired and tried to emulate?
Ray Guy was my idol..

5. It seems like directional punting is a bit of a lost art these days. Are there any current players who are skilled at it?
Not real sure.. I don’t keep up with the game today

6. I noticed that you are working with former Saints kicker Doug Brien on Kicking.com.  Your profile says you are a “Virtual Punting Coach”.  How does that work?  Have you worked with aspiring punters in person as well?
Young punters can get in touch with us if they have any questions about technique or anything else of that matter.

Yes. I try to help as many young punters as I can. I know I would want to get advice from someone that has been through the battles before if I was in their shoes..

7. Do you still follow the Saints, and, if so, how do you like their chances are in 2009?
I like Coach Payton’s style.. I would have loved to had that type of offense with our defense. I think their chances are very good.

Rating:

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 24th, 2009 at 10:08 am and is filed under Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.