Cincinnati Bengals punter Kevin Huber can read the room.
With his punts underperforming and giving the teams some problems, there’s clear pressure from Drue Chrisman as the team evaluates whether to make a change at the position.
Huber, to his credit, isn’t backing down when asked about his play and the situation as a whole.
“It’s no secret to anybody. I haven’t punted well in a game. I haven’t been transferring over what I’ve been doing in practice and pregame to the game,” Huber said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “So, when I talk to people, practice and pregame is like I’m a driving game scratch golfer. Then I get in the game and I’m trying to tee off No. 1 at Augusta as a 20 handicap. It’s just a little disconnect right now between practice and the game and it’s been tough. It hasn’t been a great year so far. It’s just something I’ve been trying to work with.”
Funnily enough, Hobson notes that Huber got some injections in his leg while resting up over the bye week, something he did last week too.
The goal is to keep the job and improve the play
“I know I can still punt,” Huber said, per Hobson. “I’ve been punting really well in practice. I’ve been punting really well in pregame and as a positive, it’s there. It’s not like everything is gone. It’s just in the game, which is obviously the most important. Practice, at the end of the day, doesn’t really matter. It’s what I do in games.”
With the Bengals one of the worst punting teams in the league and coaches unhappy with the inability to create favorable fields, special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons has been very open about considering a change.
For his part, Chrisman says he’s ready if called upon. But Huber has sights on a second-half surge not unlike what the team as a whole hopes it can accomplish.
