For the second straight week a New England Patriot won the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week award. Punter Ken Walter was honored for his showing against Miami, just his latest of a string of strong performances.
Walter averaged 42.2 yards on five punts in the Patriots 20-13 victory over Miami Saturday. He pinned two of the kicks inside the 20-yard line and had a long of 48 yards.
Each week Walter has been making key plays in the kicking game, a major reason New England's punt coverage unit has been strong all season. Over the last five games he has put 15-of-25 punts inside the 20, after doing so with just five of his first 18 punts this year.
In his 10 games with New England Walter has dropped 46.5 percent (20-of-43) of his punts inside the 20. He is averaging 40.4 yards per punt, and his net average is a solid 39.2 yards, thanks to his high punts that allow the cover men to get down field to prevent lengthy returns.
Last week kicker Adam Vinatieri won the Special Teams Player of the Week award for his four-field goal game against Buffalo. Walter, Vinatieri, quarterback Tom Brady (twice) and wide receiver David Patten have all been honored with weekly conference awards this season.
