Skip Bayless: Kickers Aren’t Football Players

On the Monday edition of “First Take” on ESPN2, co-host Skip Bayless reacted to the Minnesota Vikings 10-9 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday that saw Vikings kicker Blair Walsh shank a 27-yard game-winning field goal with 22 seconds remaining.

Although Walsh made his three other field goal attempts to give the Vikings all of their points for the day, Bayless made his hate for field goal kicking known, saying kickers have “nothing really to do with the game of football.”

“I hate field goal kicking. I’m fine with punting in football; I hate field goal kicking. At the end of the game, this little dude runs on the field who has nothing really to do with the game of football. Can he play football? Is he a football player? Not in my book,” Bayless said.  “Blair Walsh, he’s not a football player. He trots on to the field and you never know when they’re gonna go south mentally. I don’t know what it is about this species of ‘subspecies’ of football player.”