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Just because the New Orleans Saints aren't quite having the individual statistical boom the players enjoyed last season, it doesn't mean there's no history in the making for punter Thomas Morstead.



Saints punter Thomas Morstead, right, appears to be the frontrunner for earning an NFC Pro Bowl bid as fan voting closes Monday.
Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune archive
Morstead, better known to his Twitter followers as "The Leg," could make NFL history after nearly doing so last season as the fourth-year punter is well on pace to capture the single season NFL record for best net punting average.

Morstead leads the NFL with a 44.7 net average, which is far more important than gross punt average which only accounts for how far he actually punted the ball. But Morstead is no slouch in gross punting average as he ranks second in the NFL booting the ball 50.3 yards per punt.

San Francisco's Andy Lee holds the single-season all-time record for best net punt average at 43.99 setting the record last season. Morstead does rank third all-time on the same list with a 43.11 net average in 2011.

"It would be pretty cool (to break Lee's record)," Morstead said. "It's kind of crazy to think about. The NFL is the greatest league in the world and has the best athletes in the world. A lot of great names have come through and it would be a pretty special honor. What's neat about it is that it's a team record. It's not how far I punted it's how far I punted minus how many return yards our team allowed. It's our punt team record. It's pretty cool."

Apparently Morstead has to break the all-time record in order to earn a Pro Bowl bid as Lee made last year's Pro Bowl while Morstead didn't make the trip to Honolulu even though he was the first alternate. It appears from his statistics and from the fan voting that Morstead is the front-runner to earn the Pro Bowl punting job.

Morstead led the NFC Pro Bowl voting at punter as of Dec. 12. The Pro Bowl voting ends Monday with the NFL announcing the roster Dec. 26.

"He's just one of those guys no different than Drew (Brees) or Darren (Sproles), I think Thomas when he comes in this building, he wants to be better and better and better," special teams coach Greg McMahon said recently. "I think 15 years from now, he's going to be like that. He's very rare in that. And, he works at his craft. He spends a lot of time studying it. He has a very good get off. He has a very good directional punt. ... He is definitely a weapon whether it's kicking off or punting. He's a good player."

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