Amari Rodgers is only entering his second season in the NFL, so it's entirely possible he didn't have the book on Blake Gillikin quite yet.
But the cannon-legged Saints punter knew what he felt when he spotted the Packers' kick returner lined up no more than 45 yards downfield from where the ball was snapped: disrespect.
"That’s a little bit disrespectful to a punter," Gillikin said after the game. "I think of myself more highly than that, so I kinda put a little extra into it."
That little extra came in the form of an 81-yard punt, a kick that forced Rodgers to sprint a good 30 yards back toward his own end zone to have any chance of fielding. That's ties Tom McNeil for the longest punt in franchise history, a record that's held up for more than 40 years. And considering it was capped by the length of field, it technically went longer. Rodgers chose not to field the punt, and the only negative was that it bounded into the end zone for what went down as a 61-yard net kick.
More respect appeared to be given on the next kick. The ball was snapped from the Saints 31 yard line, and Gillikin sent it a clean 65 yards. Rodgers was back in plenty of time to make a play on this ball, which he fielded at his own 4. A holding penalty meant the Packers began that drive at their own 2 yard line.
If there is a lack of respect for Gillikin's leg around the league, that'll likely be changing soon. Gillikin's 11 kicks this preseason have gone for an average of 54.3 yards. The NFL leaders in that stat for the 2021 season topped out at 52.1.
"The season’s coming quick," Gillikin said. "It certainly waits for nobody ... so yea, it feels good to be in a groove and hopefully that continues into the season.”
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