To keep kickers on edge while they searched for a replacement kicker during their offseason program last year, the Bears employed what coach Matt Nagy referred to as "Augusta silence," evoking the atmosphere on the 72nd hole at the Masters to simulate the pressure of a late-game field goal attempt.
Were the Vikings to take a similar tack in training camp practices over the next few weeks, the proper approach might be something resembling Augusta silence, interrupted by a timely taunt from a fellow golfer.
In some ways, that's what kicker Dan Bailey expects it to be like on the field this fall, when the NFL regular season begins with stadiums mostly or completely empty.
Fans do their part to ratchet up the pressure on kickers before a big field-goal attempt on the road — "You can almost kind of feel it your chest, like it would be going to an air show or something and those jets are flying by," Bailey said — but a quiet stadium presents a different set of challenges.
"Not having the crowd noise is going to be a lot more weird than we think it is," he said Monday in a video conference with reporters. "Sometimes you'll line up for a kick and … you can definitely at times — especially at home games — hear the other team yelling stuff at you before you're going to kick.
"In my head, I'm like, 'Well, there's no crowd noise or even a low crowd noise to block that out,' and that's something you're going to have to think about and get ready for. Hopefully, it doesn't throw you off or anything like that."
The banter from across the line of scrimmage is playful enough; Bailey said he has had opposing players facetiously offer him their game checks if he misses the kick.
The silence, though, is what can leave kickers at the mercy of their thoughts.