Sav Rocca says knee is sore, but doesn’t impact punts

Redskins punter Sav Rocca said that the torn meniscus in his right knee had nothing to do with his 12-yard punt against the Steelers, and that he believes he can continue to perform at a high level despite the injury.

The 38-year-old Rocca injured the knee while jogging two weeks ago, but hasn’t missed any playing time. He said he felt a pop, and having torn a lateral meniscus in his knee while playing for Philadelphia, he “knew straight away” what had happened.

The Redskins listed Rocca as “limited” with a knee injury all of that week, but it wasn’t until this past Monday that Coach Mike Shanahan revealed that Rocca was kicking with a torn meniscus.

Washington on Oct. 19 worked out three punters in the event that Rocca couldn’t play against the Giants.  Rocca ended up punting well enough the day before the Giants game to convince coaches that he would be fine. Doctors also said that Rocca wouldn’t cause further damage by punting on the injured knee.

“It’s sore, you know? But I want to keep my job, so I keep punting,” Rocca said. “I think it’s, you know, it’s in the back of my mind that it’s there. It is painful. I try to get by without [thinking about it]. You know, I can hit good punts with it, so I don’t blame it for having a bad punt.”

Rocca punted only once in that game — a 33-yarder – against New York. Sunday against Pittsburgh, he had three punts in addition to the 12-yarder. He had a long of 52 and averaged 37.8 yards a punt (his average this season is 36.6).

“I feel it more running or walking. I don’t feel it as much punting,” Rocca said. “The actual kick is OK. It’s my lead-up to the kick, the steps that I feel it. The planting that I feel it. The actual kick is fine. It’s the actual stepping, the running, the jogging when I feel it.

“I don’t feel like I can give everything, but I still have power to give most of it,” Rocca added.