Should we be worried about the punting situation?
by Sproo44 on May 1, 2010 5:28 PM CDT
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Neither of our punters have any NFL experience. Tim Masthay was an All-SEC punter at Kentucky and spent time with Indianapolis last year during the preseason, but didn't get any game experience before being released. Chris Bryan is a 28-year-old rookie who is attempting to learn the American game after spending five seasons playing Australian Rules Football. Last years punter, Jeremy Kapinos, was just awful. He won the job over Derrick Frost who was signed to take Jon Ryan's job. Ted Thompson cut Jon Ryan following the 2008 Pre-season. After week 1 of the regular season Jon Ryan was claimed by Seattle where he broke the franchise record of 45.6 yards per punt, which was easily the leagues best. Then Ted Thompson went on to cut the great Derrick Frost on December 1st. Mike Mcarthy seems confident in Masthay and Bryan. He said, "There's definitely more talent with these two guys than there has been in the past, and that's definitely a big step in the right direction." I think he means three steps back one step forward. I was the punter on my 5th grade flag football team and after watching Kapinos stink it up last season I know I have more talent than that so I'm headed to Green Bay for a try out. Wish me luck guys!
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Um, no I don’t necessarily think so. Mathsay seemed to be a respectable punter a Kentucky and Bryan, like some other plays from the Australian league, has a chance to make the switch to the NFL. From what I’ve read, it seems like the two of them at least have big legs. That’s where Kapinos screwed us. Not only did he have a noodle leg but he couldn’t place his punts either. If either can at least punt the ball farther it’ll be an improve. Even if they don’t work out though, I don’t think it can get any worse then Kapinos.
You need to add a word to that question...
… “Should we STILL be worried about the punting situation?”
Our punting/kicking has been barely adequate in its best moments the last few years and a lot worse than that on other days.
What begins in fear usually ends in folly.
by Ted Simmons Speed Camp on May 2, 2010 12:42 PM CDT reply actions
A respectable punter at Kentucky and a 28 year old Austalian league punter should worry you! No one wanted these guys and thats why their in Green Bay! Lets hope they can pull a rabbit out of their hat or where in trouble again. Our defense was so good last season despite a couple bad games. If we had a punter who could back the other team up we would be even better! Your right that it probably can not get much worse. The thing is it needs to get A LOT better!
They don’t worry me any more then Kapinos. Like I said above, both are supposed to have big legs, which to me, is all that really matters. We got screwed all the time with Kapinos because he could only punt the ball 35-40 yards, and couldn’t keep the ball in the air any longer then 3 seconds.
I think Mathsay averaged in the low 40’s at Kentucky, and Bryan showed some good leg power in a youtube video posted on here a while back. Who knows how either will perform but regardless, I don’t think it can get any worse then it was last year.
by packallday555 on May 2, 2010 2:13 PM CDT up reply actions
Reread this
Share Punter Tim Masthay Signs
by Brandon on Jan 14, 2010 9:12 PM PST in News 6 comments
JSOnline.com reported that the Green Bay Packers signed P Tim Masthay. NFL Draft Scout says he might be a better kickoff specialist then punter, but as a punter he was a first team All-SEC selection in 2008. He signed with the Colts after the draft, but was waived in August. He’s also tried out Buccaneers and Patriots. It looks like he’s got a powerful leg, but maybe the accuracy isn’t there if he hasn’t been able to make a team.
and I guess you think we had first dibs on Bryan who 28 years old. No one wanted these guys!!!!!! Obviously anythings beter than Kapinos but that does NOT mean anything! TT and MM should have took a long hard look at this and fixed it!
What do you want them to do? Good punters don’t just grow on trees. They went out and found Bryan from an Australian league in which a couple of other now successful NFL punters came from, and then they brought in a guy who has at least been a respectable punter at one time in his career. It was obvious Kapinos wasn’t getting it done, so they let him go. They went out and signed 2 guys to compete for the job. They did go out and do something about it.
by packallday555 on May 2, 2010 10:29 PM CDT up reply actions
I want Doc Brown to show up in his time machine
and go back and smack TT and tell him not to cut a good punter.
Well I don't know if that's exactly true
First thing Sproo, take a deep breath…it’s only a punter. Punters don’t win championships.
Next, this is Bryan’s first go around the NFL and the Packers found him through a contact in Australia who helps train guys who want to get out of Aussie football and try their hand at punting. I guess it’s one of those things where when they hit late twenties or early thirties their bodies can’t take the punishment and so some look to the NFL, especially punting, where there isn’t the same grind on their bodies.
Finally from the JS Online reports from the first minicamp the punters were hitting the ceiling of the Don Hudson Center. So I’m going to take a wait and see approach to this, there could be come potential there.
by PackApologist on May 2, 2010 10:37 PM CDT up reply actions
…it’s only a punter. Punters don’t win championships.
Haha exactly. We just need a guy who can either boom the ball 45-50 yards, or a guy who can punt it 40-44 yards while having the ball hang in the air for 4 seconds. Kapinos could do neither. Hopefully either Bryan or Mathsay can.
by packallday555 on May 2, 2010 10:53 PM CDT up reply actions
+1
I think that comment alone means a Punter can significantly help a team win a championship.
"No player is greater than a team."
-Vince Lombardi
Punters are very important
One player doesnt win a championship but having a good punter will help win one.
Let's be honest
Punters aren’t very important. Here are a few reasons why:
1. They aren’t paid much. In the NFL the more important the position the more it gets paid. Punter make pretty much the least of any other position on the team.
2. While special teams as a whole are important, great special teams enhance the rest of the team instead of truly define a team. Take the Bears team that went to the Super Bowl a few years ago, great special teams, but they just augmented an already great D. Punters are just one component of this third phase of the game.
3. There are many positions where if a starter goes down for a significant time period a season could be lost, punting is not one of them. If Rodgers goes down for more than a game or two the season could be over, but if we have to sign a dude off the street if one of these guys goes down it’s not the end of the world.
Punting is important and it can help turn the tide of a game, but great punting is not necessary. Punting becomes more important as a team’s offense becomes less explosive. The less potent your offense, the more you need the punting game to win you the battle of field position. Right now our offense is pretty explosive, so punting is not high on my list of worries for the fall.
by PackApologist on May 4, 2010 9:41 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
1. Neither do field goal kicker so what happens if the Saints field goal kick misses the game winner against the Vikings? A bad punt can change a game. Field position if very important everyone know that.
2. Yes they do enhance the rest of the team but you could make the arrugment that the Bears special teams was more important to the Bears than there offense. Oh and Brad Maynard the Bears punter is one of the best in the game.
3. NO ONE SAID A PUNTER IS AS IMPORTANT AS RODGERS! Where did that come from? All that was said was punters are important.. Thanks captain obvious!
Punting is important (is there an echo?) and it can help turn the tide of a game, but great punting is not necessary. Punting has just as much to do with Defense than Offense. It’s not at the top of the list but it’s definately on it!
+1
Good punting puts your defense in a good situation. If the defense is in a good situation, it will result in putting the offense in a better situation next time up. Punter’s are not nearly the most important piece on the team, but their role is still very important. Every position is important.
To be honest, I find Punters to be more valuable than Kick Returners. The reason is if we can score touchdowns just as easily with our offense as we can with our Kick Returner, we are wearing down the opponent’s defense quicker. If we have a quick score, that means our defense immediately goes back on the field after just being on the field. Stamina and endurance is affected. Quick strikes are nice to have once in a while, but controlling the game and keeping the opponent’s defense on the field longer keep us in full control.
"No player is greater than a team."
-Vince Lombardi
agree
but if our D has a three and out because our punter helped by punting it inside the ten the our D stays healthy and well rested for the nexted series. The most three and out by average in the NFL happen when a team is backed up into there own endzone.
I would agree with that
However I would say that there are other positions to worry about first, such as a pass rusher to complement the Claymaker, quality depth in the secondary, and a solid long term answer at RB. After we see real progress made in those areas I’ll start freaking out over the punting.
by PackApologist on May 5, 2010 8:39 AM CDT up reply actions
But good Punting is a part of all those pieces
Sure I would have liked to have another solid pass rusher, but we did add good depth to the secondary by drafting S Morgan Burnett. Again, Safeties are more valuable than Cornerbacks in the 3-4 Defense.
"No player is greater than a team."
-Vince Lombardi
So what is your solution? Pry Mitch Berger away from his lounger and snickers bar to come back? There is nothing out there. Maybe someone will drop out of the sky though, TT hasn’t been afraid to grab punters off of FA in the past.
Get Feagles to pull a Favre it worked for Minnesota
Just kidding. There is no immediate solution and if TT cant find one how would I know. The point is we shouldn’t be in this positon and moving pass that I dont think weve fixed anything and just saying that these guy will be better than the last guy isn’t good enough. Obviously theres nothing out there! Thats why TT had to go all the way to Australia to find someone. The question asked was are you worried? Rather than saying Yes, Im worried but hoping one of these guys are going to be able to do a good job its NAH, I’m not worried and No, because these guys have strong legs. Come on now, we should all be a little worried thats all. I’m hoping for the best though.
If this guy
Can put kickoffs 5 yards deep into the endzone in the NFL reliably, I don’t care how he punts, I want him to get signed.
by Archibaldcrane on May 3, 2010 12:36 PM CDT up reply actions
Wait and see
Typically punters bounce around the league a bit before they really catch on. Add on the fact that punters are either forget or hate in the league. When punting goes bad is really the only time you think about it.
Let’s see what these guys do. The only way it can be worse is if we are dead last in punting stats this year, and if the guy who makes the team is that bad then they’ll just bring another guy off the street in. It’s just kinda the way of this position.
Thats what happened last year and look what happened!
When a punter puts one inside the 10 yard line you think about it! Its just that didnt happen much last season! I guess field possition isnt all that important anymore. Lets all just wait and see how many games it costs us.
Argh! Stop reminding me of TT's cut of Jon Ryan!
That still pisses me off, he was having a really good Preseason!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Every GM makes mistakes, but this one still makes me bang my head against the wall. It wasn’t like Ryan was degressing, he was showing remarkable improvement in Preseason. Well, that progression in Preseason transferred over to Seattle and you know the rest. sigh……
"No player is greater than a team."
-Vince Lombardi
I want to go on record with a prediction, here.
Chris Bryan is going to be our next foreign punter.
He is going to have remarkable hang time, and he is going to help bring back the lost art of coffin corner punting.
And, this time, when he turns out to be good, Ted thompson will make up for Jon Ryan by doing right by him.
You read it here, first!
-
The glass is more than half-full.
So do I
If I’m right about just one ability; either the hang time or the placement, I will be happy with the improvement at punter.
Hopefully, I am right on both counts.
-
The glass is more than half-full.
Chris Bryan workout
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgJgq5ESYr8
Not super long but lots of hangtime. I’d argue with Packallday that control is more important than a big leg. Kapinos couldn’t drop a ball inside the 10 to save his own life. From MM’s transcript on the 3rd saying bryan had a great workout specifically it looks like he id in the lead.
I am worried whenever there is change to a position like punter that said it would be nearly impossible to do worse than Kapinos
Control and hangtime are WAY more important than distance right now. If we had a great ST group, I might care more about distance but these guys need as long as they can to get down there and force a fair catch!!
You still have Harvin twice a year, not quite up to Hester but still a viable threat.
It's a lot easier to love the Vikings when they win...
Yeah, that’d be a fair argument. As long as we have either a guy who can boom the ball or a guy who can get some good hang time I think we’ll be fine.
Now all we need is for Slocum to actually coach our kickoff coverage unit.
by packallday555 on May 4, 2010 2:07 PM CDT up reply actions
Just keep in mind, sometimes those guys that can “boom the ball” outkick their coverage and it ends up being counter productive. I’d much rather have a guy with GREAT hangtime and good control than one who can just boom it. The more fair catches the better in my book…
Hmm, good point. I didn’t think of it that way. I think I’d agree with you because our coverage on kickoffs and punts does seem to be poor.
by packallday555 on May 4, 2010 7:58 PM CDT up reply actions
I'm just bothered that Kapinos wore Majik's number
No, seriously, punters don’t make much by NFL standards, but they DO make as much as a Dr. or a lawyer. It’s amazing that, in all the world, there aren’t 32 guys who can punt! I mean, you can have a 20 yr. career where you get paid well, never get hurt, really don’t have to work all that hard, and get great seats (and behind-the-scenes access) to NFL games.
Really, I can’t figure out why nobody can figure out how to punt AND kick field goals. I know it’s not easy (I certainly can’t do it), but… seriously, we can’t find 32 guys on the planet who can do this?? …blows my mind.
If by some miracle you stay close to the Vikes in any game I love the state of .......
your special teams . I took a Packer fan to his first gae two years ago in Minn as you missed that fieldgoal at the end . The Packer fans screamed and said after that you guys deserve to win and we my as well give up the rest of the season . Only emotions as expected but …… we signed a Ko specialist for godsake and you are still mulling over who will start ??
Your an idiot
Were talking about punting but your hick A$$ probably can’t read very well. You guys swept us last year and we still ended the season with just one more loose than you. We are younger than you with a lot more talent! I hope Favre does not come back so you guys can go back to an average team like you were before. Gothicpurple? Nice! Gothicidiot sounds about right. Like your momma says “stupid is as stupid does” and you seem pretty stupid. By some mirable if Favre can keep you in it next year I promise you last year is as close as you will get to winning a super bowl! You will not win one with Brett and you know neither of your back ups will ever sniff a Super Bowl and by the time you find another good QB the rest of your squad will be beaten up and aged. Just keep worrying about if the old gun slinger will come back because if he doesn’t start worrying about beating Detroit and keeping your team in Minnesota! You jag-bag!!!!!
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