Sander unloads a 65-yard punt

B.J. Sander appears to have come a long way since his infamous 5-yard shank in the Green Bay Packers' preseason finale last September.

The maligned Sander, a third-round draft pick a year ago who never appeared in a regular-season game as a rookie, blasted a 65-yard punt Sunday in NFL Europe action.

Playing for the Hamburg Sea Devils, Sander averaged 43 yards with four punts in a 15-13 loss at Berlin.

The 65-yard kick occurred early in the fourth quarter and was Sander's last punt of the game. He booted the football with the line of scrimmage at the Hamburg 29-yard line, and it was downed at the Berlin 6.

Sander's first three punts Sunday traveled 36, 37 and 34 yards. All three were returned by Berlin for a total of 27 yards, dropping Sander's net average to 36.3 yards.

Two weeks into the NFL Europe season, Sander leads the league with a gross average of 43.6 yards in seven attempts.

Two other players allocated by the Packers also had strong games for Hamburg on Sunday. Linebackers Nick McNeil (five) and Shawn Morgan (four) combined for nine tackles. McNeil started at middle linebacker. Morgan added a sack and a forced fumble.

Meanwhile, quarterback Scott McBrien came off the bench and starred for the Rhein Fire in a 23-10 loss to visiting Cologne on Sunday.

McBrien, alternating quarters with starter Andy Hall, threw a 58-yard touchdown pass in the final minute of the fourth period. He finished 10-of-18 passing for 141 yards with one interception. His passer rating was 76.4.

Safety Chris Day was Rhein's primary kickoff returner, averaging 20.6 yards in five returns with a long runback of 29 yards.

Jamal Jones and Sam Breeden started at wide receiver for the Frankfurt Galaxy, which beat visiting Amsterdam 23-14 on Saturday.

Jones posted game highs of five receptions for 59 yards with a long gain of 19 yards. Breeden had one catch for 6 yards.

Seante Williams started at defensive end for Frankfurt and registered a sack.

If not for the big punt of 65 yards his average is under 36 yards. I just don't see him making it. :-?

Sander leads the league with a gross average of 43.6 yards in seven attempts.

My bad, I read it wrong.

hahah all good man all good. Punting in the NFL-E vs NFL will be key. I'm still not sold on him, but thought it was interesting.

Traxx, I don't think you read it wrong. Sander's 1st 3 punts were less than 40 yds. That doesn't get it done in the NFL unless they were pooch punts inside the 20. I really want the kid to succeed; GB needs a strong punter to help out our Def. I saw another article which said Sander kicked a 71 yd punt that was called back for a penalty. Maybe it bounced a good distance or it was wind blown? It's hard to place too much value on his numbers without knowing the circumstances.

absolutely correct

the other 3 were sander like

hey packers, kevin stempke lives in gbay, i bet he could do better than 36 yards a kick right now, and hes avaible for less than two draft picks

I think I could do better than 36 yds / punt right now.. :-?

Are the still paying Novak? If they are, why not bring in 15 -20 guys and let him narrow it down to whatever number. Maybe with larger number we can get lucky and find someone. You could do the same with punt returners, then they could work together! :wink:

LoL @ those who think they can punt 36 yards consistently

Kevin Stempke tried out for the Packers, Sander remained on the team Stempke did not.

Minus that 65 yrd'er he is averaging 40yds a punt. Now for a third rounder I say he should be doing atleast 43-46 and yes I know 46.7 was the highest last year but cmon third rounder you better be producing some beautiful punts, they dont have to be BOOMING punts but if you have to pin that ball in the 5 yd line u better.

while this is a honest and true statement, it doesnt mean stempke didnt beat his rearend out of the job fair and square

it just means that the general manager who traded two picks to move up and draft him far too early, saved face by keeping him around.

how would it have looked if sander was cut and they kept a guy who they got for the price of a cab ride across town???

nice cover sherman

yeah, and we never landed on the moon.

got anymore conspiracy theories?

i'd love to see sanders turn into the next shane lecher(sp?) and have everybody eat their words...that is asking quite a bit though.

IS STEMKE STILL WITH RAMS????

We still need a second Punter for training camp as BJ will get worn out with all that punting in camp. Maybe Mr. Barker should come on down.

lol I can punt better than 36 yards consistently, and that's true.

get off the pipe.

Punting 36 yards is not a tough feat to accomplish, I was able to do that in high school. Now the thing you guys are NOT factoring in here is how many times does he have to corner kick? Pooch kick? Wind plays a role. Lets consider all that before you begin boostting your bravo 36yrd punt.

Seriously go outside and try it 10 times. I'll even say do it on a day where there are no swirling winds with thousands of fans yelling and screaming, oh did I mention you also have the luxury of NOT having grown men who want to rip your head off running at you full speed?

This may sound like I'm defending ole BJ, don't kid yourself. He's to be a professional and as a professional you SHOULD be able to kick the ball 40yds ATLEAST consistently.

36 yards from the line of scrimmage.

A 36 yard punt is really a 50 yarder right? He lines up 15 yards behind scrimmage line?

I saw Chester Marcol before a December game punting consistantly 60+ yards. As a kid I didn't realize he could punt also. You would think there would be more advancements in punting since then to offset the new K balls.

Yet when I saw BJ at Ohio State I told people "He's going to get drafted."
I think the Packer coach must be messing with his style of doing things.

Fans need to be patient with him. The price of failue is too high.

I wish we had the Polish Prince in his prime again or Craig Heinrich and we could save a roster spot.

Re: 36 yards from the line of scrimmage.

exactly.

http://www.ehow.com/how_3990_punt-football.html

Didn't Sander win the Ray Guy award in 2003?

With more speed in the NFL than college, Sander was getting his punts off too slowly for NFL game conditions. The Packers adjusted his footwork. I would imagine this would screw up his timing until he can get his foot/leg doing what his brain is telling him to do.

However, if he works out, he could be a weapon. A left-footed punter that can punt in bad weather and is good at directional kicking...

For the sake of the Pack, and a 3rd round pick, I really hope Sanders works out. Yes, I do believe in praying for miracles . . . because sometimes they happen.

Was that 65 yards with a 30mph wind at his back and it rolled another 20 yards? Too many factors play into it to really judge that he is turning it around.