Masthay

[gopkrs]

Anyone else surprised we do not seem to be bringing in other punters? I have wondered for some time if maybe Masthay just does not have the leg strength and so pushes himself too hard. Harder than he is capable of. I realize there may be some punters as the rosters get shorter but we could get lucky and then we would have someone with experience in the system.

 

[Mondio]

They must really feel that holding in our kicking game is more important than field position in our punting game. I think they should have guys in here every week till they find someone to sign or Masthay gets it together. He's looked bad going back to last year. He's been better, so they're obviously giving him time to work it out, but i haven't seen any progression yet. Not that I want to see him punting a lot, but I hope to see improvement over these next 2 games.

 

[adambr2]

Masthay has never been a particularly great punter, and has always ranked in the bottom half of the league in net average (18th in 2010, 21st each year in '11-'13, 30th last year). To be fair, it's too simplistic to consider only net average without accounting for Masthay punting much more in cold weather than most punters. I noticed punters from Chicago and Buffalo have typically ranked hear the bottom also during the same time frame.

I agree Masthay needs to do a better job than last year to remain the punter here.

 

[TJV]

I too have been disappointed in Masthay - how can Packers fans not be? But Crosby has been on fire this off season and they probably don't want to mess with that chemistry. So they probably won't bring in another punter. Too bad Mandell apparently was such a disaster holding - not that he was clearly the better punter but because I think continued competition would be good. We may have to wait until next year. If Masthay remains inconsistent this season let's hope they concentrate more on bringing in a punter who can challenge him - not a third rounder (!) - but a legit punter who can hold or learn to hold throughout an off season.

 

[gopkrs]

I disagree about the holding for Crosby. It is not that hard. Crosby was having problems that year because it got in his head and also because of that ST coach. imho

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I see the Masthay situation like this. He is doing something right in practice or they wouldn't have let the other guy go. But, if he can't get it together on the field, the Packers will have some options when other teams begin making their cuts. Quite a few teams, I believe, are still carrying 2 punters and if Masthay can't get his act together, there will be some options (probably better then right now) available to us.

I still find the lack of emphasis on the importance of a punter in Football is inexcusable. There can be a lot of yards and field position lost or gained by a punter. It may not show up directly on the scoreboard, but it sure irks me.

 

[TJV]

I disagree about the holding for Crosby. It is not that hard. Crosby was having problems that year because it got in his head and also because of that ST coach. imho

I wouldn't think it would be that hard either. But apparently one of the reasons they let Mandell go is up to that point Crosby had made 34 of 38 FG attempts in practice and all four misses occurred with Mandell holding. And if I remember correctly, Masthay was punting better than Mandell up to that point. But I don't think it had anything to do with previous years.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I much prefer when the back-up QB is the holder. I realize this might mess up practice a bit, but I think it gives the position some stability AND the ability to add the possibility of a more successfully executed fake.

 

[TJV]

I prefer the punter holding if he can punt! I think it makes sense because the LS, P, and PK can practice FGs as much as necessary on their own.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I don't know, how much is Tolzien making for carrying around a clip board? I say give him another job. I hope he is at least practicing the art of "catch and hold", because if Masthay keeps punting the way he is, he won't be holding much longer. Then you have the whole unfamiliarity with your holder thing going on in Crosby's head.

 

[Green_Bay_Packers]

As long as Crosby kicks his FG'S it don't matter who holds for him
We need a better punter.....maybe
I like Masthay though as a punter

 

[Passepartout]

Just hope that Tim will have a better year in 2015. And forget about his 2014 awful year.

 

[G0P4ckG0]

Maybe the Packers are keeping Masthay because they plan on attempting more 4th down conversions this year and plan to use Masthay less? No reason why they shouldn't (in short yardage situations) given how lethal this offense can be. Either that or Crosby is very adamant about the Packers keeping Masthay because he has more trust in him holding the ball on field goals than anyone else currently on the team.

 

[JBlood]

The Packers punted a league low 49 punts last year, with Dallas the next lowest at 57. Oakland led the league with 109 punts. Masthay's net was 38.6, with 3 teams worse. The leader in net was New Orleans at 44.7 yds. on 58 punts.

So Masthay is only 6 yds net behind the league leader. With our offense, it isn't important. If we really needed a punter he'd be gone.

 

[Mondio]

our offense makes him a little less important, but man could he help out our defense sometimes.

 

[Uncle Rico]

The Packers punted a league low 49 punts last year, with Dallas the next lowest at 57. Oakland led the league with 109 punts. Masthay's net was 38.6, with 3 teams worse. The leader in net was New Orleans at 44.7 yds. on 58 punts.

So Masthay is only 6 yds net behind the league leader. With our offense, it isn't important. If we really needed a punter he'd be gone.

Agreed. Net punt yds isn't the only stat that matters for punters. Even so, Tim is pretty close with the rest of the league. Also have to consider situational punts where Masthay is trying to pin em deep. If we are in that situation on a regular basis, his net will probably never be as high whoever punts for the teams whose offense fails to move the ball out of their own territory.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

The Packers only ranked 29th in punting DVOA last season which is a better way to measure the performance than net yard average. If Masthay continues to struggle this season I expect Thompson to replace him during the season if there´s a viable option available.

 

[yooperpackfan]

Maybe the Packers are keeping Masthay because they plan on attempting more 4th down conversions this year and plan to use Masthay less? No reason why they shouldn't (in short yardage situations) given how lethal this offense can be. Either that or Crosby is very adamant about the Packers keeping Masthay because he has more trust in him holding the ball on field goals than anyone else currently on the team.

They didn't use Masthay all that much last last year. He went a considerable stretch without being called on to punt.
His very valuable as a holder. Crosby, at least in camp, has had better success with Masthay holding.

 

[TJV]

IMO Mondio hit on an important point: Punting helps or hurts the team's D, not O. And the Packers D needs all the help it can get.

Chris Kluwe, former NFL punter, wrote what I think is an interesting article for PFF. He says that the NFL keeps track of 1. Gross average; 2. Net average; 3. Punts inside the 20; 4. Touchbacks; and 5. Punts out of bounds. But those stats don’t tell the whole story when evaluating a punter (exclusive of his punt coverage team). He says these are the stats that matter when evaluating a punter: 1. Distance; 2. Hangtime; 3. Location the ball was caught/landed; and 4. Location he ball was kicked from. He talks more in-depth about this and includes a table of PFF’s top 10 punters for 2013. They list the Texan’s Lechler as the top punter even though he’s 7th in net yards among the top 10.
https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2014/06/11/punt-game-sportsballing-really-hard-with-your-foot/

I couldn’t find a listing of how they evaluated punters in 2014, but I’m not a subscriber. The simple point I’m making is the Packers punt coverage team also plays a part in Masthay’s numbers. Here’s part of what McGinn had to say about Masthay’s 2014 season:

Posted his best hang-time average (4.46 in 17 punts) in an exhibition season and was cruising along after eight games tied for seventh in gross average (47.0) and 10th in net (40.8) to go with 4.33 hang time. Was borderline awful after that…

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/pack...card-special-teams-b99431316z1-289706371.html

The thing about Masthay is in a big moment of a big game I don’t trust him. That’s not the end of the world but for an at-best-average punter I would like to see him be more consistent.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

IMO Mondio hit on an important point: Punting helps or hurts the team's D, not O. And the Packers D needs all the help it can get.

Chris Kluwe, former NFL punter, wrote what I think is an interesting article for PFF. He says that the NFL keeps track of 1. Gross average; 2. Net average; 3. Punts inside the 20; 4. Touchbacks; and 5. Punts out of bounds. But those stats don’t tell the whole story when evaluating a punter (exclusive of his punt coverage team). He says these are the stats that matter when evaluating a punter: 1. Distance; 2. Hangtime; 3. Location the ball was caught/landed; and 4. Location he ball was kicked from. He talks more in-depth about this and includes a table of PFF’s top 10 punters for 2013. They list the Texan’s Lechler as the top punter even though he’s 7th in net yards among the top 10.
https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2014/06/11/punt-game-sportsballing-really-hard-with-your-foot/

I couldn’t find a listing of how they evaluated punters in 2014, but I’m not a subscriber. The simple point I’m making is the Packers punt coverage team also plays a part in Masthay’s numbers. Here’s part of what McGinn had to say about Masthay’s 2014 season: http://www.jsonline.com/sports/pack...card-special-teams-b99431316z1-289706371.html

The thing about Masthay is in a big moment of a big game I don’t trust him. That’s not the end of the world but for an at-best-average punter I would like to see him be more consistent.

PFF had Masthay ranked 30th out of 32 punters who appeared in more than four games last season, which passes the eye test.

 

[El Guapo]

Let's be realistic about how this league works. If Masthay wasn't providing "something" beyond his 30th out of 32 ranking, the Packers would have brought in a 22 year old for the rookie minimum by now. There is no reason to pay the veteran minimum, getting poor output in return, unless you were getting additional value.

 

[Sky King]

Know of any established two-step, quick get-off, high average and hang-time, inside-the-20 punters out there who are also skilled at holding for the kicker?

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Know of any established two-step, quick get-off, high average and hang-time, inside-the-20 punters out there who are also skilled at holding for the kicker?

Employed or unemployed? After roster cuts, there may be a few better options then Masthay. If the Packers were happy with his performance last season (as they were the season before) they wouldn't have brought competition in (as they didn't the year before).

Bottom line, Masthay needs to right his ship, or one of those better punters that are on the short end of a 2 punter roster, might be in Green Bay and Masthay may find himself punting in Canada.

 

[yooperpackfan]

Employed or unemployed? After roster cuts, there may be a few better options then Masthay. If the Packers were happy with his performance last season (as they were the season before) they wouldn't have brought competition in (as they didn't the year before).

Bottom line, Masthay needs to right his ship, or one of those better punters that are on the short end of a 2 punter roster, might be in Green Bay and Masthay may find himself punting in Canada.

I'm putting my money on Masthay playing through this entire season for the Green Bay Packers.
Unless he is injured of course.

 

[El Guapo]

The last time we cut the presumed starting punter at the start of the season was Jon Ryan. It was a terrible decision.