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Green Bay Packers can't pick punter until seeing them in games
By Rob Demovsky • [email protected] • June 27, 2010
Chris Bryan and Tim Masthay can kick and kick and kick during training camp practices — and you can bet they will — but it won’t mean a thing if they can’t do it under the lights.
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Nothing the two inexperienced punters have done in the offseason to date or will do during camp will matter if they botch the preseason games.
Because neither has kicked in an NFL game — preseason, regular season or otherwise — the Green Bay Packers don’t know whether they have an NFL-caliber punter on their roster.
“I won’t know that until we start playing games,” Packers special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum said. “If you’re going to go get two young guys that haven’t done it, I don’t know how you can get two better ones.”
Still, it would be a mistake to assume that it’s a lock one or the other will be the Packers’ punter when the regular season opens on Sept. 12 at Philadelphia. It’s entirely possible their opening day punter is on another NFL roster or perhaps out of football entirely.
The Packers have played musical punters since they dumped Canadian Jon Ryan the week of the 2008 regular-season opener. Ryan had the job for two seasons.
They went with Washington castoff Derrick Frost in 2008, but he lasted only 12 games. Enter Jeremy Kapinos, who previously had appeared in only one NFL game (with the New York Jets in 2007). He finished the 2008 season and had the job all of last year but finished 31st in the league in net punting and wasn’t offered a contract for this season.
General Manager Ted Thompson in January signed Masthay, who spent part of last offseason with the Indianapolis Colts but was cut less than two weeks into training camp. Masthay was in a group of punters who worked out for the Packers last August, when Kapinos was struggling during camp.
Then, in March, on a recommendation from former Packers training camp punter Nathan Chapman of Australia, Thompson signed Bryan, a 28-year-old former Australian Rules Football player, who spent a year learning the NFL game from Chapman.
From a pure talent standpoint, the Packers believe they’re better off than they have been at the position since Mike McCarthy became the head coach in 2006. But talent always doesn’t translate to results.
McCarthy insisted before the minicamp that it was a tie between the punters at that point, but after two days of practice, it would appear Masthay gained a slight advantage. He had better hang times, an average of 4.28 compared to 3.98 seconds for Bryan, in the two lengthy punting periods.
“I’m pretty pleased with the work I’ve done so far,” Masthay said. “I think I’ve improved since we started the offseason program in March.
Each has different strengths and weaknesses.
Masthay has struggled with his get-off time — the length of time from catching the snap until the ball hits his foot — but his powerful leg has allowed him to post some impressive distances and hang times. Slocum wants a 1.25-second get-off time, which, combined with a snap that should get back to the punter in 0.75 seconds, should allow the punt to get away in no more than 2 seconds. No matter how well Masthay hits the ball, if he gets even one blocked, it could cost the Packers a game.
“We’re always trying to work for a 1.25 get-off time,” Masthay said. “I’m always kind of borderline on that and will need to continue to be very mindful of that.”
Bryan hasn’t had any issues with get-off time and has been more consistent in the pooch punting drills, pinning the returner inside the 10 using his Aussie-style kick in which he hits the point of the ball. But he has struggled at times when he’s free to swing away. That’s because he’s learning how to drop the ball correctly onto his foot, which is done differently in Australian Rules Football.
“I don’t feel like I’ve hit the ball as well as I can,” Bryan said. “But it’s all been learning for me, so now I know a little bit more about it, so I’ll be good for training camp.”
Both punters plan to remain in Green Bay during the down time leading up to the start of training camp on July 31. Masthay said he plans to continue working with strength coach Mark Lovat, while Bryan wants to further refine his technique.
“We’ve got two talented guys that have not punted in an NFL game,” Slocum said. “That’s a bridge we’ll cross when we get to training camp and start playing preseason games. But in terms of talent and production so far at practice, we’ve seen some very good things from those guys. The preseason games will go a long way toward determining which way we go.”
By Rob Demovsky • [email protected] • June 27, 2010
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Chris Bryan and Tim Masthay can kick and kick and kick during training camp practices — and you can bet they will — but it won’t mean a thing if they can’t do it under the lights.
Additional information
(Links will open in a new window)
♦ Sign up for Green Bay Packers text alerts.
Nothing the two inexperienced punters have done in the offseason to date or will do during camp will matter if they botch the preseason games.
Because neither has kicked in an NFL game — preseason, regular season or otherwise — the Green Bay Packers don’t know whether they have an NFL-caliber punter on their roster.
“I won’t know that until we start playing games,” Packers special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum said. “If you’re going to go get two young guys that haven’t done it, I don’t know how you can get two better ones.”
Still, it would be a mistake to assume that it’s a lock one or the other will be the Packers’ punter when the regular season opens on Sept. 12 at Philadelphia. It’s entirely possible their opening day punter is on another NFL roster or perhaps out of football entirely.
The Packers have played musical punters since they dumped Canadian Jon Ryan the week of the 2008 regular-season opener. Ryan had the job for two seasons.
They went with Washington castoff Derrick Frost in 2008, but he lasted only 12 games. Enter Jeremy Kapinos, who previously had appeared in only one NFL game (with the New York Jets in 2007). He finished the 2008 season and had the job all of last year but finished 31st in the league in net punting and wasn’t offered a contract for this season.
General Manager Ted Thompson in January signed Masthay, who spent part of last offseason with the Indianapolis Colts but was cut less than two weeks into training camp. Masthay was in a group of punters who worked out for the Packers last August, when Kapinos was struggling during camp.
Then, in March, on a recommendation from former Packers training camp punter Nathan Chapman of Australia, Thompson signed Bryan, a 28-year-old former Australian Rules Football player, who spent a year learning the NFL game from Chapman.
From a pure talent standpoint, the Packers believe they’re better off than they have been at the position since Mike McCarthy became the head coach in 2006. But talent always doesn’t translate to results.
McCarthy insisted before the minicamp that it was a tie between the punters at that point, but after two days of practice, it would appear Masthay gained a slight advantage. He had better hang times, an average of 4.28 compared to 3.98 seconds for Bryan, in the two lengthy punting periods.
“I’m pretty pleased with the work I’ve done so far,” Masthay said. “I think I’ve improved since we started the offseason program in March.
Each has different strengths and weaknesses.
Masthay has struggled with his get-off time — the length of time from catching the snap until the ball hits his foot — but his powerful leg has allowed him to post some impressive distances and hang times. Slocum wants a 1.25-second get-off time, which, combined with a snap that should get back to the punter in 0.75 seconds, should allow the punt to get away in no more than 2 seconds. No matter how well Masthay hits the ball, if he gets even one blocked, it could cost the Packers a game.
“We’re always trying to work for a 1.25 get-off time,” Masthay said. “I’m always kind of borderline on that and will need to continue to be very mindful of that.”
Bryan hasn’t had any issues with get-off time and has been more consistent in the pooch punting drills, pinning the returner inside the 10 using his Aussie-style kick in which he hits the point of the ball. But he has struggled at times when he’s free to swing away. That’s because he’s learning how to drop the ball correctly onto his foot, which is done differently in Australian Rules Football.
“I don’t feel like I’ve hit the ball as well as I can,” Bryan said. “But it’s all been learning for me, so now I know a little bit more about it, so I’ll be good for training camp.”
Both punters plan to remain in Green Bay during the down time leading up to the start of training camp on July 31. Masthay said he plans to continue working with strength coach Mark Lovat, while Bryan wants to further refine his technique.
“We’ve got two talented guys that have not punted in an NFL game,” Slocum said. “That’s a bridge we’ll cross when we get to training camp and start playing preseason games. But in terms of talent and production so far at practice, we’ve seen some very good things from those guys. The preseason games will go a long way toward determining which way we go.”
