Packers claim punter Jacob Schum, release Tim Masthay

[G0P4ckG0]

I would take a chance of Scifres before Schum

 

[Sky King]

Frost redux?

 

[Packerlifer]

http://archive.jsonline.com/sports/packers/32579149.html

Haven't we seen something like this before?

 

[Curly Calhoun]

Comparing stats on NFL.com Schum's average is 41.9 yds in '15, Masthay's was 43.9 yds. Coaches must've seen something they like in Schum, or this may be the beginning of "who's the punter this week?". GB will save about $700K against the cap, though!

Yes, and I believe that was as much as a factor as anything. Masthay did not have good numbers, but looking at Schum's resume doesn't impress me as a big upgrade. He comes with a lower price tag, however, and that's cap money Ted can use next year when we've got o-linemen to retain.

 

[ChesterfieldCheesehead]

Even if money was the reason why not hold on to Mortell who spent all offseason with the team???

I couldn't agree more I feel like, and statistics show, that between Mortell and Tim there wasn't much of a difference and I would assume Mortell would have been just as cheap as Schum. From a punting stand point I don't get it and from a holding stand point which we know means at least something from last year I really don't get it. Mortell at least had held and gotten somewhat comfortable with Mason. I am completely dumbfounded. I am keeping hope that they decide to bring back Mortell if that's possible. But then why would they bring this scrub. **fingers crossed**

 

[Vrill]

As I said:

I wouldn't be so sure that this is permanent. Somebody else might be our punter on opening day. Its strange to think that we are "all in" with Schum. Another round of cuts are coming, more punters will be on the market. Schum might not impress at all in the last preseason game. In fact, we might even sign another punter between now and the preseason finale. So I wouldn't read too much into this for now. The situation seems fluid.

However, what this DOES tell me is that the staff is tired of Masthay and are replacing him one way or another.

 

[Mondio]

I wanted mortell to succeed as much as anybody, but he didn't. I don't care what the stats say again, watching them, he didn't out perform. His kicks were lower and the reason his stats look so good is because they weren't returned. I really liked his inside the 20 kicks, i think he did outperform on those, but on the rest? Get some tape on him, move your return man back and suddenly they're catching them all on the run up and getting big returns. Masthay had some good punts, he had some bad punts, he had some bad breaks in coverage and he had one blocked thru no fault of his own.

Word from camp is Mortell was pretty inconsistent in practice, and we know what Masthay has done, consistency isn't his middle name. I don't know anything about the new guy, but at this point, i'm good with them bringing in guys till they find one. IMO, Masthay didn't win a position, he was replacable. Maybe they got a little worse, but I can't think it's an appreciable difference. Masthay had stats because we allowed less than 5 yards a return, not because he was any great punter.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

This is a total head scratcher to me. Keep a guy on your roster for over 2 years that is playing below average, make all sorts of excuses why he is still there, let him take a camp spot to again try and prove himself and then cut him when he beats out his competition, 11 days before the start of the regular season? Packers should have cut Masthay at the end of last season, drafted a punter (someone like Riley Dixon) and then brought in additional competition (Mortell).

Have to think Schum is here to make sure we have someone punting on Thursday, but I don't think he will be the last punter we see in GB this year.

So much for the theory that Mason Crosby really needs someone he trusts and is familiar with to be his holder.

 

[mongoosev]

I don't know anything about the new guy, but at this point, i'm good with them bringing in guys till they find one.

that is why i'm still holding the dumbfounded face. I have no clue who this guy is and what he can do for this team. As Capt. mentioned about his performance in warmer climates, how how could this guy perform better in colder climates? especially at home in the Frozen Tundra. LOL

 

[El Guapo]

Yup, this just makes cutting Mortell confusing. Why bring in a veteran punter who's less than marginal, than keep a kid who was pretty good and presented upside?

Why does TT feel that cutting his punter right before the regular season begins is a smart move. This is twice when you count the perplexing Jon Ryan move.

 

[Vrill]

While Schum is a downgrade, hes not that BIG of a downgrade. Masthay was hot garbage. So we basically swapped a piece of garbage for another piece of garbage that has slightly more stink on it. Its almost a wash.

But I feel that Schum is just a fill in for Thursday night. I'd bet we have a whole new punter week 1. Unless Schum just has a great game, which is possible, but I wouldn't count on it.

 

[Mondio]

This is a total head scratcher to me. Keep a guy on your roster for over 2 years that is playing below average, make all sorts of excuses why he is still there, let him take a camp spot to again try and prove himself and then cut him when he beats out his competition, 11 days before the start of the regular season? Packers should have cut Masthay at the end of last season, drafted a punter (someone like Riley Dixon) and then brought in additional competition (Mortell).

Have to think Schum is here to make sure we have someone punting on Thursday, but I don't think he will be the last punter we see in GB this year.

So much for the theory that Mason Crosby really needs someone he trusts and is familiar with to be his holder.

I think it's all situational. a couple years ago, we had a super bowl team and we had a ****** special teams coach. How Slocum lasted as long as he did, I'll never know, but Masthay was ok, nothing special, but our coverages were far more concern than the punting IMO at that point.

We got a different coach and they gave him the year to work it out. IMO he struggled more last year than the year before, but I have a bad memory, and with everything else in flux last year with WR's dropping balls and injured and OLine injuries and shuffling, etc maybe a new punter wasn't something they wanted to try and find then or maybe they figured it was all a result because everything else was in the crapper it affected him too? I don't know.

so we get to the end of the year and the Packers are fairly loyal so they give him time to workout his issues, he didn't, so they cut him. We all know Masthay needed to be replaced. I'm not sad they cut him, regardless of who we have now. I think Punters are important. Pinning them deep or flipping a field are more important than we talk about.

The problem with Masthay was, you could never count on either.

 

[El Guapo]

This better not bite us in the *** in the season at some point. I sware if we lose in the Playoffs due to a crappy punter Ill lose it.

Well, one could say that this is part of what happened against Arizona in the playoffs last year.

On a positive note, if Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the offense return to 2011 form....we don't really need a punter. In the rare situations where we do, we can just Bill Belichik it on 4th down.

 

[Pkrjones]

FYI ~ Britton Colquitt stated in a Denver article yesterday (8/30) that he's already had interest from the Packers, Arizona, Chicago & Minnesota. His agent also stated that he was asked to cut his '16 salary from $3.25Mil down to $1.3Mil and that Colquitt agreed to drop it to $2.25Mil but that wasn't enough for Denver.
http://www.milehighreport.com/2016/...colquitt-sad-to-be-leaving-the-denver-broncos

Front load a 2yr, $4.5Mil deal so smaller cap hit in '17?

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I already thought Masthay was overpaid at $1.2 M, I can't see TT signing Colquitt for the kind of money he and his agent are expecting.

 

[Royal Pain]

FYI ~ Britton Colquitt stated in a Denver article yesterday (8/30) that he's already had interest from the Packers, Arizona, Chicago & Minnesota. His agent also stated that he was asked to cut his '16 salary from $3.25Mil down to $1.3Mil and that Colquitt agreed to drop it to $2.25Mil but that wasn't enough for Denver.
http://www.milehighreport.com/2016/...colquitt-sad-to-be-leaving-the-denver-broncos

Front load a 2yr, $4.5Mil deal so smaller cap hit in '17?

I hope this gets settled soon. When you're a Super Bowl contender, you don't need to go into the season with this much uncertainty, even if we are talking about the punter. On a related note, the Panthers who, like the Packers, are a favorite to compete for the Super Bowl, traded for a solid punter in former 49er Andy Lee on Monday. Carolina also had an unsettled situation at the position and traded one of the guys competing for the position plus a 4th rounder to the Browns (they also received a future 7th round pick). Lee also comes with a $2.38 million dollar salary so the Panthers obviously put a lot of value on the position. We'll see how this all works out, but I hope we don't get burned by having whichever punter we end up with cost us a game.

 

[RRyder]

While Schum is a downgrade, hes not that BIG of a downgrade. Masthay was hot garbage. So we basically swapped a piece of garbage for another piece of garbage that has slightly more stink on it. Its almost a wash.

But I feel that Schum is just a fill in for Thursday night. I'd bet we have a whole new punter week 1. Unless Schum just has a great game, which is possible, but I wouldn't count on it.

Here's the problem with saying "a player is a piece of garbage that it doesn't really matter who we replace him with cause it's just garbage for garbage" and it's that the new "piece of garbage" can make you wish you had the old one back pretty quickly.

 

[Packers907]

This is pretty puzzling to say the least, but on the other side its not as big of a difference as it seems. Also with a schedule that doesn't seem extremely difficult and a kicker who has been drilling kicks from 50+ yards out, guess TT didn't see that it was such a big risk and that we wouldn't be held to our end of the field very often. Biggest thing being someone that can keep the ball inside the 20 or 10 when a drive shuts down. My guess is that this is a cap move.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

This is pretty puzzling to say the least, but on the other side its not as big of a difference as it seems. Also with a schedule that doesn't seem extremely difficult and a kicker who has been drilling kicks from 50+ yards out, guess TT didn't see that it was such a big risk and that we wouldn't be held to our end of the field very often. Biggest thing being someone that can keep the ball inside the 20 or 10 when a drive shuts down. My guess is that this is a cap move.

If all the punter did was punt, this move would not be all that puzzling. Masthay isn't that good and just about anyone else that has punted in the NFL would be an adequate replacement for the punting duties IMO. The puzzling part for me is the part where Mason Crosby needs a holder for FG's and PAT's. Packer coaches publicly have said that Mason relies on the chemistry and trust he establishes with his holder and for that reason when Masthay was struggling in 2014 and 2015 they were willing to keep him around. So what changed? Have Schum and Mason secretly been working out together and have already established great chemistry? I just don't get why the Packer organization is willing to make what appears to be a lateral move in the punting game and risk the kicking game in the process, 12 days before the regular season starts.

Also, strength of schedule or the ability of your offense should have nothing to do with settling for an average punter and question marks with the holder. Even if we go 16-0, we eventually will be wanting to win a Super Bowl and as Colquitt showed last year for Denver, having a good punter can help win some big games.

 

[Vrill]

Here's the problem with saying "a player is a piece of garbage that it doesn't really matter who we replace him with cause it's just garbage for garbage" and it's that the new "piece of garbage" can make you wish you had the old one back pretty quickly.

I don't know about you, but I wont be missing Masthay's shanks and 25 yard punts on the regular.

 

[Matt39]

I just don't really buy into the chemistry with the holder angle, yes you need someone who is competent to do the job but it should be one of the most easily interchangeable parts on the team, and ideally you would have a backup QB or someone with the ability to throw the ball in for a bad exchange/fake attempt so the punter isn't really the first choice for the roll.

I'm guessing something has changed if that is the team philosophy under a new ST coach or if Hundley has stepped into that roll as he will likely be around for a while and could bring some extra abilities they didn't have before.

 

[Mondio]

Until this guy is our punter in the regular season, I'm not convinced he's our guy either.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I just don't really buy into the chemistry with the holder angle, yes you need someone who is competent to do the job but it should be one of the most easily interchangeable parts on the team, and ideally you would have a backup QB or someone with the ability to throw the ball in for a bad exchange/fake attempt so the punter isn't really the first choice for the roll.

I'm guessing something has changed if that is the team philosophy under a new ST coach or if Hundley has stepped into that roll as he will likely be around for a while and could bring some extra abilities they didn't have before.

I have brought this topic up before (why doesn't the back-up QB do the holding) and the response makes some sense. Units tend to work together (kicker, punter/holder and long snapper) while the QB's are off doing other things. By having your punter do the holding, it gives them and the kicker more opportunities to practice together and establish chemistry/timing. While I agree it would seem to be beneficial to have a QB doing the holding in case of a bad snap or a fake, but since most teams now use their punter, the benefits of the practice time together must outweigh that. I also think you are putting far less importance on the chemistry between the holder and the kicker then there seems to be.

 

[OldSchool101]

To Ted keeping either was like being
4th and 10 So he punted

 

[Packerlifer]

http://www.espn.com/blog/green-bay-packers/post/_/id/32833/former-packers-punter-tim-masthay-its-really-hard-to-say-goodbye.

Just for the record, Masthay leaves as the Packers' all-time career gross (44.2) and net punter (38.7.)

In 2015 he set the franchise record with a 40.2 yd. net average and now holds the top five single season marks in club history(since 1976)

He helped the Packers lead the league in opponent return average at 4.2 yds; the best by a Packers' team since 1969.

In last season's Wild Card playoff he averaged 45.3 yd gross and 44.0 net on 4 punts, the second best in Green Bay postseason history. He holds the record with 47.0 averages against San Francisco in 2012.

In 2014 he surpassed Craig Hentrich's career record of 104 punts placed inside the opponent's 2- yd. line and now holds the franchise's top spot (since 1976) with 132.

In 2011 he broke Hentrich's since season record for gross average at 45.6 and now holds two of the top four records in team history.


http://www.espn.com/blog/nfcnorth/p...gacy-is-professionalism-doing-the-right-thing