motife
09-01-2008, 08:37 PM
http://www.packers.com/news/releases/2008/09/01/2/
(Why the change at punter?)
Like at any position, I think at the end of the day we felt like it helps the team get better. Jon is a great guy. He has done a good job here. I think consistency might have been the overriding factor. It's tough. Both of those guys today did a nice job.
(Was hang time the biggest issue?)
I don't know. I think Jon has really improved. He's obviously a very talented, very strong athlete. He can hit punts like nobody I have ever seen. Again, I just think overall technique and get-off and the whole mechanics of punting, I think he has come a long way. Again, I think that's something he probably still needs to work on.
(What was so attractive about Derrick Frost?)
We do like his consistency. He has got very good mechanics, nice hands, a good athlete and we think he is a pretty solid punter.'
(What did you think about his second half last year, including the playoffs? Were you concerned about those at all?)
We watched all of those. He had some bad wind games like we did, but he also looks like the kind of guy that can kind of adapt in those situations, can kind of drive the ball when you need to and you have to against the wind. Some of that factored in.
(Did you want more of a directional punter?)
Obviously that is a very important aspect of punting if you can do it. It's rare that you can find somebody that is very accomplished, but we do think that Derrick brings that ability a little bit. It's sort of the whole package, and this is not a kill Jon Ryan thing. He is a good punter and very impressive strength like I said. I think we were just looking for a little bit more consistency.
(As a former special teams guy, isn't there some measure of concern that you are going into the first game with a new snapper, a new holder and a new punter?)
The new snapper was going to be no matter what. We think Derrick is a very good punter, like we've said, and I think he is an excellent holder. We've got a long week. There is change, but there is always a little change this time of year, whether it be at running back like in past years or at punter and snapper here, so it's just part of it. It's a good question, but we're trying to get better.
(Did you try pretty hard to trade Abdul Hodge rather than release him?)
We made calls on most if not all of the guys that we wound up releasing this week, so we did the normal stuff.
(Did you ever have any intention of carrying seven linebackers?)
Sure. It was like I said yesterday; you kind of think of different ways. There are other ways to kind of manipulate the roster, but at the end of the day, after a couple of days extra time to kind of think it out, we just felt like this was probably the best way to go about it in terms of protecting our team and also adding the players that we needed to add.
(Why the change at punter?)
Like at any position, I think at the end of the day we felt like it helps the team get better. Jon is a great guy. He has done a good job here. I think consistency might have been the overriding factor. It's tough. Both of those guys today did a nice job.
(Was hang time the biggest issue?)
I don't know. I think Jon has really improved. He's obviously a very talented, very strong athlete. He can hit punts like nobody I have ever seen. Again, I just think overall technique and get-off and the whole mechanics of punting, I think he has come a long way. Again, I think that's something he probably still needs to work on.
(What was so attractive about Derrick Frost?)
We do like his consistency. He has got very good mechanics, nice hands, a good athlete and we think he is a pretty solid punter.'
(What did you think about his second half last year, including the playoffs? Were you concerned about those at all?)
We watched all of those. He had some bad wind games like we did, but he also looks like the kind of guy that can kind of adapt in those situations, can kind of drive the ball when you need to and you have to against the wind. Some of that factored in.
(Did you want more of a directional punter?)
Obviously that is a very important aspect of punting if you can do it. It's rare that you can find somebody that is very accomplished, but we do think that Derrick brings that ability a little bit. It's sort of the whole package, and this is not a kill Jon Ryan thing. He is a good punter and very impressive strength like I said. I think we were just looking for a little bit more consistency.
(As a former special teams guy, isn't there some measure of concern that you are going into the first game with a new snapper, a new holder and a new punter?)
The new snapper was going to be no matter what. We think Derrick is a very good punter, like we've said, and I think he is an excellent holder. We've got a long week. There is change, but there is always a little change this time of year, whether it be at running back like in past years or at punter and snapper here, so it's just part of it. It's a good question, but we're trying to get better.
(Did you try pretty hard to trade Abdul Hodge rather than release him?)
We made calls on most if not all of the guys that we wound up releasing this week, so we did the normal stuff.
(Did you ever have any intention of carrying seven linebackers?)
Sure. It was like I said yesterday; you kind of think of different ways. There are other ways to kind of manipulate the roster, but at the end of the day, after a couple of days extra time to kind of think it out, we just felt like this was probably the best way to go about it in terms of protecting our team and also adding the players that we needed to add.