woodbuck27
07-28-2006, 02:37 PM
Posted July 28, 2006
Packers by position: Special teams likely to have whole new look
By Pete Dougherty
pdougher@greenbaypressgazette.com
There's a decent chance the Green Bay Packers will overhaul their kicking and return units this year from 2005.
Overall, it's hard to see that as anything but a necessary development.
No doubt, the Packers will suffer from the free-agency loss of kicker Ryan Longwell, who dependably put points on the board in all kinds of weather. But their punting and return games have been liabilities for at least a couple of years, so the need for new blood was obvious.
"Lots of new," said special teams coach Mike Stock, another new member of the special teams. "At least you're going to get the guys to buy into your system and listen to what you have to say and pay attention because they all want a job."
Stock, who is entering his 16th season as an NFL assistant and 11th as a special-teams coach, ran Kansas City's special teams from 1995 through 2000, then Washington's from 2001 to 2003 and St. Louis' in 2004 before spending last season out of football. He'll preside over two-man battles in training camp at both the punting and kicking games that will garner plenty of daily media attention, though the return game is just as important in the NFL's weekly battle for field position and game-changing plays.
Punter will get special scrutiny, if for no other reason than former third-round pick B.J. Sander hitting his make-or-break training camp with the Packers.
Based on offseason practices, Canadian Football League signee Jon Ryan is ahead of Sander as training camp opens tonight.
Ryan showed a stronger leg and performed better than Sander overall in minicamps and organized-team activities this spring and summer, though the job ultimately will be won or lost in preseason games.
Ryan, who averaged a CFL-record 50.6 yards a punt last season, needs to improve his hang time, but that hasn't been a deal-breaking problem so far.
"His averages with the distance and hang time have been very compatible," Stock said. "I've been surprised about that. Everybody said he drives the ball, drives the ball, so I expected to see line drives and no hang time, and that we'd have to work real hard on him putting the ball in the air. But he's done a pretty good job with all of that."
Sander's strength is hang time and placement rather than distance, as he showed again this offseason, when at his best he was hitting the ball about 40 yards with too much hang time for a return. However, without a big-time leg, he'll have to become more consistent to beat out Ryan, and even then there could be concern about his leg strength in the cold.
Sander punted OK for the first half of last season but saw his 42.3 gross average over the first eight games dip to 36.3 yards in the next six before a fracture in his kicking leg ended his season. Sander punted in NFL Europe last spring and thought he tired considerably down the stretch because of all the punts he hit in games and practice from February through the NFL's regular season
Sander's career with the Packers has been star crossed from the start. Former coach Mike Sherman probably did him no favors by making an unprecedented move and trading up to draft a punter when he selected Sander in the third round of 2004 draft. Under heavy expectations, Sander got off to a bad start in his first training camp and never recovered that year.
"I don't know all about that stuff," Stock said. "I do know I worked him out (coming out of Ohio State). My opinion is he's got an NFL leg, and he can compete and win a job. He's still not out of it here."
Replacing Longwell will not be easy after he finished his 10-year career with the Packers with an 81.6 percentage of made field goals for a team that plays its home games in one of the harshest climates in the NFL.
Billy Cundiff, who made 73.2 percent of his field-goal attempts in 3½ seasons as Dallas' kicker, has to be considered the front-runner to replace Longwell ahead of second-year pro Dave Rayner. Rayner was Indianapolis' kickoff specialist as a rookie and attempted only one field goal, a 59-yarder that he missed.
Rayner probably has the stronger leg, but Cundiff has been more accurate. The Packers also could look to the waiver wire at the end of training camp if they're not sold on either.
"The big thing is not the strength of the leg," Stock said. "The big thing is the consistency factor."
The Packers haven't had a good return game since 2000, which was Allen Rossum's last healthy season with them. To turn that around, General Manager Ted Thompson used some valuable offseason resources to find return candidates to replace Antonio Chatman, who for the past three seasons was a sure-handed but painfully pedestrian returner.
Perhaps most surprisingly, free-agent cornerback Charles Woodson might be the punt returner this season. Woodson, who turns 30 in October and signed a deal that includes $10 million in bonuses and base pay this year, averaged 8.7 yards on 47 punt returns at the University of Michigan but has returned only a handful of punts in the NFL (six returns for an average of 11.8 yards).
"He wants to do it," Stock said. "We're going to dress 46 for the game, somebody's got to go and do it, so we might as well find the best guy we can. He's as bona fide as you get in the league."
Thompson also drafted two players who will get long looks in the return games  fourth-rounder Cory Rodgers was drafted as much for his return abilities as his potential as a receiver, and second-rounder Greg Jennings is a receiver who returned punts and kicks for parts of his career at Eastern Michigan.
Rodgers, who averaged 30.3 yards a kickoff return and 15.3 yards a punt return as a senior at Texas Christian University, struggled catching punts during offseason practices but had an eye test near the end of OTAs in June and received a new prescription for his contact lenses.
"I didn't see him drop a ball (the last day of OTAs)," Stock said. "We were indoors, which he had real trouble with when we did this at the first minicamp."
Jennings averaged 22.5 yards on kickoff returns and 11.0 yards on punt returns at Eastern Michigan.
Other possible kickoff returners are Najeh Davenport and Ahmad Carroll.
Packers by position: Special teams likely to have whole new look
By Pete Dougherty
pdougher@greenbaypressgazette.com
There's a decent chance the Green Bay Packers will overhaul their kicking and return units this year from 2005.
Overall, it's hard to see that as anything but a necessary development.
No doubt, the Packers will suffer from the free-agency loss of kicker Ryan Longwell, who dependably put points on the board in all kinds of weather. But their punting and return games have been liabilities for at least a couple of years, so the need for new blood was obvious.
"Lots of new," said special teams coach Mike Stock, another new member of the special teams. "At least you're going to get the guys to buy into your system and listen to what you have to say and pay attention because they all want a job."
Stock, who is entering his 16th season as an NFL assistant and 11th as a special-teams coach, ran Kansas City's special teams from 1995 through 2000, then Washington's from 2001 to 2003 and St. Louis' in 2004 before spending last season out of football. He'll preside over two-man battles in training camp at both the punting and kicking games that will garner plenty of daily media attention, though the return game is just as important in the NFL's weekly battle for field position and game-changing plays.
Punter will get special scrutiny, if for no other reason than former third-round pick B.J. Sander hitting his make-or-break training camp with the Packers.
Based on offseason practices, Canadian Football League signee Jon Ryan is ahead of Sander as training camp opens tonight.
Ryan showed a stronger leg and performed better than Sander overall in minicamps and organized-team activities this spring and summer, though the job ultimately will be won or lost in preseason games.
Ryan, who averaged a CFL-record 50.6 yards a punt last season, needs to improve his hang time, but that hasn't been a deal-breaking problem so far.
"His averages with the distance and hang time have been very compatible," Stock said. "I've been surprised about that. Everybody said he drives the ball, drives the ball, so I expected to see line drives and no hang time, and that we'd have to work real hard on him putting the ball in the air. But he's done a pretty good job with all of that."
Sander's strength is hang time and placement rather than distance, as he showed again this offseason, when at his best he was hitting the ball about 40 yards with too much hang time for a return. However, without a big-time leg, he'll have to become more consistent to beat out Ryan, and even then there could be concern about his leg strength in the cold.
Sander punted OK for the first half of last season but saw his 42.3 gross average over the first eight games dip to 36.3 yards in the next six before a fracture in his kicking leg ended his season. Sander punted in NFL Europe last spring and thought he tired considerably down the stretch because of all the punts he hit in games and practice from February through the NFL's regular season
Sander's career with the Packers has been star crossed from the start. Former coach Mike Sherman probably did him no favors by making an unprecedented move and trading up to draft a punter when he selected Sander in the third round of 2004 draft. Under heavy expectations, Sander got off to a bad start in his first training camp and never recovered that year.
"I don't know all about that stuff," Stock said. "I do know I worked him out (coming out of Ohio State). My opinion is he's got an NFL leg, and he can compete and win a job. He's still not out of it here."
Replacing Longwell will not be easy after he finished his 10-year career with the Packers with an 81.6 percentage of made field goals for a team that plays its home games in one of the harshest climates in the NFL.
Billy Cundiff, who made 73.2 percent of his field-goal attempts in 3½ seasons as Dallas' kicker, has to be considered the front-runner to replace Longwell ahead of second-year pro Dave Rayner. Rayner was Indianapolis' kickoff specialist as a rookie and attempted only one field goal, a 59-yarder that he missed.
Rayner probably has the stronger leg, but Cundiff has been more accurate. The Packers also could look to the waiver wire at the end of training camp if they're not sold on either.
"The big thing is not the strength of the leg," Stock said. "The big thing is the consistency factor."
The Packers haven't had a good return game since 2000, which was Allen Rossum's last healthy season with them. To turn that around, General Manager Ted Thompson used some valuable offseason resources to find return candidates to replace Antonio Chatman, who for the past three seasons was a sure-handed but painfully pedestrian returner.
Perhaps most surprisingly, free-agent cornerback Charles Woodson might be the punt returner this season. Woodson, who turns 30 in October and signed a deal that includes $10 million in bonuses and base pay this year, averaged 8.7 yards on 47 punt returns at the University of Michigan but has returned only a handful of punts in the NFL (six returns for an average of 11.8 yards).
"He wants to do it," Stock said. "We're going to dress 46 for the game, somebody's got to go and do it, so we might as well find the best guy we can. He's as bona fide as you get in the league."
Thompson also drafted two players who will get long looks in the return games  fourth-rounder Cory Rodgers was drafted as much for his return abilities as his potential as a receiver, and second-rounder Greg Jennings is a receiver who returned punts and kicks for parts of his career at Eastern Michigan.
Rodgers, who averaged 30.3 yards a kickoff return and 15.3 yards a punt return as a senior at Texas Christian University, struggled catching punts during offseason practices but had an eye test near the end of OTAs in June and received a new prescription for his contact lenses.
"I didn't see him drop a ball (the last day of OTAs)," Stock said. "We were indoors, which he had real trouble with when we did this at the first minicamp."
Jennings averaged 22.5 yards on kickoff returns and 11.0 yards on punt returns at Eastern Michigan.
Other possible kickoff returners are Najeh Davenport and Ahmad Carroll.