P Jon Ryan loses a step in hopes of improving consistency

[KYPack]

What punter should have TT gotten last year? Was there a good/great punter available? Don't remember any, and not every punt returned was a line drive. I recall somne long returns because gunners missed or the PR broke their tackle.

Ryan had some good and some bad punts and it is expected in a rookie. In the CFL they have more room to kick and there are is no fair catches. The KR has a 5 yard cussion to start his return. So booming line drives are used to make the KR chase the ball. In the NFL hang time is more importatnt as it allows the ST to get under the ball.

I think Ryna did a decent job for a rookie, this year he needs to take it to a higher level and if he loses 1/2 yards per kick, but increases his hang time so he incraeses his Net by 2/3 yards i will be satisfied.

At's about right, Creepy.

The kid did OK for a rook, but he's got to step it up to stay.

I just noticed I have hijacked this thread and put it back OT twice!@

[MJZiggy]

I just noticed I have hijacked this thread and put it back OT twice!@

That's just cause the "Linda Lou" attitude is interesting. I think Ryan will be fine. It will be a good challenge from the Aussie, but he'll have to learn to hold as well, won't he? I thought Ryan was a good holder last season (either that or he had a kicker unwilling to blame him for bad kicks...) There will be lots of interesting legs in camp this summer.

[packinpatland]

"Special Teams" is an excuse when you reach to draft someone who has little talent. From what I hear from training camp, no one can catch the damn punts, not even the veterans. Filling your special teams with all rookies is pretty smart football, if you play in NFLE. So is picking up a punter from the CFL and expecting him to be an NFL punter out of the gate. When the CFL punter fails to make the adjustments because the coaches you hired to teach him take a year to make adjustments and then saying it's the punters fault for the high return yards is ludicrous. Try the coaches who are there to teach him, the coaches who decide who plays on special teams, the guy who hires the coaches, the guy who evaluates the talent and then drafts such talent. So yeah, TT does punt, a lot.

Tell it to Devin Hester...

Just watched 'Invincible'..... again. GO SPECIAL TEAMS!!!

[woodbuck27]

He's certainly then, ()Observant and accurate in his assessments()

That's an opinion. It's like an asshole, everyone has one.

Then with that personal observation or degree of knowledge you'll certainly appreciate this Tarlam.

A suggestion just for you:

Try listening very carefully for the POP.

That. . . would be. . . the sound of your head coming out of yours.

[swede]

I think blaming poor punt coverage on the Ryan is like giving a chimp a gun and when he shoots someone, blaming the chimp.

Somehow, any discussion becomes more interesting to me when the subject of chimps and guns gets brought up.

Neither the chimp nor I could follow the analogy but we liked it anyway for obvious reasons.

[Partial]

I think blaming poor punt coverage on the Ryan is like giving a chimp a gun and when he shoots someone, blaming the chimp.

Somehow, any discussion becomes more interesting to me when the subject of chimps and guns gets brought up.

Neither the chimp nor I could follow the analogy but we liked it anyway for obvious reasons.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Ryan uses offseason to work on two-step punts
By Tom Pelissero

For nearly seven months, Jon Ryan worked on his steps.

He watched tapes of Chicago’s Brad Maynard and Tennessee’s Craig Hentrich.

He did everything possible to ensure he had mastered the two-step punting technique.

Then came the first day of training camp, and just like that, the old third step was back.

“Once you get that rush coming at you, it feels more like a game, and everything kind of went back to what I was comfortable with,” Ryan said this week. “I didn’t even know at the time. Then, I watched the film, and I wanted to hit myself.”

“I’m saying, ‘You’ve got to be (kidding) me,’” special teams coordinator Mike Stock recalled. “You talk about muscle memory. He reverted.”

Since that first day, though, Ryan has been consistent — both in his approach and his results.

On 54 punts in team periods during training camp, Ryan has averaged 50.5 yards and 4.64 seconds of hang time. Not bad for a second-year pro who had relied on Step No. 3 since he was 7 years old.

“I feel like I’m hitting the ball better than I did … any point last year, and a lot more consistent, too,” Ryan said. “I’m totally comfortable with (the new technique), and I’m looking forward to seeing where it’s going to take us.”

Stock suggested the change in January, after Ryan finished ninth in the NFL in gross average (44.5 yards) but tied for 26th in net (35.7), in part because of inconsistent hang time.

The change moved him farther from the line of scrimmage — from 9 or 9½ yards to 10½ or 11 yards — making it more difficult to rush him. It also shortened his stride.

“With three steps, he was always so far outstretched that he was always reaching for the ball and he couldn’t get it up,” Stock said. “He could get it out, but he couldn’t get up and out. Now, he’s got a chance to lift it and hit it for distance and hang time.”

A year’s experience on the narrower NFL field also should help Ryan, who played college football in his native Saskatchewan and set a Canadian Football League record with a 50.6-yard gross punting average in 2005.

So would a year without personal turmoil. Ryan’s father, Bob, died of cancer late last season.

“Even last year, you could (barely) tell,” Stock said. “This guy is tough. Pretty steely guy.”

The Packers decided not to bring in a veteran option in the offseason, and so far, that decision seems like a sage one. Ryan’s original competition in camp, David Lonie, landed on injured reserve with an ankle injury. Newcomer Ryan Dougherty has shown improvement, but Ryan has kicked better, and there’s no reason to think he’ll mount a challenge, either.

Ryan admits he has set “a lot of goals” personally for this season. For now, though, he’s not sharing.

“They’re kind of things I keep to myself until I achieve them,” Ryan said. “Then I’ll be sure to tell you guys all about them.”

[Terry]

I know they tried tried to change BJ's steps and it didn't work but he never seemed to have much confidence either. Watching Ryan last year and knowing what he was going through with his father's health makes me want to pull for him a bit. A few of his punts were line drives and some were booming 60 yarders, I think he has the confidence and a great leg strength to boot, (pun intended), and if he can be more consistent he'll make people stop wondering why Wolf wouldn't give Craig Hentrich $1mil/yr, that still baffles me.

Please correct me if I'm mistaken, but I think the huge difference between the two was that Ryan had the time to get comfortable just being on the team, getting on the field, and punting in the NFL before they went to work on his technique.

I think with BJ that his technique was being micromanaged from the first day he arrived in training camp. He never had the chance to find his feet, so to speak (no pun intended). Big mistake, imo, and a disaster perhaps for BJ.

I felt the same way about that punt returner a while back - I've forgotten his name - who caught everything with his body. I was praying for them to just let the guy play a bit in preseason, so they could see what they had in a returner, plus letting the guy have a bit of time to get comfortable just being in the NFL in the first place, so he could build a tiny bit of confidence.

[woodbuck27]

I know they tried tried to change BJ's steps and it didn't work but he never seemed to have much confidence either. Watching Ryan last year and knowing what he was going through with his father's health makes me want to pull for him a bit. A few of his punts were line drives and some were booming 60 yarders, I think he has the confidence and a great leg strength to boot, (pun intended), and if he can be more consistent he'll make people stop wondering why Wolf wouldn't give Craig Hentrich $1mil/yr, that still baffles me.

Please correct me if I'm mistaken, but I think the huge difference between the two was that Ryan had the time to get comfortable just being on the team, getting on the field, and punting in the NFL before they went to work on his technique.

I think with BJ that his technique was being micromanaged from the first day he arrived in training camp. He never had the chance to find his feet, so to speak (no pun intended). Big mistake, imo, and a disaster perhaps for BJ.

I felt the same way about that punt returner a while back - I've forgotten his name - who caught everything with his body. I was praying for them to just let the guy play a bit in preseason, so they could see what they had in a returner, plus letting the guy have a bit of time to get comfortable just being in the NFL in the first place, so he could build a tiny bit of confidence.

Are you referring to Cory Rodgers Terry? Our 4th round pick in 2006.

He's playing in the CFL at present. Been handling it up here to date.

By the way. Good to see you post Terry.