Bret Kern replace by Mitch Berger [Archive]

honz

10-26-2009, 12:47 PM

http://blogs.denverpost.com/broncos/2009/10/26/berger-new-broncos-punter/

The Broncos have signed NFL veteran and former University of Colorado punter Mitch Berger, who replaces Brett Kern.

The Broncos have yet to formally announce the move, but Berger’s name plate is above the locker that until recently belonged to Kern.

It appears the Broncos were unhappy with Kern’s tendency to boot long, but low-trajectory punts that were ideal for returning. San Diego’s Darren Sproles returned a punt for a touchdown last Monday night.

Welcome home Mitch.

NightTrainLayne

10-26-2009, 12:50 PM

Our first in-Season roster move under McDaniels.

Timmy!

10-26-2009, 12:51 PM

Our first in-Season roster move under McDaniels.

And a good one, IMHO. Kern sucked, and couldn't pin teams inside the 20 to save his life.

underrated29

10-26-2009, 12:57 PM

LRtagger

10-26-2009, 01:03 PM

It would be totally awesome if his first name was Hamlet (or Ham for short).

broncofaninfla

10-26-2009, 01:03 PM

What's the low down on Berger?

Dortoh

10-26-2009, 01:05 PM

What's the low down on Berger?

Anytime you can add a player that had the skill level to compete and play at CU you've improved your ball club.

Tned

10-26-2009, 01:07 PM

Our first in-Season roster move under McDaniels.

I was just thinking the same thing. Hopefully, it will be one of the last.

Denver Native (Carol)

10-26-2009, 01:08 PM

I don't know how big Kern is, but here are Mitch's stats:

Mitch Berger

Height: 6-4 Weight: 228 Age: 37

Born: 6/24/1972 Kamloops Canada

College: Colorado

Experience: 15 Seasons

I don't know if he still can do for the Broncos what he did for CU, but he was a great punter for CU.

Dortoh

10-26-2009, 01:08 PM

He is going to fit in just fine with Orton

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/deadspin/2009/06/mitchberger.jpg

Ziggy

10-26-2009, 01:14 PM

Berger has averaged 43 yards/punt over his career. I'm not sure what the net average is, but he should be solid and consistent, which is what Kern was lacking.

Bronco Bully

10-26-2009, 01:15 PM

http://blog.denverbroncos.com/denverbroncos/broncos-add-berger-waive-kern/

Fresh off their bye week break, the Broncos have added a new veteran face to boost them for the stretch run.

The team signed 16-year veteran punter Mitch Berger on Monday, it was announced. To make room for Berger on the roster, the club waived second-year punter Brett Kern.

A University of Colorado alum, Berger joins the Broncos after winning a Super Bowl with the Steelers last season. He also has stints with Arizona (2007), New Orleans (2003-05), St. Louis (2002), Minnesota (1996-2001), Chicago (1995) and Philadelphia (1994).

Over the last decade, Berger has ranked among the league’s best. Since 1999, he is fifth in the NFL in both gross (43.4) and net (36.6) average (min. 500 punts).

Over that 10-year span, Berger was voted to the Pro Bowl twice. His first honor came in 1999 with the Vikings, where he led the NFC and finished second in the league with a 44.7-yard average. The second honor came five years later with the Saints, where he led the NFL with a 39.0-yard net average.

Berger also brings plenty of postseason experience to Denver. He has punted in 12 career playoff games, including last year’s Super Bowl with Pittsburgh. In those contests, he booted 55 punts for 2,238 yards (40.7 avg.), with five touchbacks and 12 kicks inside the 20-yard line.

broncofaninfla

10-26-2009, 01:16 PM

I guess I need to slow down on the beer on Sundays, I was happy with Kern for the most part.

Dortoh

10-26-2009, 01:19 PM

Denver Native (Carol)

10-26-2009, 01:22 PM

Since I'm bored I'll read into this more then is there.

I think this is a McD move to show his 6-0 team nobody is safe. Keep everyones mind on the prize and working hard. That or Kern just kinda sucked.

There is absolutely no way that Coach McDaniels would sacrifice a player, if he was totally satisfied with him, to just make a point. That would not make any sense. This was a move that the Coach felt had to be made to better that part of the team.

Tned

10-26-2009, 01:31 PM

A Frank Schwab tweet on this subject:

@fs3142: Can't say the Berger signing is too surprising - the coaches laid into Kern when he got back to the sideline after Sproles' TD. Not pleased

hotcarl

10-26-2009, 01:36 PM

i dont think they just became upset with him

we have worked out a total of two players this year... both punters

MileHighCrew

10-26-2009, 01:39 PM

Canadian that played at CU... Sounds perfect too me

LRtagger

10-26-2009, 01:40 PM

Not only was the Sproles TD bad, but Kern consistently punted the ball into the endzone when we had chances to pin opposing teams back. He could kick the shit out of the ball when there was a long field, but anytime we got close to midfield and needed to punt, he was completely unreliable.

When you have a ball control offense and a great defense, field position is drastically important. You cant have kickers giving up 10-20 yards in field position by kicking touchbacks.

broncofaninfla

10-26-2009, 01:45 PM

Strange to see so many people weren't happy with him, I don't recal reading a single negative post about him until today.

Hopefully Berger is an upgrade...

MileHighCrew

10-26-2009, 01:48 PM

I think when the season started expectations for this team were lower than now, maybe even in house and they were wiling to let Kern grow with the team. The fact this team is SO good now forced a move this year.

TXBRONC

10-26-2009, 02:06 PM

Strange to see so many people weren't happy with him, I don't recal reading a single negative post about him until today.

Hopefully Berger is an upgrade...

I agree I don't recall anyone complaining until now.

I'm not heart broken by Kern being dismissed, I just hope Berger can do a better job.

Dortoh

10-26-2009, 02:09 PM

I agree I don't recall anyone complaining until now.

I refer to it as the McD effect. Some people not to name names (me, myself and others) dogged McD for his personel discissions early in the offseason and it came back to bite them. Now they (me) are afraid to bitch about his discissions for fear and dislike of crow meat.

OldschoolFreak

10-26-2009, 02:12 PM

Was Colquitt signed by someone else after the Broncs cut him?

honz

10-26-2009, 02:17 PM

Was Colquitt signed by someone else after the Broncs cut him?

No, and we even worked him out a couple weeks back. 2 lucky bounces doth not a great punter make.

JDL

10-26-2009, 02:17 PM

I am very happy. I have liked the competition to Kern better than Kern for two years running. I don't get not signing Colquitt except that he couldn't beat out Kern (even though I thought he outplayed him in preseason.)

Berger has not been very good for awhile now (2-3 years), but I trust that he has perhaps gotten himself back into shape and is ready to go.

Now, how long until we can find a replacement for Matt Prater? He's at 75% this year, a career high ugh... good kickers are in the low (82-83%) to mid (85-86%) 80's. Everyone keeps thinking he is going to just learn accuracy and they love to point to Elam, except that Elam was supremely accurate in college, had a history of it, so it wasn't a shock he improved ... Prater is nice on the really long field goals and one of his misses was a ridiculously long FG attempt, but I simply do not trust him and he has no history of accuracy. He doesn't have a very natural looking kicking arc... almost like a knuckle ball (really just Mariano slider) going through the uprights sometimes (heavy and clunky), certainly not a pure kicking stroke like Elam has and the most accurate kickers have.

Imo, it is just a matter of time until he is replaced. (though probably not this year... I would guess though he'll finish around 76-78% on the season and replaced in the offseason.)

Anyway, welcome Mitch... do we finally have a kicker that won't just boot it through the end zone or to dangerous return guys at critical junctures in the game? Let's hope so.

JDL

10-26-2009, 02:26 PM

BTW, something I posted on another board last December in a response to a thread on bright spots in 2008 with me objecting to someone's inclusion of Kern.

Kern was statistically not that good. Wasn't awful, but seriously, he was in the bottom third or middle in most important categories. Some say it was the coverage, I tended to see him outkick his coverage. I don't see any particular reason to not bring someone in to challenge him, and likely he'll win the job.

So, there are some voices of reason out there that have wanted this for awhile lol :D

honz

10-26-2009, 02:29 PM

Maybe Kern is the source of Prater's problems as well! Kern is a lousy punter and a lousy holder!

TXBRONC

10-26-2009, 02:35 PM

I refer to it as the McD effect. Some people not to name names (me, myself and others) dogged McD for his personel discissions early in the offseason and it came back to bite them. Now they (me) are afraid to bitch about his discissions for fear and dislike of crow meat.

Dortoh I just don't remember anyone complaining about Kern until now. Anyway, nobody needs to eat crow over a kicker. :salute:

Iron Horse72

10-26-2009, 02:38 PM

Yes!

Denver Native (Carol)

10-26-2009, 02:44 PM

Was Colquitt signed by someone else after the Broncs cut him?

It appears that a few weeks ago, he worked out for the Dolphins, but I don't think they signed him.

NameUsedBefore

10-26-2009, 02:45 PM

What bothers me about our perpetual punting problem (PPP™) is that we had Mat McBriar a few seasons ago. Dude was smashing punts but couldn't really aim them yet due to coming over from Australia... We let him go and he's now the highest paid punter in the league for Dallas.

broncofaninfla

10-26-2009, 02:48 PM

Does getting a new holder make anybody else a little nervous?

honz

10-26-2009, 02:50 PM

Does getting a new holder make anybody else a little nervous?

No. Berger has been a holder in the past and even my Grandma would be incapable of dropping Paxton's perfect snaps.

broncofaninfla

10-26-2009, 02:54 PM

I looked up Berger on google, he wasn't well liked at Pittsburgh. Wouldn't be the first player who wasn't well liked at one city succeed at another though.

Dortoh

10-26-2009, 02:57 PM

no. Berger has been a holder in the past and even my grandma would be incapable of dropping paxton's perfect snaps.

lmmfao

LRtagger

10-26-2009, 03:05 PM

Dortoh I just don't remember anyone complaining about Kern until now.

Thats because it hasn't cost us a game yet. I could see a field position battle in the Pitt game for instance, where one bad punt could cost us points....or the second game against SD where a poorly angled punt could cost us 7...both scenarios could lead to a L.

It's tough to notice when the guy has a decent gross average and he never shanks anything...but not being able to land the ball inside the 10 is alarming. You have to at least give your gunners a chance to down it, which he couldnt seem to do.

I remember a couple of his punts from midfield landing 7 yards deep in the endzone.

broncofaninfla

10-26-2009, 03:22 PM

Thats because it hasn't cost us a game yet. I could see a field position battle in the Pitt game for instance, where one bad punt could cost us points....or the second game against SD where a poorly angled punt could cost us 7...both scenarios could lead to a L.

It's tough to notice when the guy has a decent gross average and he never shanks anything...but not being able to land the ball inside the 10 is alarming. You have to at least give your gunners a chance to down it, which he couldnt seem to do.

I remember a couple of his punts from midfield landing 7 yards deep in the endzone.

I don't remember the touchbacks being an issue and can't recal a time he booted a bad punt that put is in a pinch. Our defense seems to be good enough to take on any offense on thier 20.......Not saying it hasnt happened just never saw this as a issue and I can be pretty anal when watching games. I'm not questioning Mcd just surprsied.....

Lonestar

10-26-2009, 03:24 PM

By Mike Klis
The Denver Post
Posted: 10/26/2009 11:55:05 AM MDT
Updated: 10/26/2009 02:07:15 PM MDT

Mitch Berger. (AP)The Broncos have signed NFL veteran and former University of Colorado punter Mitch Berger, who will replace Brett Kern.

The Broncos formally announced the move Monday afternoon. In the morning, Berger's name plate was above the locker that until recently belonged to Kern.

It appears the Broncos were unhappy with Kern's tendency to boot long, but low-trajectory punts that were ideal for returning. San Diego's Darren Sproles returned a punt for a touchdown last Monday night.

http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_13644232?source=rsssimplepiebroncos

TXBRONC

10-26-2009, 03:43 PM

Thats because it hasn't cost us a game yet. I could see a field position battle in the Pitt game for instance, where one bad punt could cost us points....or the second game against SD where a poorly angled punt could cost us 7...both scenarios could lead to a L.

It's tough to notice when the guy has a decent gross average and he never shanks anything...but not being able to land the ball inside the 10 is alarming. You have to at least give your gunners a chance to down it, which he couldnt seem to do.

I remember a couple of his punts from midfield landing 7 yards deep in the endzone.

I recall also him getting some of his punts inside the 20. Nevertheless the coach wasn't pleased so he's made a change. Punters and kickers are probably the easiest positions in football to replace.

Gimpygod

10-26-2009, 04:21 PM

I actually asked dad if there was a rule against directional kicking now because over the last couple of weeks we were punting into the end zone even from the 50 or closer. Relying on guys to make spectacular plays to down the ball didn't seem to make as much sense, not to mention less risky, as simply angling the sucker out of bounds inside the 20.

T.K.O.

10-26-2009, 04:23 PM

i remember way back to the s.d. game (seems so long ago now....to me)when we pretty much had the game wrapped up and he punted that ball to sproles....my heart just about blew an o-ring and before he ran 5 yds, i started ranting to my friends...."why the helll didnt he kick that &^&%#% out of bounds....why?
i was actually blaming the coaching for the blunder....now seeing that he got torched by the coaches after the kick and now fired....i bet he was supposed to kick it out and did'nt or could'nt !

dogfish

10-26-2009, 05:44 PM

No. Berger has been a holder in the past and even my Grandma would be incapable of dropping Paxton's perfect snaps.

paxton could snap it to himself if he had to. . . .

I actually asked dad if there was a rule against directional kicking now because over the last couple of weeks we were punting into the end zone even from the 50 or closer. Relying on guys to make spectacular plays to down the ball didn't seem to make as much sense, not to mention less risky, as simply angling the sucker out of bounds inside the 20.

unfortunately, the coffin corner kick seems to have mostly become a lost art in the NFL. . . i guess they'd rather have a chance to down it right at the goal line. . .

TXBRONC

10-26-2009, 05:53 PM

paxton could snap it to himself if he had to. . . .

unfortunately, the coffin corner kick seems to have mostly become a lost art in the NFL. . . i guess they'd rather have a chance to down it right at the goal line. . .

He is the best long snapper in football. :D

LRtagger

10-26-2009, 06:04 PM

Our defense seems to be good enough to take on any offense on thier 20....

Thats the whole point. If you have a defense like ours that gets off the field on 3rd down, there is a HUGE field position difference between the other team starting at the 5 vs the 20. If we hold them to a 3 and out at the 5, we get the ball back around midfield or even closer....if we hold them to a 3 and out at the 20, we start on our own 30 or so. HUGE difference...especially when playing against teams like Pitt that wont give up many long drives.

Not to mention the fact that when the other team starts off inside their own 5, they typically play it very conservatively because they don't want to risk a sack for a safety. Typically they will run it on 1st and usually 2nd down also...makes it really easy on our defense.

Lonestar

10-26-2009, 07:17 PM

Buff

10-26-2009, 07:20 PM

Great move.

http://www.cubuffs.com/pics24/300/LP/LPMAAXRDQEUAGFV.20090210173800.jpg

Championship.

Lonestar

10-26-2009, 07:21 PM

I had not seen a issue with Kern seemed to get it inside the twenty alot and had a few go into the end zone..

guess that was not what our standards are any more..

what bothers me is this Mc Punt has been a lot of cities on the NFL tour and did not seem to last any where..

if he is not good enuff for PIT why would he be good enuff for us??

T.K.O.

10-26-2009, 07:27 PM

if he is not good enuff for PIT why would he be good enuff for us??

because they won the superbowl last year and we did'nt;)

nevcraw

10-26-2009, 07:30 PM

Mitch Berger was good during his days at Minn. but since then he been a avg. fill in punter.
I just didn't see kern as a liability and he seemed to have several very good punts.. Just not sure how Berger is better.. i guess we will see on Sunday..
wonder who will the be the punter at then end of the season..

Day1BroncoFan

10-26-2009, 07:36 PM

I'm more concerned with Prater than Kern but I'm not McD.

Berger seems to have been lots of places for short periods of time. That doesn't seem to me to be a good sign.

I am going to trust McD as he has made good decisions so far. I hope this move is another of those.

Superchop 7

10-26-2009, 08:00 PM

Personally, I think the refs penalize directional kicks. (add yardage)

Would have rather seen Colquitt signed, but, Berger is adequate.

Berger is the best tackler in the NFL for a punter. (hmmmmmm)

I guess the Broncos want toughness at "all" positions

Denver Native (Carol)

10-26-2009, 09:20 PM

http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_13644232

For most people, the trip from Boulder to Denver is relatively short and direct, if filled with traffic frustrations.

For Mitch Berger, the trip was so long and circuitous, it took him 16 seasons to get back to punting at altitude.

The former University of Colorado punter was signed Monday by the Broncos after the team waived Brett Kern.

It appears the Broncos were unhappy with Kern's inconsistency in directional kicking, plus his tendency to boot long, low-trajectory punts that were ideal for returning.

While Kern was 10th in the NFL with a 46.1-yard gross average, he was 27th with a 34.5-yard net after San Diego's Darren Sproles returned a punt for a touchdown last Monday night.

Kern also had an NFL-high six touchbacks on only 27 punts this year.

In making their first roster move of the regular season, the Broncos not only changed punters but the holder for kicker Matt Prater. "We'll just have to work hard this week and do the best we can," Prater said. "Mitch has a lot of experience holding, so we should be fine. I was sad, though, when I saw Brett pack his bag and leave. We were really close. He was like a brother to me. It's one of the tough parts about this game."

The Broncos worked out Berger last week and signed him Monday. This will be his 16th NFL season as a punter and kickoff specialist, and the Broncos will be his 12th NFL team, counting the uniforms he wore in the preseason.

He was named to the Pro Bowl in 1999 and 2004.

Born and raised in Canada, Berger attended the same high school (North Delta Secondary in British Columbia, over different years) as Rockies pitcher Jeff Francis.

Berger punted and kicked off for Bill McCartney's CU Buffaloes in 1992-93. Drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1994, Berger's long NFL career took him last season to the Pittsburgh Steelers where he wound up punting in Super Bowl XLIII.

He had a good game, too, averaging 46.3 yards on three punts to earn his first Super Bowl ring.

"I've had some incredible highs," Berger told the Denver Post's Woody Paige during Super Bowl media day in Tampa, Fla. "I've had some incredible lows. I'm not finished. I'll keep punting as long as I can. And when I can't punt anymore, maybe I can hang on a couple years as a holder."

rcsodak

10-26-2009, 10:15 PM

LRtagger

10-26-2009, 10:34 PM

what bothers me is this Mc Punt has been a lot of cities on the NFL tour and did not seem to last any where..

if he is not good enuff for PIT why would he be good enuff for us??

Would you say the same thing about all the new guys we signed on D that were FA's? We picked up a LOT of players that other teams didnt want that have really produced for us this year.

Lonestar

10-27-2009, 02:16 AM

Would you say the same thing about all the new guys we signed on D that were FA's? We picked up a LOT of players that other teams didnt want that have really produced for us this year.

well I guess I'm concerned that this guy is going into his 16th season, he has been in the NFL as long as some of our rookies have been in long pants..:laugh:

Northman

10-27-2009, 05:57 AM

I guess I need to slow down on the beer on Sundays, I was happy with Kern for the most part.

Funny, i too didnt think he was that bad. I think the one thing McDaniels doesnt really understand is that 1) Sproles is going to get his no matter what unless you punt away from him. And 2) Denver's ST's have always had the problem of tackling as well. Outside of Sproles i thought the ST's was doing quite well overall.

Dirk

10-27-2009, 06:16 AM

I agree that overall the STs are doing really good. Outside of me cringing every time Prater is up to kick a field goal. :tsk:

Timmy!

10-27-2009, 06:56 AM

Ummm. Guys....can anybody tell me the last time we actually downed a punt inside the 20? Cause I can remember plenty of times where Kern's punts went into the end zone. I think it's a "holy crap our defense is awesome and I can't remember field position" syndrome.

Also, can we at least bring in somebody to compete with Prater? Please?

Timmy!

10-27-2009, 07:02 AM

Upon reviewing the stats, the Broncos are:

tied for the league lead in touchbacks (6)
25th in return average
22nd in punts returned (doesn't sound bad, but all but 1 team in front of us has less punts)
21st in punts inside the 20
21st in fair catches
Out of 27 punts, 17 have been returned, one of the worst averages in the league

http://nfl.fanhouse.com/stats?season=2009&categoryType=punting&league=NFL&category=special%20teams&viewBy=Team%20Stats

So...umm...ya. As previous mentioned, Kern pretty much sucked ass.

Overtime

10-27-2009, 08:40 AM

and we like the berger over colquitt? Interesting.

Hopefully Mitch can make us proud.

So now we have the

McBerger.

Too bad Mitchs' first name was Donald. Then we could have McDonaldBerger.

ok, i'm retarded.

yeah I was wondering the same thing. Colquitt was awesome in pre-season and I really thought he shoulda beat out Kern.

as long as Berger does good I don't care. hang 'em high up there and let our special teams guys get down the field.

T.K.O.

10-27-2009, 01:15 PM

well I guess I'm concerned that this guy is going into his 16th season, he has been in the NFL as long as some of our rookies have been in long pants..:laugh:

and dawkins is in his 14th......i think he's taken a bigger pounding than a punter.
how long has elam been at it? he was kicking fg's in the playoffs last year;)
dont pre-order the double berger burger at the crow cafe Jr......j/k
is the crow cafe closed down i hav'nt seen the owner around lately?

D1g1tal j1m

10-27-2009, 01:34 PM

Funny, i too didnt think he was that bad. I think the one thing McDaniels doesnt really understand is that 1) Sproles is going to get his no matter what unless you punt away from him. And 2) Denver's ST's have always had the problem of tackling as well. Outside of Sproles i thought the ST's was doing quite well overall.

I think McD realized that ST is going to be a big factor down the stretch. Our Offense has been very effective and our Defense has played brilliantly so far but our ST's has not been up to par.
1) Kern's punts (as has been noted previously) do not hang up in the air long enough and therefore he allows the Returner a chance to pick a lane and run before our coverage team has a chance to get to him initially. Sproles had too much time and not nearly enough Bronco Defenders in his face. He had a running start to get past the initially wave.
2) Hopefully we won't have to tackle as much if the Returners have to wave fair catch as he waits for the punts to get to him as our Coverage guys surround him.

Kern's punts are long and seem to get to the Returners fairly quickly, giving them time to run under them and go. I can not remember a time that a opposing team's Returner had to fair catch the ball because he was surrounded by Bronco defenders. Kern's punt average was good (46.1) but the Net was awful (34.5).

Hopefully Berger's punts keeps our Opponents deep in their own territory.

NameUsedBefore

10-27-2009, 01:47 PM

http://www.popculturemadness.com/Entertainment/Music/images/mitch-hedberg-01.jpg

Heyeyyy

shank

10-27-2009, 01:48 PM

http://www.popculturemadness.com/Entertainment/Music/images/mitch-hedberg-01.jpg

Heyeyyy

one of the GOAT.

colquitt must not be nearly as good as any of us think he was.

GEM

10-27-2009, 01:54 PM

GEM

10-27-2009, 01:56 PM

In making their first roster move of the regular season, the Broncos not only changed punters but the holder for kicker Matt Prater. "We'll just have to work hard this week and do the best we can," Prater said. "Mitch has a lot of experience holding, so we should be fine. I was sad, though, when I saw Brett pack his bag and leave. We were really close. He was like a brother to me. It's one of the tough parts about this game."

Well Prater, you better worry about your own accuracy or you could be on the waive list.

shank

10-27-2009, 02:03 PM

i'm hoping that in some way, kern is also to blame for prater's struggles. i know it's a long shot, but i can hope.

honz

10-27-2009, 02:52 PM

I agree that overall the STs are doing really good. Outside of me cringing every time Prater is up to kick a field goal. :tsk:

Prater has made every kick he has had to make this year. He missed 2 in the wind and a 54 yarder...i think he may have one other miss as well, but he's hit all the big kicks that we have needed. Every kicker misses and we were quite spoiled by Elam. The thing I'm concerned about with Prater is that his kicks are already about 10 yards shorter than they were the first couple of weeks. His leg can't be tired already so hopefully he can fix whatever has happened to shorten his kickoffs so much.

broncofaninfla

10-27-2009, 02:57 PM

T.K.O.

10-27-2009, 02:57 PM

Prater has made every kick he has had to make this year. He missed 2 in the wind and a 54 yarder...i think he may have one other miss as well, but he's hit all the big kicks that we have needed. Every kicker misses and we were quite spoiled by Elam. The thing I'm concerned about with Prater is that his kicks are already about 10 yards shorter than they were the first couple of weeks. His leg can't be tired already so hopefully he can fix whatever has happened to shorten his kickoffs so much.

i see your point but if you remember those 2 misses would have cost us our first game had stokes not come down with the "imaculate deflection"

MileHighCrew

10-27-2009, 03:06 PM

Tougher than Saurbraun?

And sober, which is kind of nice

honz

10-27-2009, 03:07 PM

i see your point but if you remember those 2 misses would have cost us our first game had stokes not come down with the "imaculate deflection"
Negatory. Prater hit a 48 yarder and a 50 yarder in the Cincy game! His two misses in the wind came against the Brownies.

shank

10-27-2009, 03:40 PM

i'm more worried about prater's kickoffs as of late. they were pretty damned short last week. the kern influence was really in jest.

and kern was sucking. he was outkicking coverages, couldn't keep it out of the endzone to save his life, and was already showing to be pretty inconsistent. he had very few kicks this season that balanced distance and hangtime in a successful way. i don't think berger is any sort of talent upgrade, but he should be more consistent and hopefully have better placement.

again, colquitt must have sucked in practices for him not to be brought back. our staff has seen more of him than any other punter, and decided against him. oh well, here we go stop-gap, here we go!

honz

10-27-2009, 04:14 PM

Kern has been claimed off waivers by the Titans. Poor guy.

Iron Horse72

10-27-2009, 04:33 PM

Kern has been claimed off waivers by the Titans. Poor guy.

From 6-0 to a winless team, happy holidays Mr. Kern!

Lonestar

10-27-2009, 04:33 PM

I wonder if Prater gets cut if people will claim he sucked too? Sorry, I don't remember anybody complaining about Kern up until he was cut. Berger might be an upgrade, I have faith that our staff is making the correct decision but I won't agree that Kern sucked as I have seen plenty of punters in the NFL who actually did suck.

there are always folks that do not like someone for ODD reasons.. yes there was a lot of whining about Kern when he did not pin someone down inside the half foot line..

some folks were on colquits jock so they also chimed in when he was cut..

I did not see anything wrong with his punts but then Josh did not tell me where they were supposed to go each time either..

I suspect that the bar has been raised since we have been successful the past month or so and he did not make the jump...

I have a friend that has tried out for every team that would allow him to do so.. he was a stud in college and was indeed drafted but the punters in the NFL are at a whole different level..

HE said that kicking out of bounds and being able to lay the ball inside the 10 yard line and have it stick is what they are looking for.. If a ST coach calls for a 48 yard punt with no return that is what they are wanting to see.. if they ask for Hang time you better be able to hang it up there forever..