Lonestar
11-18-2009, 03:35 PM
By Jeff Legwold
The Denver Post
Posted: 11/18/2009 01:00:00 AM MST
Denver Broncos P Britton Colquitt (4) gets in some kick off time during camp Thursday, August 20, 2009 at Dove Valley. (John Leyba | The Denver Post)Today's question comes from Gary Rintel in New York City:
Q: Whatever happened to Britton Colquitt? And did the Broncos give him a tryout when they brought in the newest disappointing punter, Mitch Berger, for a look-see?
A: Gary, Colquitt has a live leg, which is why he has had a smattering of workouts around the league this season.
The Browns recently worked him out, with several others, when their punter, Dave Zastudil, was dealing with a hamstring injury. Scouts believe Colquitt has the leg strength to have a place in the league over the long term, and he certainly has the pedigree being in a family with such a history on the job.
But consistency, not just leg strength, is what keeps punters around. Like a fastball pitcher who has to pinpoint the pitch, a guy can't just blast the ball in the NFL. He has to put it where the coverage plan calls for it to go.
The returners are too good, the return schemes too well-practiced, to give a team too many chances for too many returns. The expectation would be if Colquitt continues to work on his game and maintains that leg strength, he could find a place in the league.
The Broncos, despite having Colquitt with the team through the offseason and training camp before releasing him before the start of the regular season, did have him in for another workout in September as they first contemplated making a move with Brett Kern.
When they released Kern, they signed Mitch Berger after working him out as well.
Berger is starting to round into form — the Broncos like the fact his net is 36.5 yards per punt, which is a couple of yards per punt better than what Kern's was — but he doesn't have the consistency yet.
Berger had a couple of big punts in Washington, and his net was just over 42 yards a punt for the game, which is good, but he also had a 16-yard punt in the third quarter of the game.
And he has already had six punts of 39 yards or shorter from his own territory — four against the Ravens to go with two against the Steelers — when trying to shorten the kick to pin a team down, which is not really an issue.
So those irregular kicks are still a concern and could certainly be a problem if they come at the inopportune times.
http://www.denverpost.com/premium/broncos/ci_13809738
The Denver Post
Posted: 11/18/2009 01:00:00 AM MST
Denver Broncos P Britton Colquitt (4) gets in some kick off time during camp Thursday, August 20, 2009 at Dove Valley. (John Leyba | The Denver Post)Today's question comes from Gary Rintel in New York City:
Q: Whatever happened to Britton Colquitt? And did the Broncos give him a tryout when they brought in the newest disappointing punter, Mitch Berger, for a look-see?
A: Gary, Colquitt has a live leg, which is why he has had a smattering of workouts around the league this season.
The Browns recently worked him out, with several others, when their punter, Dave Zastudil, was dealing with a hamstring injury. Scouts believe Colquitt has the leg strength to have a place in the league over the long term, and he certainly has the pedigree being in a family with such a history on the job.
But consistency, not just leg strength, is what keeps punters around. Like a fastball pitcher who has to pinpoint the pitch, a guy can't just blast the ball in the NFL. He has to put it where the coverage plan calls for it to go.
The returners are too good, the return schemes too well-practiced, to give a team too many chances for too many returns. The expectation would be if Colquitt continues to work on his game and maintains that leg strength, he could find a place in the league.
The Broncos, despite having Colquitt with the team through the offseason and training camp before releasing him before the start of the regular season, did have him in for another workout in September as they first contemplated making a move with Brett Kern.
When they released Kern, they signed Mitch Berger after working him out as well.
Berger is starting to round into form — the Broncos like the fact his net is 36.5 yards per punt, which is a couple of yards per punt better than what Kern's was — but he doesn't have the consistency yet.
Berger had a couple of big punts in Washington, and his net was just over 42 yards a punt for the game, which is good, but he also had a 16-yard punt in the third quarter of the game.
And he has already had six punts of 39 yards or shorter from his own territory — four against the Ravens to go with two against the Steelers — when trying to shorten the kick to pin a team down, which is not really an issue.
So those irregular kicks are still a concern and could certainly be a problem if they come at the inopportune times.
http://www.denverpost.com/premium/broncos/ci_13809738