Jon Ryan punt (@ sealevel) after the safety.

[HawkWow]

Crazy leg Ryan.

Remember last year he was being accused of not having a big leg and that was "the real reason" why our ST gave up so little (like zero) on punt returns. Ryan is a weapon like few punters have ever been before him. And yes, his average was impressive last year as well, but that was the word going around.

 

[sc85sis]

80 yards on a punt at sea level is incredible, whatever the air temperature. He didn't have a huge wind at his back either.

 

[SalishHawkFan]

He did Ray Guy proud.

 

[Jville]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/DavisHsuSeattle/status/514241578466959360[/tweet]

 

[Tokadub]

I always kind of questioned our strategy last season of just punting the ball with massive hang time to make sure they always had to call a fair catch. Obviously it worked out because our Defense was historically good last year... but I think Jon Ryan proved yesterday you shouldn't coach this guy just let him kick the $H@! out of the ball

I'll take our chances with our special teams tracking down the punt returner, you're a lot more likely to force a fumble and I can't remember one single instance of our guys getting burned by an opposing punt returner the last 2 seasons.

 

[CANHawk]

Coach said in the post-press conference that Ryan was his MVP, should get the game ball, and that a safety isn't necessarily bad if you can flip the field.

That punt-after-safety... unworldly. Even in the broadcasters voice you could hear their surprise/respect. And watching the returner keep backing up. And backing up. And backing up.

*humming "Oh Canada"*

FWIW, they've been conceding safeties for field position in the CFL for eons.

 

[RiverDog]

80 yards on a punt at sea level is incredible, whatever the air temperature. He didn't have a huge wind at his back either.

That it was. It was a punt that most NFL punters aren't going to make even under perfect conditions, like a 90 degree day in Denver or with a stiff breeze at their backs.

Nevertheless, it is important to note that Ryan wasn't the only one that was booming the ball last Sunday, as the Denver punter had a very good 47+ yard average on his punts and both PK's were popping the ball out of the end zone as there was only two kickoffs returned in the entire game, including one via a bad decision by Percy.

 

[coach78]

Great punt - but I have to point out it's not much better (if at all) than the 66 yd punt earlier in the game. The free kick is measured from the 20 yd line while punts are measured from the line of scrimmage. As punts are usually punted about 9-10 yds behind the LOS, the 66 yarder might be more impressive considering the pressure element.

 

[Jville]

Interesting follow up article over on seahawks.com

We may be witnessing this franchise's best punter.

Jon Ryan turns in MVP punting performance >>>> [urltargetblank]http://www.seahawks.com/news/articles/article-1/Jon-Ryan-turns-in-MVP-punting-performance/122766ae-281d-4012-a100-3dd3acd5e51a[/urltargetblank]

 

[RiverDog]

Great punt - but I have to point out it's not much better (if at all) than the 66 yd punt earlier in the game. The free kick is measured from the 20 yd line while punts are measured from the line of scrimmage. As punts are usually punted about 9-10 yds behind the LOS, the 66 yarder might be more impressive considering the pressure element.

Good point. I'll also point out that Ryan had a 50.2 yard average on 6 punts, which includes short range punts, and had 5 of his 6 punts downed inside the 20.

Plus he's been doing it for years. Along with Unger and Mebane, Ryan is one of the 3 holdovers from the previous regime.

 

[DaveyP]

I've never understood why people consider Ryan to have a weak leg, but maybe that's because I remember him punting I the CFL where he was essentially the best punter anyone had ever seen.

He had 50.6 yards per punt one season!

 

[homerun1970]

While reading the Broncos boards even they had some awed comments from that kick. It was a boot and a half.

 

[RiverDog]

I've never understood why people consider Ryan to have a weak leg, but maybe that's because I remember him punting I the CFL where he was essentially the best punter anyone had ever seen.

He had 50.6 yards per punt one season!

The CFL has a longer football field, meaning more opportunities for longer punts. It's apples and oranges when comparing a CFL punter's average with his counterpart in the NFL, so a 50.6 average isn't as great as it might sound to us Yanks.

 

[LawlessHawk]

Unlike kickers that tumble the ball, punters spin the ball, which obviously contributes to much better distance due to basic aerodynamics. A lot of punters could probably kick it a mile if they were just going for distance, but of course the key is distance and heighth for the hang time to allow coverage to get there just as it gets caught. JR has the leg to launch that sucker like a scud missle. The beauty in this instance is you have a kick-off formation paired with a punt, so coverage has a running start with out fighting through blocks off the line of scrimmage. This allows him to put some more distance on the kick knowing coverage is probably going to get down field faster.

 

[Jville]

Unlike kickers that tumble the ball, punters spin the ball, which obviously contributes to much better distance due to basic aerodynamics. A lot of punters could probably kick it a mile if they were just going for distance, but of course the key is distance and heighth for the hang time to allow coverage to get there just as it gets caught. JR has the leg to launch that sucker like a scud missle. The beauty in this instance is you have a kick-off formation paired with a punt, so coverage has a running start with out fighting through blocks off the line of scrimmage. This allows him to put some more distance on the kick knowing coverage is probably going to get down field faster.

One note about your analogy. Robert Goddard designs were designed with man flight in mind. As liquid fuel designs, they launch with relatively mild acceleration. An unmanned football coming off Ryan's Nike clad foot accelerates instantaneously. Similar to that of the instantaneous acceleration of an unmanned solid fuel Nike missile coming off the rail. What a rush. Ryan will likely enjoy the memory of that punt for years to come.

 

[DaveyP]

The CFL has a longer football field, meaning more opportunities for longer punts. It's apples and oranges when comparing a CFL punter's average with his counterpart in the NFL, so a 50.6 average isn't as great as it might sound to us Yanks.

This is very true (along with other things like a touchback being less detrimental, as it's worth a single point) but it does stand as the longest average in CFL history. And it drops off pretty quickly after him and Lui Passaglia, the guy below him.

http://www.cfl.ca/page/stats_indrec_punting

 

[seahawk Dan]

The CFL has a longer football field, meaning more opportunities for longer punts. It's apples and oranges when comparing a CFL punter's average with his counterpart in the NFL, so a 50.6 average isn't as great as it might sound to us Yanks.

This is very true (along with other things like a touchback being less detrimental, as it's worth a single point) but it does stand as the longest average in CFL history. And it drops off pretty quickly after him and Lui Passaglia, the guy below him.

http://www.cfl.ca/page/stats_indrec_punting

Actually the Bc lions punter this year is averaging 45 yards a punt , surprised he is not in the NFL, left footed kicker.

 

[lsheldon]

According to Pro Football Focus, Jon Ryan is a "below average" punter.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2 ... -seahawks/

A lot of ratings on that page are questionable.

 

[Threedee]

The CFL has a longer football field, meaning more opportunities for longer punts. It's apples and oranges when comparing a CFL punter's average with his counterpart in the NFL, so a 50.6 average isn't as great as it might sound to us Yanks.

This is very true (along with other things like a touchback being less detrimental, as it's worth a single point) but it does stand as the longest average in CFL history. And it drops off pretty quickly after him and Lui Passaglia, the guy below him.

http://www.cfl.ca/page/stats_indrec_punting

Actually the Bc lions punter this year is averaging 45 yards a punt , surprised he is not in the NFL, left footed kicker.

If Bellichick starts having concerns with his punter, I'm sure he'll sign this guy (he prefers left-footed punters).

 

[seahawk Dan]

The CFL has a longer football field, meaning more opportunities for longer punts. It's apples and oranges when comparing a CFL punter's average with his counterpart in the NFL, so a 50.6 average isn't as great as it might sound to us Yanks.

This is very true (along with other things like a touchback being less detrimental, as it's worth a single point) but it does stand as the longest average in CFL history. And it drops off pretty quickly after him and Lui Passaglia, the guy below him.

http://www.cfl.ca/page/stats_indrec_punting

Actually the Bc lions punter this year is averaging 45 yards a punt , surprised he is not in the NFL, left footed kicker.

If Bellichick starts having concerns with his punter, I'm sure he'll sign this guy (he prefers left-footed punters).

Wouldn't surprise me the guy can really kick,