Captain Fair Catch

While I miss the explosive potential punt returns we have seen in recent years, gotta say that I do feel comfortable with Walters making his fair catches back there.

You just jinxed him..

He returned one

mikeak":2d8tsqcy said:

He returned one

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But not much further than a fair catch though. The important thing I guess is that he rarely costs us yards.

Could be worse; we could have the Panthers' returner. Guy fair caught everything- one fair catch signal the cameras didn't even catch- must have had his hand up right after the snap.

Brian's a good punt returner and it's nice to have someone you can depend on to not fumble the ball.

And out point blocking leaves a lot to be desired. Whenever the ball is caught, Brian is surrounded. Even if there is space, there's no blocking or lane to run through. I'm beginning to think that Jon's leg is starting wear down.

ivotuk":yo0nu5mz said:

Brian's a good punt returner and it's nice to have someone you can depend on to not fumble the ball.

And out point blocking leaves a lot to be desired. Whenever the ball is caught, Brian is surrounded. Even if there is space, there's no blocking or lane to run through. I'm beginning to think that Jon's leg is starting wear down.

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I'm wondering why Jon Ryan is punting the ball to Bryan Walters to begin with.

What ever. Walters sucks as a punt returner. Yea, he fair catches every punt. What's missing is the return part of punt returning. I hate watching that guy, seems like he is the slowest member on the team. Tate was 100x better.

We were very spoiled with Tate, but honestly as long as the dude doesn't fumble the ball then its fine-maybe if Richardson develops better he might take over but for now, just fair catch it an give the ball to Russ.

Hasselbeck":35vhl1s9 said:

ivotuk":35vhl1s9 said:

Brian's a good punt returner and it's nice to have someone you can depend on to not fumble the ball.

And out point blocking leaves a lot to be desired. Whenever the ball is caught, Brian is surrounded. Even if there is space, there's no blocking or lane to run through. I'm beginning to think that Jon's leg is starting wear down.

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I'm wondering why Jon Ryan is punting the ball to Bryan Walters to begin with.

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Yes, typing on my phone there and left some important text out Should have been "Also,"

The only kick Walters had any chance of returning was the one he took 12 yards, because he had the space to do so without getting blown up and losing the ball. So all the haters can suck it. It's the return blocking that's been lacking this year which has forced so many fair catches.

A turnover is much worse than not taking a risk at 15 yards. Playoff turnovers can be killers. If Walters is not comfortable gambling, I'd rather he not try.

We had some good fortune with the way two balls bounced, but so did Carolina. At the end of the day: no turnovers for us, and three for them.

I have little doubt that he is fair catching a lot at least partially under orders from Pete.
In fact Pete talked about this very thing at one of his early pressers after the Earl Thomas
experiment had less than the desired result.

Earl is a magnificent athlete and seemed to think he could cut the margin a little too close.
Plus, most didn't want to see Earl in such a vulnerable position.
I look for them to fill the need at draft time.

I have little doubt that he is fair catching a lot at least partially under orders from Pete.
In fact Pete talked about this very thing at one of his early pressers after the Earl Thomas
experiment had less than the desired result.

Earl is a magnificent athlete and seemed to think he could cut the margin a little too close.
Plus, most didn't want to see Earl in such a vulnerable position.
I look for them to fill the need at draft time.

253hawk":2jb6f7go said:

The only kick Walters had any chance of returning was the one he took 12 yards, because he had the space to do so without getting blown up and losing the ball. So all the haters can suck it. It's the return blocking that's been lacking this year which has forced so many fair catches.

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D-E-R-I-C-K--C-O-L-M-A-N!! Oh, how we miss his blocking this year.

two dog":bnekja8h said:

I have little doubt that he is fair catching a lot at least partially under orders from Pete.
.

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Agreed. Would he really be back there week after week if he wasn't winning the "competition" for punt returner? Personally, I love seeing him there every time. After his receiving, we don't ever have to watch the defense mop up after a mistake. I also like that when he DOES return it, he takes it straight up the gut and gets as much yardage as possible as he did on that 12 yard ( i think that's how far it was) return.

As far as orders from Pete. Isn't Wilson ripped for being a game manager? And isn't part of that false perception because he's not turning it over? I think Walters may also be part of a false perception as well.

ivotuk":37mlg95j said:

I'm beginning to think that Jon's leg is starting wear down.

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I was awfully surprised to see that we were 3rd worst in the league in return yard average ALLOWED last night.
Then I looked up the stats to see that we allowed just 17 returns for 195 yards - of which 88 came from the crazy trick punt return by the Rams.

If not for that, our net average punting yards would have broken the top 10 in the league, and average return length (of which we allowed on average 1 a game, by far the best in the league) would have been 7th, so not too worried about the coverage game.

We definitely need to find somebody to return the ball on both kickoffs and punts in the offseason though, the dropoff since Tate left is ridiculous.

taco40":3aea7s2m said:

two dog":3aea7s2m said:

I have little doubt that he is fair catching a lot at least partially under orders from Pete.
.

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Agreed. Would he really be back there week after week if he wasn't winning the "competition" for punt returner? Personally, I love seeing him there every time. After his receiving, we don't ever have to watch the defense mop up after a mistake. I also like that when he DOES return it, he takes it straight up the gut and gets as much yardage as possible as he did on that 12 yard ( i think that's how far it was) return.

As far as orders from Pete. Isn't Wilson ripped for being a game manager? And isn't part of that false perception because he's not turning it over? I think Walters may also be part of a false perception as well.

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It's a risk vs reward thing.

I know the traditional thinking is to return everything you can as far as you can, but it's one of those situations I'd be interested in seeing stats to support the risk vs reward over long-term.

The results might be surprising. How many fumbles (or injuries) are generated for every return that results in either a TD or improved field position leading to a score on a drive that otherwise would not have ?

Hard to quantify, but I know I find myself exited when opposing teams decide to run back a punt instead of fair-catching or decide to run a kickoff out of the end zone because I know in my gut there is a much higher chance the Hawks will create/recover a fumble than the receiving team will score or even have a difference-making return.

I'm liking Walters' steadiness back there more and more as the post-season run gets deeper.

I miss Leon!

Blocking for PR/KR hasn't been as good this season. Combine that with Pete wanting to minimize risk of turnovers, and you get Walters waving his arm most of the time.