Our Punter.

[TypeSly]

I believe he has more punts inside the 20 than anyone else. Doesn't matter if he has to kick it 60 yards in order to get that result, or 35 yards. That's an amazing ability, and inside the 20 placement in punting is the only stat that matters.

Excellent point. He gets so much elevation on his punts, that he's the only guy who (when he) kicks 50+ yard punts, there's a chance of a fair catch. I've seen him punt one over 60 yards that was a fair catch. This is crazy.

 

[TypeSly]

Dickson is really solid this year but I do believe the best one is still Morstead, Super boring of style but never saw a guy that consistent in the past years. Sanchez from the Colts is also a monster in placement punts.

But I still really love Dickson! No hate on him.

Morstead, really? He's ranked 29th in average yards per punt (which doesn't tell the whole story because maybe the Saints punt a lot more in acurracy territory) and he's ranked 32nd (dead last) in longest single punt.

With Dickson being tied in 1st in punt results within the 20 yd line, it obviously means that he's had plenty of accuracy punts as well. Having said that, Michael Dickson's average (50.9 yards) is 0.1 yards less than Morstead's longest single punt (51 yards) of the season. :mrgreen:

 

[IndyHawk]

Dickson is a very good punter, but he has one of the most unorthodox form. He always looks like he is trying a chip shot....even if he is one his own 20 yard line. He often has very little leg extension or elevation. Not complaining...if it works, it works.

Compare his form to another great punter, Ray Guy:

I don't think form is a good comparison at all.
I punted in HS. Jeff West of the Seahawks was my coach.
I could at the time punt further than Jeff West. What I couldn't do was keep the ball in the air longer than him.
I think the leg extension has to do with hanging that thing up there forever?
Dickson doesn't look like the ball rolls off of his foot like Jeff taught me. It looks as if his foot punches the ball so to speak.
It's definitely different, and as you said, whatever works.

I think the pic comps say they don't compare but that's ok.
There was only one Ray Guy and most of us in Seattle before
the Hawks saw him plenty,as his pic shows I never saw a
punter with that extreme of leg extended.
The only other punter I think that compares with Guy is Reggie
Roby,That is not a slight at our punter at all.I hope MD has
many great years and makes the HOF,if I remember there is
only one punter in it now.

 

[sc85sis]

I think the pic comps say they don't compare but that's ok.
There was only one Ray Guy and most of us in Seattle before
the Hawks saw him plenty,as his pic shows I never saw a
punter with that extreme of leg extended.
The only other punter I think that compares with Guy is Reggie
Roby,That is not a slight at our punter at all.I hope MD has
many great years and makes the HOF,if I remember there is
only one punter in it now.

Yes, and that one punter in the HoF is Ray Guy.

 

[HawkRiderFan]

Dickson deserved a better fate on Sunday. Two absolutely gorgeous punts pinning the Viking deep but the D did not hold up their end of the deal

 

[chrispy]

First, I don't know much about punting....

However, I have tried to go to Training Camp most years since they moved to VMAC and it was open to the public. 2 years ago when Dickson came to the team, he stuck out immediately. Of course, it's right after his Bowl performance so he wasn't anonymous to begin with, but they way he practiced was absolutely unique. He was out on the field before anyone else. Then he did this weird thing where he'd do a lunge and kick in between each one as he moved down the field, trying to get the ball to land in the same place as he moved. Then he did kicks that would bounce sideways-out of bounds, but in conjunction with like aerobic exercises and stretches. I remember thinking it was the craziest thing I ever saw at TC. When the rest of the team came out, the kickers went to the far field and he would kick balls that would go to the same place but bounce in different directions. They weren't all perfect, but you could see they'd bounce left, right, back and forward/roll. Then he'd change field position and do it again. ... and he'd do squats or stretches in between kicks. ...just weird.

I think, last year, was a sophomore slump. I think the way he tries to "perfect his craft" will continue to improve his results for a lot of years to come. I recall RWilson commenting 2 years ago about Dickson's work ethic as well.

All in all, I've never really cared about punts and now I really like watching that part of the game. Of course we'd all rather see 1st downs than punts, but I have to admit that I look forward to seeing Dickson. It's crazy to see how he effects games. I predict that, within 3 years, we'll start seeing replays on TV periodically showing how he gets different bounces.