mesaSteeler
08-17-2009, 04:50 PM
Sepulveda's return is more vital to Steelers success than some think
August 17, 1:51 PM · Daniel Flickinger - Pittsburgh Steelers Examiner
The punter on any college or pro football team routinely finds himself on the wrong side of jokes from teammates and is usually taken for granted. Punters, after all, are supposed to be the ones that don’t have enough size, athletic ability, or decision making prowess to do anything else but “kick”.
But after last year’s disaster; Steelers players and fans are smarter than to take the punter for granted. Fans showed that on Thursday when they gave him a loud ovation after his name was announced. A full year of Mitch Berger and Paul Ernster’s embarrassingly short and shanked kicks will do that to you.
That’s why the Steelers are much better this year with the return of 2007 fourth-round draft pick Daniel Sepulveda.
Yes, that’s right.
The defending champions are even more dangerous this year because of a punter.
If your still one of those people thinking “big deal”, consider this:
With so many games last year where winning the field position battle was so important, it’s amazing the Steelers were able to win the super bowl with the great field position that was routinely given to the opposing offense. The consistent array of bad punts put a lot of pressure on the defense, especially because the Steelers offense was unable to move the ball out of its territory in so many instances.
Poor punts happened way too often last year.
With Sepulveda back and healthy, it won’t happen nearly as often this year.
The Steelers ranked ninth in the NFL in net punting average during his rookie season in 2008 at 37.9 yards per punt, but they lost him for the year on the second day of training camp in 2008. The team turned to Berger and Ernster last year but fell to 30th in the league in yards per punt and 25th in net average.
"I would say I'm a better kicker now, for sure," Sepulveda said last week. "This is the best I have punted in my life."
Sepulveda’s return will take some of that pressure off the defense and thus provide this team with yet another weapon.
If this season plays out similar to last year’s (which is conceivable considering there weren’t many roster changes) then the offense and the poor offensive line will be unable to move the ball some games, and the defense will once again have to play nearly flawless for the Steelers to win. It will be much easier for last year’s number one defense to do that when the opposing offense isn’t starting drives on the 40-yard line because of a bad punt.
"It’s nice to have a guy back there that can boom them”, defensive end Aaron Smith said.
“It puts the defense in a better position so we can do our job, and we are happy to have a quality kicker like Dan back”.
The Steelers must be better than last year if they want to repeat as super bowl champions. Now, if there were only a magic cure for the offensive line.
MORE ON SEPULVEDA:
- Not only is he a very good punter, he's also not afraid to dish out a few crushing blows as seen in this video.
- Sepulveda, out of Baylor, twice won the Ray Guy award which is given to the best collegiate punter.
- In his first game at Heinz Field last Thursday, Sepulveda averaged 43.8 yards on six punts and got a loud ovation from the crowd when his name was announced.
Copyright 2009 Examiner.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Author
Daniel Flickinger is an Examiner from Pittsburgh. You can see Daniel's articles at: "http://www.Examiner.com/x-14024-Pittsburgh-Steelers-Examiner"
August 17, 1:51 PM · Daniel Flickinger - Pittsburgh Steelers Examiner
The punter on any college or pro football team routinely finds himself on the wrong side of jokes from teammates and is usually taken for granted. Punters, after all, are supposed to be the ones that don’t have enough size, athletic ability, or decision making prowess to do anything else but “kick”.
But after last year’s disaster; Steelers players and fans are smarter than to take the punter for granted. Fans showed that on Thursday when they gave him a loud ovation after his name was announced. A full year of Mitch Berger and Paul Ernster’s embarrassingly short and shanked kicks will do that to you.
That’s why the Steelers are much better this year with the return of 2007 fourth-round draft pick Daniel Sepulveda.
Yes, that’s right.
The defending champions are even more dangerous this year because of a punter.
If your still one of those people thinking “big deal”, consider this:
With so many games last year where winning the field position battle was so important, it’s amazing the Steelers were able to win the super bowl with the great field position that was routinely given to the opposing offense. The consistent array of bad punts put a lot of pressure on the defense, especially because the Steelers offense was unable to move the ball out of its territory in so many instances.
Poor punts happened way too often last year.
With Sepulveda back and healthy, it won’t happen nearly as often this year.
The Steelers ranked ninth in the NFL in net punting average during his rookie season in 2008 at 37.9 yards per punt, but they lost him for the year on the second day of training camp in 2008. The team turned to Berger and Ernster last year but fell to 30th in the league in yards per punt and 25th in net average.
"I would say I'm a better kicker now, for sure," Sepulveda said last week. "This is the best I have punted in my life."
Sepulveda’s return will take some of that pressure off the defense and thus provide this team with yet another weapon.
If this season plays out similar to last year’s (which is conceivable considering there weren’t many roster changes) then the offense and the poor offensive line will be unable to move the ball some games, and the defense will once again have to play nearly flawless for the Steelers to win. It will be much easier for last year’s number one defense to do that when the opposing offense isn’t starting drives on the 40-yard line because of a bad punt.
"It’s nice to have a guy back there that can boom them”, defensive end Aaron Smith said.
“It puts the defense in a better position so we can do our job, and we are happy to have a quality kicker like Dan back”.
The Steelers must be better than last year if they want to repeat as super bowl champions. Now, if there were only a magic cure for the offensive line.
MORE ON SEPULVEDA:
- Not only is he a very good punter, he's also not afraid to dish out a few crushing blows as seen in this video.
- Sepulveda, out of Baylor, twice won the Ray Guy award which is given to the best collegiate punter.
- In his first game at Heinz Field last Thursday, Sepulveda averaged 43.8 yards on six punts and got a loud ovation from the crowd when his name was announced.
Copyright 2009 Examiner.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Author
Daniel Flickinger is an Examiner from Pittsburgh. You can see Daniel's articles at: "http://www.Examiner.com/x-14024-Pittsburgh-Steelers-Examiner"