The Art of the Punt Return

earthly new year. There are only new years in March during the equinox. Are you just making up stuff? I don't even heard of this. No, it's not, it's not. It's literally for real that the new year for the earth starts during the equalnox when life springs back up into existence. You know, when the vegetables grow. Come on, yam, the vegetables are always growing. I am I am not the person to dive into this topic with here here it was, and look we're gonna be. We got a

lot of actual football stuff to discuss. In fact, it is the art of the punt return. Little did I know that I was gonna get like a lesson. I just thought you were gonna tell me like, oh, yeah, I'm I'm gonna fast, or you know, you do work out. I don't know. Maybe I'm not gonna work out as much. No, I'm gonna work out and I'm gonna keep working out,

and yes, I do fast. But again, I'm telling you, that's why people's New Year's resolutions, don't know, always come to fruition because you're doing it done the wrong part of the year. Man. You gotta do it when life is coming up, not when things are getting cold and it's desolate and it's cold and there's no vegetables. Come on, yams, all right, I'm I'm on it, and I will try to do some Google searching when we finish up this record. But I think when people are like the punt return,

take me through this here. I actually was pretty excited. I got the text. I was told, hey, this is gonna be the topic on this week's episode, and that sometimes I think people are like well, special teams. I don't think they get enough love. I don't think special

teamers get nearly enough love. No, we don't, And I'm gonna say we because that was my job for almost nine years in the National footb You know what I'm saying, right, Like, it's it can make or break a game, and when it goes well, it can go great, and if it doesn't go well, it's like another situation, you know what

I mean. Yeah, Usually, you know, when you look at highlights, when you're a special teamer or core special teamer as I was with the San Francisco forty nine is in the Seattle Seahawks, oftentimes we are plays don't get on the highlight packages of these you know shows, right unless it's something really really bad or really really good. If you're just doing your job normal, you don't get any recognition.

There are certain players that keep you watching no matter what you know, if it's an offensive player, if it's a defensive player. Very rarely are there the special performers, the return guys where you go, you know what, this dude might be able to take it to the house, Like I'm not gonna this is not the time for the bathroom break, because I want to see this guy and see what he can do. Devon Hester, for me,

is one of those players. But I think we should start with a little bit of the history around the punt return. This is actually something that's been a part of the game. The first punt return for a touchdown Week two of the nineteen twenty season, that was the first punt return. Yes, it was when Frank Bacon recorded the first punt return for a touchdown, his sixty yard or that helped the Dayton Triangles beat the Columbus Panhandles fourteen to nothing. You heard me right, the Dayton Triangles.

By the way, if you're into team names, I'm just saying, if you want to go back to last season's NFL Explain podcast, you will be able to go through the history of a lot of the names for NFL teams. I don't really remember the Columbus Panhandles. But nonetheless, there were five punt return touchdowns in the first ever season in nineteen twenty. More than one hundred years later, they've only been three punt return touchdowns in two so far. So explain to me, m Rob, why are there fewer

punt returns that you think we're seeing in the game. Well, first and foremost, the development of offenses and you know the game, and these quarterbacks just moving the ball up and down the field. The opportunity for punt returns are just getting less because the offense and defensive groups are taking up some of the players a little bit more. But I think it's because when you look at the punt return play in particular, because that's what we're talking about,

it encompasses both offensive philosophy and defensive philosophy. Right, when you're on punt return, when you're rushing the punter to try to block the punt, that's more of a defensive thing. Right, you're rushing, Right, you're rushing, you're trying to take the ball away from the opposing offense because when they're punning, they still have the ball, they still have possession that steer their ball. So you're still trying to create good

opportunities for your team. And then when the ball is kicked, that gets transitioned and now you're playing offense again. Punt and punt return are the only two fastest of the game that are like this way. One part of it is offense, the next part of it is defense. And so punt return, Yeah, now I gotta worry about holding. Now I gotta worry about my relation to the punt return or the guy with the football afterward, about all the offensive principles to make the play a positive thing.

So yeah, I think that's why it's so hard to get a punt return is because it's just an encompasses so many different aspects of our game. A little bit later in this podcast, we're gonna go through some of the best punt returners that the game has ever seen and some of the best ones that we have seen in the actual game. You kind of touched on it a little bit, but let's go a little bit more in depth on some of the philosophies around how you

execute successfully a punt return for a touchdown. Take me through schematically what is actually happening on the field, because well, I think for a casual fan, you're like, yo, it's like kill the man with the football. I've been as crazy am I've been the returner, Like I've actually had the opportunity have to catch the football. Here my spotter from the sideline telling me where everybody is catching it. Have to figure out where I am in relation to

what the return is. I've been a guy blocking for the return, I've been a guy rushing the return. I've I've done it all from the punt return standpoints. So it's a little bit of a of a just a unique position. But yes, we have plays. A lot of times there's sideline returns or middle returns or ali returns. And when I say ali, that means there's a part. Yeah, I'm going to the right, there's a right return for

the returner. But from a blocking unit, part of that blocking unit will be blocking guys out, and part of the blocking unit will be trying to seal guys. So you're trying to get like an alley down the numbers part of the football field. Those are really, from a

schematic standpoint, the real plays of pump return. Yeah, you can have reverses and specials and things like that that comes with it, but yeah, those are really the plays when it comes to punt return, A lot of us luck man, A lot of it is catching the football, the returner just having space and you want to get Look, a returner can't make eleven guys mess at one time, but he can make one guy miss eleven times. You get what I'm saying. So you want to get defense.

He's want to get guys on different levels so that if your returner is encountering a a free guy, he's one on one with that guy and then he has enough space to be one on one with the next person. Okay, so you also played quarterback. You know how thick some of those playbooks can be. What you just describe in terms of the return game is not exactly the same playbook, no, how much of it is dictated by where you actually are on the field. Like I would imagine for you

when you were playing quarterback. Situationally, if you're at the goal line, you know you're you're thinking about what three four plays that are kind of like the go toos in these situations. How much do you focus in on when you're you know, trotting out there and you know it's a fourth down from the other team they're punting, and you go, okay, cool, like I'm at the forty or hey, I'm inside that ten. Take me through what you're actually thinking about in those moments. Well, it depends, right,

It depends on your opponent and who you're playing. If you're playing a punt team, I'm just gonna throw a name out they're like this, like like the Rams Sean McVeigh. They'll fake upon on you, they'll throw a pass or whatever. So whenever you get around the forty or you know, between both forties and the fifty yard line, because if you were to fake it there, the opposing team still has a little bit of a ways to go to get a touchdown. And you know you're dealing with a

team that will fake the football. Maybe then you're in a punt safe so you do have kind of a return on. Maybe you keep your defense out there just to talk a punt team out from faking it. And what you'll do is you're rush two or three guys and then just have those guys drop back to have a certain return that is kind of like a punt safe deal. You maybe have somebody backed up. You may have a rush right, and every single rush has a sideline return with it, right, So you may have all

eight guys up at the line of scrimmage. You may have them all rushed the punter. Hey, you guys missed. After you guys missed, we're gonna all turn around and now this turns into a right return for the punt return. So again for all of our listeners and viewers out there, the punt team it and just going out there and saying, okay, we're just gonna catch the football and see what happens. No,

that there is a method to the madness. There is the direction you're trying to kind of move the punt team bodies into so that you can have a return and in the play. On a positive note, how hard is it to locate the football once it leaves the puncher's foot? Very man, I can't lie, especially as a returner um and really really the destroyers the guys who are so again, you have a punt team, you have

a punt return team. The gunners are the guys that on the punt team that right at the snap of the ball there on the outside, they get to go to the to the returner, they get to go to the ball. The destroyers usually are in a vice grip or have two guys out there to stop those guys from getting the free runs on the returner. And to me, they have one of the hardest jobs. They don't know where the ball is. They're fighting a guy, They're trying to block a guy running all the way downfielding their

back is to the ball and the returner. And I can't tell you, Yams, how many times where a returner is yelling Peter Peter, which means basically get away or oscary or whatever the co word maybe for that punt return team, and the destroyer just doesn't hear him because he's engaged in a fight with the with the gunner on that side. And then the ball lands and hits the gunner and then it's a free ball after that.

So it's a lot of different dynamics that goes on with the pump return team, and you gotta communicate and oftentimes from a pump return standpoint, at that juncture of the game, littleois is happening in the game because the other team is punting. If you're at home, you're you know, your crowd is excited. So it's just a lot of different factors that go on to the pump return. Oh yeah, on top of it's not like these are starters and

I and I was a core special teamer. If you're a backup in the National Football League, you play special teams. There is no qualms about it. It's only forty six of us that are live on game based. So you gotta do it all right outside of the safe moments where it's just like, hey, just make sure you catch a clean At what point is it all feel like I gotta imagine if I'm out on of the football field, I got ten to thousands of fans that are just screaming.

I got lights, I got banners, I got the whole thing. You just told me. It's hard to locate the football. You got gunners that are coming down and you know they're bearing down on you. Is it all feel? Before you start waving hey, you know, fair catch? Like, what's sort of that that point in your mind when that ball is up in the air because you're not looking at the gunners. You gotta be looking up. Yeah, you're just are you just feeling guys out there? Like, how

do you figure that out? There is a feel to it, there is um, there is a spatial awareness. Then yes, oftentimes you have the loudest coach on your coaching staff on the sideline screaming you're good. And that was what they said to me, Mike, you're good, You're good? Or no, No, you hear the word no, you start crossing your hands, you start saying no, get away, get away, get away, and start yelling whatever your cold word is for guys to kind of get away. But yeah, there there always

is a plan. There is a feel aspect to it, and Um, there's also game planning. So let's say, for instance, when I play, we would play against I'm just gonna throw out the Pittsburgh Steelers, right. They always had a bunch of linebackers on their roster because they were three four teams. So you knew a teams that were three four that have a lot of that guy. Well, you know that their special teamers are gonna be a lot

of linebackers. Exactly. I don't want any of that. I don't want to get hit by it, right, L No, But if there's a lot of linebackers on your punt team, right, maybe not the fastest guys, maybe not the most guys with the most agility, then yeah, as a returner, as a as a punt return team, we're gonna have a lot more sideline returns, especially if I got a guy like a Percy Harvard or Alan Rosson who I played with in San Francisco, or Leon Washington we had in

Seattle before we had Percy Harvard, we got speak guys like that, and we're playing against a bunch of linebackers. Everything is a sideline return games, everything, And I was that guy that would I was always the personal protector on punt and on punt return. Basically the guys that would you know, call off the return. I would get the call from the special teams coordinator. I would also be the guy to identify what's happening. Oh, this wing

is on the ball, that guy's off the ball. Alert, alert, alert to save something's up. This ain't normal, right I was that guy? Or when the ball is kicked, I'll be the one drop back and be the personal protector for the return er. So just being able to identify the different things that the punt team is trying to do to you. And ultimately, your goal is to give the ball to your offense. Yeah, I'm gonna repeat that again. The ultimate goal is to give the ball to your offense.

And if you can make a quick ten yards off the return to that's also a goal. Hey, real quick, here is it? Just to circle back you said, the lottest coach is saying, Mike, you're good. You're good. No, no, no, just for clarification purpose, you good means you're supposed to run. You can catch it. You have enough space to go, there's no danger, you can go and return it. If he's saying no, he's basically saying you got too much

danger around you. Just make sure we catch the ball and get the possession, and at that point you're going fair catch. Yes, all right, Welcome back to the NFL Explained Podcasts. Mike, Yam and Rob with you and Rob, just one other thing on this you have said it's hard to locate the football. And by the way, very rarely on this show do I feel like I have real world experience this one I actually do. Uh years ago, I had try to catch a football out of a

jugs machine up in the air. I was over three, and I couldn't get over how much spin there was on the ball. And not only was it harder to track, but when it was coming down, I couldn't get over how fast it was dropping. How difficult it is it to actually catch the football in those situations. It's very different than if you're a wide receiver. Like the angle of the ball is just completely different, completely different. It's like it's falling out of the sky man literally it is.

It is well, um, the nose of the football is very important. The nose of the football, especially in a punt or pass. It tells you exactly where the ball is going. If the nose is up yams right, which I'm assuming these jug machine put that you were trying to catch. The nose was up. When the nose is up, the read for the returner is the back of the ball because the nose is up, meaning at the at its apex, the ball is gonna drop in the back part of the ball is gonna direct it where it's going. Okay,

so you see the nose up. You notice at its peak the nose is still up. You better get the running up. That ball is gonna drop because if the nose is up the back is down. That means it's gonna drop really really fast. And when you're catching the football, you want to keep your hands high right. Um, I know a lot of our YouTubers can see us, but keep your hands high, right. You want to keep your hands as high as possible because the the the sight of the human being. We lose the football in the

last six inches of flight. That is why that picture you showed me. If you catching, that's why the picture you showed me, your eyes were almost closed. The ball was falling in your hands. We're reaching out for the ball because it started making this started like a hard turn on me at the last second, Again, your hands weren't high, you weren't following the back of the ball, so you had no idea where it was gonna fall. Now, in contrast to that, a game ball is kicked noses

up at its apex. You see the ball turn over. Now the nose turns over to Now the nose is down. Now you better back up. That ball is gonna carry right, because that was like a pass. Now it turns over and now it's it's not gonna drop straight down when it falls. It's gonna fall more with a with an arc and over. So whenever when I was a return, I saw the nose up at its peak, and I knew it was gonna turn over. I sprint it back now because it's easier to catch the ball going forward

than catch the ball running backwards. So you just want to put yourself in a better body position so that you don't fumble. All right, Not to get two into the weeds on the technical aspect of this, but I do think it's important to highlight here we talked about wide receivers in the previous episode. I know this sounds counterintuitive, but I'm gonna say it anyway. Wide receivers the best guys catch with their hands. And I think people will say, well,

of course they catch with their hands. No, No No, What I mean by that is they literally are only catching with their hands and not their bodies right where the balls kind of like they're trapping the ball around their chest.

What you were just describing to me in my own personal experience, I had no chance of at the end of the day, even if I had known, Like on the third try, every single tempt there was three attempts, every single one, I got closer the third one and it hit my hands, Like I just couldn't think if I had to do it again, I'm a little less this is I'm definitely a lot older and a little less athletic. But I think knowing where it could have been, I could probably could have figured it out. But the

ball hit my hands. I wasn't going to catch the ball at the speed and velocity it was going down. Now that I'm hearing you, I think I couldn't have caught the ball with my hands. I think I would have needed my body. Do all punt returners and they thinking like that, can you catch a punt with just your hands? You can? And again you got say first of all, we're dealing with the best athletes in the world. Okay, yeah, yeams, I'm sorry, dealing with the best athletes in the world.

So they got hands. I got like Kenny Picket size hands. Not sorry. And they're small too, Broy really small. But that's a whole another conversation about draft and draft attributes. Um, but these guys have hands, and so what happens is you just you want to give yourself the best opportunity for something bad not to happen. And so yes, most time they're gonna try to catch it with their bodies right,

because the ball is coming down pretty fast. But if you have your hands high, and you know you're a good tracker of the football in the last six centuries, you're gonna lose it if it does move a little bit. Your instincts and the fact that you're one of the top athletes in the world that parts of you kick in. There are punts in times in my life where I've caught the football in this out here, but I was

in a position to catch it. It's just that now had to make a last second adjustment, and obviously it kicks in. Yeah, those last second adjustments, that's kind of what did me? And I just did it like it's all good. Yeah. Well I saw at one time when the teleprompter with blank and Yams did a last minute adjustment. He did the last twenty seconds of the show off the top of the dome. That is what I'm talking about. I'm much better in those situations, trust me, than the

ones actually out on the field. I dropped his name a little bit earlier in this podcast, Devin Hester, And at least for me, he is still the ultimate. And there's some other great names. And I gotta interrupt you. I trained with DEVI came out in the same draft we were. We trained with Tom Shaw down there um and at the Wild World of Sports in Disney in Florida.

We were in the same draft class. I remember watching him at Miami and when we were training, we got a chance to talk and kind of like hang out or whatever, and I might Devin, Bro, what's up? Man? Like, how did you get Like it's like the minute you step on the field for the return, the entire stadium stands up. That guy. You know what I'm saying. He's like, Bro, you gotta understand. Mike. During track season in high school, we might get fifteen thousand people short up for a

track meet. I said, what he said, Yeah, it's a little different in Florida. And so what I started to notice is, man, yet, the speed is different. The way that they respect speed down there in Florida is a little bit different. And Devin had no fear. All of the greatest returners that I've ever tried to tackle, I've ever tried, I've ever had the block four, they had no fear. Not saying that they didn't understand that there may be a couple of hitters on the plant team

with a kickoff team or anything like that. But when they caught the ball, they put their foot in the grint and they decided to go forward. There was no fear. There was no doubt that they were going to get past the combat zone, which is when I say combat zone, that's really usually the ten or fifteen yard zone where all the blocking and stuff happens. Right, they were always confident they were going to get through. And the second thing that made Devin Hester ridiculously good and most returners,

you ready for this, jams, it's something that's biological. Okay, dude ain't had no hips. Dude ain't had no hips, bro, Like, what do you mean when you tackle somebody right and you grab them a lot of times you're falling off until you meet assid hips. Hopefully I can say that. Okay, Yeah, it's all good. Okay. With Devin, he was straight up and down. Cribs straight up and down, Dante Hall straight up,

and they're all they all with. You know, most of these returners have the same physical attributes, you see what I'm saying, and so when you try to tackle them, these guys slipped right out of tackles. And then Devin once he started returning kicks, now all of a sudden he's in the punt team's head. And I remember playing against him as a rookie. I remember, actually, I think I played against Devon every single year in my career and going out as a punt team, he creates anxiety

through the out them what could happen to you? Because you know it can happen. You're sitting there with the plump Like literally I plump returned. I mean our special teams coach Brian Schneider. Uh, he was with the Seattle Seahars. I think he's with the San Francisco for the Niners right now. We will be on the sideline like, yo, are we kicking it to him? We're like yeah, because it's an ego thing. Damn right, We're gonna kick it the deaf ass and I'm gonna make the tackle in

the minute he catches it. You can feel the energy of the stadium. It's like I'm watching a video game. It's like you can hear a fan start going real fans. It's like it's like the energy turns up. And then all of a sudden, I'm I'm running down the middle of the field. He's in front of me. Then all of a sudden, I start turning, and I'm turning, he's turning the corner. And then all of a sudden, you

start thinking, I'm gonna get cracked back on. Let me start looking, and you start looking, and then he's gone, and he's gone in its touchdown. Bro, It's some of the weirdestuff've ever seen. Patrick Peterson had the same effect, and he first got in the legal we would kick it to him. I remember telling our coach, hey, bro, I don't kick the Patrick. He's too young and fast. He just is I remember said looking at I had Jeff albrig who's the defense coordinator um for the Jets

right now? We want special teams together. He farewell, we were on special teams together. I think he's the special teams coordinator up there in Buffalo. I remember having conversations with these guys like, Bro, we can't tackle him. These are real conversations on the side. So why because we're at home hoping that you can't know him? Right? So, like we all get it now, this is the first time I've ever heard it articulated. Why are you even

bothering kicking to these guys? Well, because again, you get a guy like real Mike rob who I was a special teamer, pro bowler, all of those things you talk your special teams coach and then making some stupid decisions. But coach, we can do it. But that got the coach. He's one of the best punters and at least the putting I think I think he punts for the Arizona Cardinals right now. Okay, yes, one of the best punters in the league. We can pin him to the side.

We've worked on this all week. We penned him two yards from the sideline. He's gonna catch it. Then we can corral him. Make sure our backside wing stays in his lane because he's gonna show up. Guess what backside wing thinks he can make. The tackle gives up the edge, Devin has to score another such Percy Harvd was elite at that too. Yeah, well look not no, no, I love it. It actually paints a really good picture of

of what we're discussing here. By the way, just for some of the fans who might not be familiar with Devin Hester, just a couple of things I'll throw out your way. Four time pro bowler. I'm looking at some of my notes. Fourteen career punt return touchdowns. That is the most in NFL history. He had four of them in two thousand seven. That ties for the most in a season in NFL history. Can you mention having four of those in the season? They are who we thought

they went, not like we gave it to him. I sent a kick to the devil. Hester. Why did I listen to Mike rob my special teams captain. That's probably yeah, he didn't drop that on it, but we did get a memorable sound bite. The other two leaders on the most punt return yards game in a career. The NFL history.

Ryan Mitchell nearly five thousand, four thousand, Dave Megat. I remember him just bawling out with the Giants back in the day three thousand, seven hundred eight yards, and then Hester just behind him three thousand, six hundred Brian Mitchell, Dave Megat. They came from a generation or the end of the running back generation, right. I mean, this game

for so long ran through the backs. I mean we had fullbacks going touch I think Frank o' harris who just passed out too long ago, I think his official position with fullback or something like that at some point um in his career. So those guys, Dave Megan, Brian Mitchell, they were toward the end the back half of offenses being dominated, teams being dominated by the running back. And

it's because again just think about it, yams. They got great hands when they get the ball in their hands, they're a tough person to bring down to the ground. And I think when you look from a return standpoint, that's what guys were looking for back in the day. If you do like running backs, you want to hear about the decline of that position. Oh, we just did an episode on that one. The reevaluation of the running

back position. You can frame it. However, office coordinators think they want to throw the ball all over the place running backs man, let's go okay, well, you you be the judge of it, and you can decide one of Henry irony. No, No, I wouldn't say that to face, and I wouldn't say it about him. How about that,

I'll double down, no decline in the king. There have been, by the way, some real changes to punt returns over the years in order to increase a little bit of action and tempo, including restrictions placed on members of the punt team in order to open up return possibilities. Give you an example. Seventy four, the NFL barred all offensive players except for the two farthest from the ball. Those are the gunners that m rob made reference to, from

crossing the line of scrimmage until the ball was punted. Then, in nineteen seventy nine, players on the punt return team were barred from blocking below the waist for safety reasons, which is definitely a huge one. I couldn't imagine running down team and having the guard against a low block.

Are you kidding me? Hill? Hill Asau about that? Even the changes that were made to open up the punt return game, the average yards on punt return steadily decreased from eleven to nineteen before increasing the past couple of seasons, just for context purposes, punt return average yards per return

nine point six. Let's fast forward to all the way down to seven point six, and then once again over the last three seasons there's been an increase eight point eight, eight point eight, and then this season we're sitting at nine. The player who actually holds the record for the highest average punt return yardage is Chicago Bear George McAfee, who played ninety one and then forty five to fifty. Man

for real, I mean, I'm a little surprised. I mean, but I mean I always and again, I know some of the ore legends players a good outset with me for saying this. I just I just wondered about the competition back in the days, right, like, you know, the average almost thirteen yards of punt return. But who are you going again? All right? You took me into the weeds when it comes to the philosophy and the mechanics

of the punt return. So we've already covered that. But when we come back on the NFL Explaining podcast, we'll discuss some of the greats and some of the biggest punt returns the game has ever seen. All Right, this is my second favorite thing that we do in the show. You know what it is that just tell people, you know where the d M R don't don't, don't d M d M yeah you d M By the way, they actually have been coming fast and furious, like there

is something to consistency and constantly promoting things. So if you have a question for the NFL Explained crew and you want us to do answer that question for you, send me the note. Legitimately you're on the threat. I know. I say this every every on he actually you know, takes a screenshot. He actually puts it on the thread. But it's good for me too, because you know, I'm an analyst. I've forgotten more football than a lot of

people know. And at the end of the day sometimes I gloss over stuff just thinking everybody understands what I'm talking about. So the questions are just a good reminder that not everybody understands it at the level that we do, and it just gives us a chance to break some things down that you use we there. You know how many times I've seen the question. I'm like, that is like the best question ever. And I hit him back and I'm like, Yo, that's an awesome one. We'll get

it in. And you know, and there's been a few of these times where I've said I've asked the same exact question. I promise we'll work this too, one of those mail bag episodes. So keep the questions coming. We really do appreciate it. But we are talking about the art of the punt return and Rob did a great job explaining some of the fundamentals around those situations, technique, philosophies, schematically,

what we see on the field, what we want to do. Though, you start talking about some of the records and some of the individuals who actually execute what m Rob was talking about. So the team actually the most punt return touchdowns in the season nineteen fifty nine, Chicago Cardinals, Yes, you heard me, Ryan, the only team in NFL history to have five punt return touchdowns in a single season. By the way, I said that, Devin Hester tied the

record four in one season. How about this the record for a whole year, Chicago Cardinals in nineteen fifty nine. That's crazy. And to also see that the Arizona Cardinals in twenty eleven, I think that's the Patrick Peterson time when he was there was a part of that. Again again, when when you have these exciting returners made, it just affects so many different aspects of you football team. Four players that have scored four punt returns for a touchdown

in a season in NFL history four total. Check this out. Peterson, who you made reference too, good call, that was that eleven team he had four by himself. Devin Hester two thousand seven with the Bears he had fourteen, Rick up Church had the four, and then in nineteen fifty one from Detroit, Jack Christiansen all show with four. I'm almost surprised that we haven't had a right over the last few years or so, like one dude who well, especially with the the type of athletes that right like today.

But I also think when you think about Hester, and you know when Patrick Peterson was coming along, that's when Hester was kind of on his way out. I just think that you had organizations embraced special team. I mean just throughout history, you just don't see teams embracing and when you usually when you think of special teams, you think about kicker, snapper, holder, You don't necessarily think returner or the personal protector or you know, some of the

different things that your punter can do. So yeah, it's pretty cool. I just think in that time in football history, teams embraced special teams. So I've made reference to this on this podcast. It's not breaking news, but I spent a large portion of my career over the last ten years or so covering college football. What it reminds me of Christian McCaffrey when he was at Stanford. I mean, he's another guy where you just stopped just to make sure whenever Stanford was on offense, but sir le on

special teams, his ability to cut loose. Here now he's with the forty Niners. Ryer McLeod does a great job for those guys. I can't imagine, though, can you imagine if McCaffrey was back. I guarantee and I don't notice for a fat I ain't been to a Servantisco for the out of practice and probably I don't know three years now since the last time practice. I guarantee you he catches punts still to this day. I guarantee you.

That is just in case, in case somebody gets hurt or whatever, or Kyle may just come him and say, look, bro, I just needed you to catch it. You the guy trust go out there and catch it, guarantee you. He still catches punts, you know. And it's weird too because some guys have success at the college level in that

and then they don't necessarily have the same success. Well again, it's not as glorified man, Like I'm telling you, Like, when you get to the National Football League, you want to you know, you want to go to the money spots. You know, quarterback pass well left. What's the pay scale for overturner? Like, where's that coming to? We're still debating, which I don't. I think the debate is ridiculous. But people are still debating on whether Devin has to should

be a Hall of Famer. Like when you impact, when you impact, feel position like that and you were exciting the way Devin Hester was definitely a Hall of Fame. I saw Dante Pettis set an n C double a record in the return game and yet and he does still return in the league. We see that occasionally, but it's it's you know, well it's different too. It's different guys running down there, because I ain't gonna lie like I'm running down in the last of the football league.

This tackle is going to being I pay my bills, the reason why my little girl has food in her mouth. So yeah, you're gonna get if you're gonna get this work, gams, It's just guy breaks off a big return for a touchdown in the punt game. What's it like on the sideline? So is this against us? Or give me both pump return. Let's start with the positive. Positive, So pump return, we blocked for a good punt return, whatever, a lot of

excitement on the sideline. I'm not gonna lie. From a special teamer standpoint, I'm thinking, Okay, did I block my guy? Did I get full points in the special team points system? Okay? Did I get pluses? I ain't get no negatives on this. We all got a game change in place, so that's extra points because you know, I know in Seattle we had like top park of the week. You know what I'm saying. It's like a point system. We were gett and then we'd have talk top park of the year.

Out of my four years, I got it two years. The fire War got it two years too. We kind of used to go back and fadge of honor has a badger on them at the shirts and everything. You know what I'm saying. But I would always think about about the point system number one, and can I be honest with you, I would think, get your win together. You got kick off, like literally you you just don't have enough time to sit and just think, oh, we just did this, heyy happy happy, No, I'm thinking about

what I gotta do next. People always ask me what I did on Beast Quake when he ran and did all that time. I said, but I was thinking about Kioff. I was blocking. But I don't think about kickoff on the next play. And at the end of the day, man, you don't get a chance to really celebrate those long returns, of those big time returns until the defense goes back out there. And one would think that the defense will be upset because now they just they forced the punt.

They go out there, get a scored award, and they gotta go back out there for you know, some of them have field goal, you know, extra point protection. Then they got to go back out there and kick off and then defense, so they're excited. Anytime we're scoring points, the defense is excited. And oftentimes the more points it puts the opposing offense in like, um, you know, one

dimensional game. So they like that, alright. Uh. One of the note, by the way, on Devon Hester, I feel like there's like a lot of homage that we're paying him, and rightfully, yeah, no doubt. He does hold the career record for punt return touchdowns with fourteen. That's actually four more than the next guy on the list. Eric Metcalf is that guy with tim We made reference to Brian Mitchell earlier in the podcast. He has nine, but Emerald in the mid two thousand's punts were actually returned to

the fifty percent of the time. That's dropped to a low of fort in recent years, which makes the record for the most punt returns for a touchdown in a career ridiculously impressive. Mitchell, whose number we gave before, with nine, he's returned a hundred more punts than any other player in NFL history. More opportunity, isn't that wild? More chances to get into the end zone. That is pretty crazy, man. And again, the more chances you get, the more opportunities

you get for an explosive play and explosive touchdowns. But man, Brian Mitchell was a dog man, and I'm saying that in a good way. He was a dog man when he gets the ball in his he was tough to bring down. Yeah, you want dogs on your team. Uh. Danny Rees, by the way, holds the record for the most punt returns in a season in NFL history nineteen seventy nine, seventy of them wild ex from a cluster, by the way, in the most recent with fifty eight

punt returns in a season. You mentioned special teams, right, Like, how does a player just go and say, you know what, this is gonna be my career. I'm gonna be special teams? Dude, Well, so you know I do USFL games. And the m VP of that league, Cavante Turpin, ended up getting an opportunity with the Dallas Cowboys as a turn and a monster, and he has been a monster. And I think what happened was he developed a reputation his speed jumps off the tape and I think he's gonna be in the

National Football League for a while now. I mean he's a real weapon. I think you at least gotta have the threat of getting touchdowns almost every single time touch the ball. I think you have to have Opposing special team coaches have to put you up on the big board on Monday when you first start your game planning, and then everybody has to worry about you again. I played with Alan rossellm I played against Allen Rossum and I blocked for Allen Rossum. When you played against him, yes,

you knew Monday you was gonna have a problem. Dude was a track star and he could run through tackles. Leon Washington same type of dude. Percy Harvard the same type of dude. And obviously we talked about Devin Hester, Patrick Peterson and those guys. I just think that there's an energy that these guys bring to a team. And yeah, as the numbers bear out, they don't score a lot

of points, they don't score all the time. But at the end of the day, if you can flip field position, if you can average getting that ten to fifteen yards a single time you get a return, that's the first down. That was one of our goals as a special teams group. Retain the football, have the possession and get a first down. The minute you get the football, get those ten yards turned bad into good. What's crazy about this is I said the record for hester in a single season was four.

I guess subconsciously I knew it wasn't a bigger number than that. But if I think back to that era and watching him that season, you would have thought it was happening like every game because we participated, right, Yeah, you got ready for it. And again it's the vibe around and did he grated the whole press confice man, we thought they were. I don't know why you kicked it to him? Yeah, exactly because there was that best Uh. You know, this actually surprised me going through the notes here.

There's only been one punt return in NFL history that's gone for a hundred plus yards. You would have thought that it was higher. Robert Bailey a hundred and three yard returned. Patrick Peterson, by the way, who's we've loved up. He had nine yards, so he was knocking on the door there. And just a little side note, I know

the Super Bowl is right around the corner here. Uh, it has never happened a punt return for a touchdown in a super Bowl, so I know that can't be one of your favorite memories because it hasn't happened yet. At some point it will. That dude might be your Super Bowl MVP when it does happen. By the way, is there one that stands out to you when you were either player on the sideline, when you were a kid watching the games? Like, is there that one iconic

moment for you? Iconic moment? I don't know if it's an iconic moment. I mean, obviously we remember, you know, Desmond Howard's when he got Super m v P. You know, the big one that we talked about that was a kickoff I think you know what I mean. But he did have ninety return yards in the punt return game, I mean, you know, in the part return game in that Super Bowl and he won m v P. Obviously

we talked about Patrick Peterson, Um, Devin Hester, Dante Hall. Uh. You know, I think we ought to give him a little bit of credits to I forget what year it was, and I don't even know if I was in the league when it happened. I think he was playing the Denver Broncles. He did some spinning around and it was in a flatty caught the ball. He spent like three or four times. I interviewed him about it a few years ago and he said that play was when he knew he could make a career out of being a returner.

It was like this minute he got to the sideline, everybody was like, dude, we gotta get to the ball. That So that's when he knew he had found he had found this place. But, um, this game has had some really really unique returners in his history. I've played against a lot of them. Again, Um, Joshua Cribs, we still have you know, we haven't talked about and guys like that, But these guys are unique. These guys are

have no fear and they take returns very seriously. I mean again, a guy like Leon Washington, dude just dreamed about returning the ball. And he was one of my best friends on the team. So yeah, man, big time influence on team. It's funny. I'm looking at Dante Hall and and his success. He was a two time pro bowler. He has got six career punt returns for a touchdown. That's the ninth most in NFL history. Five punt returns

for a touchdown in seven years with Kansas City. By the way, just in case you're wondering, Yes, of course, what about that Sean Jackson went against the what was it against the Giants? He played for Philly. When I kick that, he kind of around. Oh, that was so dope. When I remember seeing that, I said, dude, it was the personal protector. I was like, because you know, as a personal protector, when you're puntingat you gotta be the one right over the football man and if he cuts back,

that's your tackle. Oh that was a walk off. Let's go. Uh, you know, it's one of the things I remember watching that game live. One of the things that I do remember was Coughlin just going berserk because he probably said he shouldn't kick it to him, and he got talked into allowing it to happen, and he was probably wanting to punch himself for kicking it to him. He was going nuts. Matt Dodd, who was the punter, it just

I do vividly remember, you know. And Tom had that like that glow about him and when I got cold, like his whole face would be read and it was just kind of kind of go. But I remember like he was blowing a gasket ball field, but a ton of fun I actually when I heard it, I was like, Oh, this will be cool. I didn't think we go to slong on this is this lihouse, ma'am? Yeah? No, man, kind of like digging deep on this. I hope everyone enjoyed this episode. The art of the punt return explained.