2009 Season Retrospective: Jon Ryan

Outlook: After a brief flirtation with Tom Malone, in which the former USC kicker was paid a substantial amount of money to come hang out with coach for a couple months, Ryan is again Seattle's uncontested punter. I write opinions here. Not much I write is not an opinion. I clearly do not think Ryan is a good punter, but I have a healthy modesty when it comes to that opinion. It is possible that Ryan is a good punter and that his special teams counterparts undermined him.

We might find out this season. We might not. Seattle spent quite a bit, when you think about it*, to sign gunner Sean Morey. Apart from that, they haven't added a ton of team speed. In fact, I'm not sure signing Morey counts as adding team speed. Kam Chancellor will likely play some special teams, and he has long-strider speed. There is Jameson Konz if Jameson Konz makes the final 53, which seems like a long shot. But apart from those three, unless Golden Tate, Walter Thurmond III or Earl Thomas are involved, Seattle will have the same basic crew sprinting towards the return man.

To me, attempting to pick out and project the performance of a punt cover unit is next to impossible. I also think there isn't nearly as much difference between the cover units of different teams as there is difference between the punting ability of different punters. Just about every team stacks their cover units with the same kind of players: depth. And it's penny wise pound foolish to keep a superior special teams player in favor of a superior talent.

However, even if a team can not dedicate much towards the improvement of its cover teams, improvement might still happen. And maybe Ryan will look like a stud this season: kicking it long but, for once, watching his teammates swarm around the returner. I am open to the possibility.

*The final question regarding compensatory picks is whether Morey's salary is enough for him to be a "qualifying free agent." His average salary over three years is just $798,000. That puts him on the low end. If he makes the Pro Bowl again, Seattle is screwed. Pro Bowl picks are largely decided by reputation and Morey is famous for this brief moment of glory. I think Seattle is playing with fire.

Poll

In 2010, punts by Jon Ryan will be:

More valuable because of improved special teams.

186 votes

No more valuable because of how Ryan punts.

104 votes

290 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

I think Seattle would be screwed if Morey was irreplaceable and he made himself a highly sought after FA (at least, as highly sought after as a special teamer can be).

Golden!

by Carl Shinyama on Jul 17, 2010 6:07 PM PDT reply actions

I think Ryan is a good punter

I know it seems naive to just look at the punting average but he does average a good 46 yards and had the ball inside the 20, 28 times which is the 8th best in the NFL. Inside the 10 is 9 times which is also 8th best in the NFL. It may be just me though.

by Seahawksfan23 on Jul 17, 2010 11:49 PM PDT reply actions

But if you look at punts inside the 20 as a rate stat instead of a counting stat he's tied for 22.

by Nate Dogg on Jul 18, 2010 10:50 AM PDT up reply actions

Both of these stats are heavily dependent upon the field position when punting.

Punters who frequently put from poor field position would have a higher average distance, but a lower rate of punts inside the 20.

it would be nice to get punting stats broken up by the field position they started at. Unfortunately I have never seen punting statistics broken up this way.

by biggiestylez on Jul 18, 2010 1:11 PM PDT up reply actions

Yea. you have to have an offence that gets past the 50yrd line

and that takes a couple of 1st downs

yea dude

by dirtyktm on Jul 20, 2010 1:08 PM PDT up reply actions

For now I'm blaming our Special Teams struggles on Bruce DeHaven.

Probably not true but it gives me hope.

by MT Olson on Jul 18, 2010 1:31 AM PDT reply actions

Holy cow Jon Ryan's biceps look enormous in that picture.

A good tip to realizing how punishing the NFL is: The player who has the least contact of anyone needs to be ripped.

Though they sink through the Sea, they shall rise again...Death shall have no dominion...

by Cheddar28 on Jul 18, 2010 1:28 PM PDT reply actions

I would say punters who are really good at directional kicking are valuable

Such as, the coffin corner kick. Do punters even do that anymore? A bit of a lost skill these days.

Other then that it seems a bit plug and play. I don’t really know how to evaluate punters and whenever I try, after about five seconds I think to myself “why the heck am I staring at PUNTING stats!” and so I go do something else. Never mind the fact that I myself have never been a special teams coach, and so what the hell could I ever possibly figure out about punting anyway.

by B.B.Finnegan on Jul 18, 2010 4:18 PM PDT reply actions