The Redskins punter in 2008, Ryan Plackemeier, finished 27th in the NFL in gross average per punt. At 33.9 yards per punt, he ranked dead last in the NFL in net average (among full-season punters), so it was obvious the 'Skins needed to go in a different route with the punting game. Thus, they have inked Dirk Johnson -- one of the greatest names of all-time, by the way -- to take over punting duties.
Of course, Johnson didn't fare much better in Arizona last year. He was 26th in gross average and tied for 26th in net average. This will be Johnson's fourth team in the past five years, so he's obviously not been setting the world on fire.
Redskins head coach Jim Zorn was the first Seattle Seahawks quarterback and played there for nine seasons. He also spent nine of the last 11 years as an assistant coach in Seattle.
Now you see why he went back to his roots to help out his current team. Today Washington signed three former Seattle Seahawks to fill in for injured Redskins.
The biggest name was running back Shaun Alexander. The Redskins signed the former MVP to back up Clinton Portis, who is having his own MVP-type season. Not only will Alexander rejoin Zorn but his former running backs coach in Seattle, Stump Mitchell. I'm not that thrilled of the signing, but I don't think it could hurt.
The Redskins also signed punter Ryan Plackemeier to replace rookie Durant Brooks. Plackemeier spent the last two seasons in Seattle but was, himself, cut after a poor showing in Week 1 of this season.
Last but not least, the Redskins added safety Mike Green. Green, the final pick of the 2000 draft, spent the last two seasons in Seattle. He missed all of 2006 with a lisfranc fracture and was a backup in 2007. He will replace Reed Doughty, who was placed on injured reserve.
"I would say his position is in jeopardy because of performance, not because of injury," Zorn said. "He may be the best punter out there, and then we'd have to continue to work with him.
"The thing is, he punted well all week long, but he got to the game and he didn't punt well. So we know he's a good punter, but a good punter also punts well in the game. He did not do that."
The injury is to his kicking leg which could contribute to his poor play. But wouldn't that affect him in practice, too?
Brooks is currently last in the NFL in punt average and net average. His 26-yard punt during the Redskins' loss to the Rams last Sunday led to great field position and an eventual field goal. Washington lost by two points.
It isn't as if the Redskins drafted just some punter. Brooks was a two-time All American who won college's Ray Guy Award last year. Brooks beat out incumbent Derrick Frost during the preseason even though Frost performed better. The fact that Washington used a draft pick on Brooks most likely led to the decision to keep him. They didn't want to admit they made a mistake then.
I'll admit to not watching the Rams-Redskins game in its entirety; the 50-point spread and the virtual guarantee that things would be unofficially decided by halftime didn't really pique my interest. When I saw St. Louis was leading late in the fourth, it caught my attention, and I ended up watching the final six minutes or so.
Which included a Clinton Portis touchdown to give the 'Skins a 17-16 lead, followed by Marc Bulger matriculating the ball up the field (no thanks to Richie Incognito) to set up a Josh Brown game-winning field goal as time expired.
The Arizona Cardinals entered today's game with the Washington Redskins at 2-0 for the first time since 1991 (when current Redskins coach Joe Bugel was their head coach). They wanted to be the first Cards team to get to 3-0 since 1974.
They also wanted to beat the Redskins for the first time in seven meetings (and second of nine matchups).
Mistakes greatly hindered that. The Cardinals lost 24-17 due to drops, turnovers and bad penalties.
Arizona committed their first turnovers this season and failed to reach 20 points for the first time in ten games (dating back to last season). Even though their penalties weren't out of hand, they can at bad moments. On a 4th-and-1, the Cards were called for a delay of game penalty as they completed a pass for a sure TD.
They also had a variety of penalties on kick and punt returns -- negating some nice runs.
In our Redskins training camp battle, we figured that the toughest fight was at punter. I know it's not very exciting -- but it is true.
The competition came down to the "nitty gritty", which neither punter as the clear favorite. Both performed well in the preseason ... which is what a coach wants to see.
The key is consistency. Frost hurt the Redskins at various times last year with gawd-awful kicks ... including a key punt late in the Redskins playoff loss to the Seahawks. Brooks (that smiling guy in the picture) is outstanding at directional kicking and may have put him over the hump.
That, or the fact that Redskins fans would be a little bent that the team would waste a sixth-round pick on a punter only to release him.
"They are going to both punt in the game," head coach Jim Zorn said. "That's how we're going to do it. It's getting down to the nitty-gritty now."
Uh, the "nitty gritty"?
Frost has done a great job with his punts this preseason (even booming a 65-yarder). His punt average is much better than Brooks', but his net yardage isn't. Both have pinned three of their punts inside the 20-yard line.
It's not a good time to be a punter looking for an NFL job.
With the help of NFL Europe roster exemptions, most NFL teams used to carry two punters through most of the preseason. Sometimes it was to give the starting punter some competition, but often it was just to help keep the starting punter from tiring out his leg.
But now that teams are facing a hard cap of 80 players (there's no NFL Europe to give certain players exemptions), the second-string preseason punter is a rare breed. Only 12 teams have brought a second punter to camp. So when a team like the Steelers starts trolling for a punter the good news is that there are a number of punters out on the street looking for work (like Paul Ernster, who the Steelers have signed). The bad news is that there aren't a whole lot of punters to evaluate during the preseason in actual game action.
Training camp is finally here and FanHouse breaks down the most important position battles heading into the season, team by team
I know it sounds a bit dumb to say that a team's biggest position battle in training camp is at punter. But for the 2008 Washington Redskins, it is true. The team knows who is starting pretty much everywhere -- aside from one safety spot where it isn't as much of a competition as a platoon.
So kicker it is.
Derrick Frost has been the Skins' punter for the past three seasons. He's not a bad player ... but he hasn't been that good, either. Inconsistency isn't a good thing when punting is involved since field position is always an important part of the game. Frost finished in the bottom third in net average.
The Redskins, either really looking for a replacement or just trying to light a fire under Frost's keester, drafted Durant Brooks in the 6th round of this April's draft. Brooks, from Georgia Tech, holds many school and conference records and won the Ray Guy Award -- the award for college's best kicker. He's also outstanding at pinning the ball inside the opponent's red-zone.
The Redskins are a running team with a stout defense. They are also installing a new passing attack, a new defensive coordinator and are still working with a young quarterback. Having a kicker put you in bad positions can make a difference in a game.
Frost has been put on notice. Let the battle begin!
The Redskins punter in 2008, Ryan Plackemeier, finished 27th in the NFL in gross average per punt. At 33.9 yards per punt, he ranked dead last in the NFL in net average (among full-season punters), so it was obvious the 'Skins needed to go in a different route with the punting game. Thus, they have inked Dirk Johnson -- one of the greatest names of all-time, by the way -- to take over punting duties. 
Redskins head coach 
When you use a sixth-round draft pick on a punter, you better make sure he will be among the best in the NFL.
I'll admit to not watching the Rams-Redskins game in its entirety; the 50-point spread and the virtual guarantee that things would be unofficially decided by halftime didn't really pique my interest. When I saw St. Louis was leading late in the fourth, it caught my attention, and I ended up watching the final six minutes or so. 
The Arizona Cardinals entered today's game with the Washington Redskins at 2-0 for the first time since 1991 (when current Redskins coach Joe Bugel was their head coach). They wanted to be the first Cards team to get to 3-0 since 1974. 
In our 
It's not a good time to be a punter looking for an NFL job.
