Paul Ernster K, WTF

[jebures]

f**k!

[broncoblue]

y?any info on this guy?no opinion here done know diddly bout him?

[TheDave]

Who?

[BroncoInferno]

Can he punt? Big-time kickoff guy? Otherwise, ???

[labronco]

searching like crazy, but no info on this guy. anyone?

[enjolras]

Seriously:)

What I could find:

Averaged 47.8 yards per punt.. THat's nice.
Long of 71..
9-18 on field goal attempts. That's not nice.

Has only punted one season (a total of 55 punts)... I don't know how I feel about that.

Was a first team all american in 1-AA (Played for Northern Arizona).

[TheDave]

Who??

[jebures]

searching like crazy, but no info on this guy. anyone?

probably because no one has heard of him, wasted pick again

[BroncoInferno]

searching like crazy, but no info on this guy. anyone?

I don't see him on anyone's ranking. Why not Matt Payne who can punt, kickoff, and back up Elam in a pinch?

[enjolras]

I'm not pissed.. I actually like the pick. 47.8 with a long of 71. Dropped 19 punts inside the 20... I like all of that. Just never heard of the guy:)

[Smilin Assassin]

Nicknamed "Boomer" in college by teammates because of his ability to BOOM kickoffs.

Can also punt if needed.

Got this from NFL.com's draft analysis.

[BroncoInferno]

Seriously:)

What I could find:

Averaged 47.8 yards per punt.. THat's nice.
Long of 71..
9-18 on field goal attempts. That's not nice.

Has only punted one season (a total of 55 punts)... I don't know how I feel about that.

Was a first team all american in 1-AA (Played for Northern Arizona).

They must like him as a punter. Maybe he's a good kickoff guy as well? ???

[Sideburn]

No such thing as a wasted 7th round pick. They could have drafted miguel the lawn boy and I wouldn't give a damn. Elam isn't what he used to be, time to start searching for a replacement. Maybe this is it. Maybe it isn't. Big deal, it's the 7th round.

[Garcia Bronco]

Come on guys everybody in the 7th round...is a who?

He's a kicker...maybe he can boot the hell out of the ball

[Dr. Broncenstein]

He is also a situational cornerback....

[enjolras]

47.8 per punt
long of 71 yards
19 punts inside the 20.
No idea on hangtime/speed.
Only punted his senior year (55 total punts).

1-AA first team all american.

[TheDave]

Who???

[Slade]

I guess before the draft I wanted a Punter, but after wasting 2 picks on CB's, I din't feel like we had a pick for Punter, I was hoping to just bring in some guys as UDFA's.

[enjolras]

Only hit 50% of his field goal attempts.. he's definitely not a replacement for Elam.

[BroncoInferno]

Nicknamed "Boomer" in college by teammates because of his ability to BOOM kickoffs.

Can also punt if needed.

Got this from NFL.com's draft analysis.

May be they're thinking of going with a kickoff specialist, rather than the punter/kickoff combo that hasn't worked for us? ??? His punt stats are inpressive. 47.8 average, pinned the opposition inside the 20 19 times...just doesn't seem to have much experience.

[DrFate]

Must be a punter prospect.

Hope he is a better punter than web programmer...

http://dana.ucc.nau.edu/~pte/

[footstepsfrom#27]

Northern Arizona punter and placekicker Paul Ernster. In his first year of punting, he led the nation with an average of 47.8 yards an attempts and dropped 19 kicks inside the 20. Also solid on kickoffs.

This is the best I can provide.

[-Slap-]

I didn't realize teams actually drafted kickoff specialists.

[HEAV]

All I can say is that the Rookie Free Agent pick ups better have a DE, DT and Safety. Because this draft blew chunks.


Heres some info on Paul.

http://nau.newtier.com/index.php?module=pnNews&tid=18&sid=56

[Hulamau]

Paul Ernster, 6-0, 217, Senior, Punter/Kicker, Northern Arizona vs Portland State, Glendale, Ariz.

Ernster keyed Northern Arizona's 21-20 victory over Portland State with his punting and place kicking, keeping alive NAU's playoff hopes. With the Lumberjacks trailing 20-10 with 8:17 remaining, Ernster's punt inside the Viking 10 set up a safety to make it 20-12. The ensuing free kick return set up a Lumberjack touchdown to make it 20-18. After Northern Arziona recovered an onside kick, Ernster kicked a 48-yard field goal with 12 seconds left to give his team the victory. Ernster also had a 27-yard field goal earlier in the game and kicked one PAT. He punted six times for 255 yards and a 42.5 average and a long of 57 yards. Ernster leads I-AA in punting, averaging 47.4 yards per kick and has been named the Big Sky special teams player of the week three times this season, twice in a row and five times in his career.

[BroncoInferno]

I didn't realize teams actually drafted kickoff specialists.

??? I guess they like his punting potential as well. 47.8 yard average is nothing to sneeze at, but he only punted for a year.

[Old Dude]

There's the punter.

Could he be any worse than what we have now?

[bloodsunday]

I know its the 7th round, but wouldn't he go undrafted? There are still some studs out there (Shazor, Fitzpatrick, Savoy).

I guess they are all likely to be undrafted as well. I can't believe Shazor isn't getting selected.

[labronco]

ok, ok. he's a punter who can kick off. i can live with this. someone please agree with me. i'm going crazy here.

[Evenrude]

Must be a punter prospect.

Hope he is a better punter than web programmer...

http://dana.ucc.nau.edu/~pte/

LOL Yeah I read that too. From his site.............

Paul Ernster was born on January 26, 1982 in Phoenix, Az from Timothy and Barbara Ernster. From then he lived in Glendale and began his preschooling at Montesory Preschool. It was at that poing that the teacher's noticed Paul's immense creativity and intelegence, he was often referred to as a prodigy. His life then took a turn for the worst when the Japanese government abducted Paul at the young age of 12 to be put into their Biotechnlogy Weapons Developement Department. He spent the next 5 years of his life developing weapons, not really experiencing a childhood due to his genious. It was on January 26, 1997 that the American Government finally discovered his whereabouts and sent in the NAVY Seals for his extraction. The operation was a success and Paul was reunited with his family on a remote naval base in the Yhoutga Islands. He then returned with his family to Arizona to begin his life as a normal 17 year old boy. He completed High School in one year and graduated top of his class. He now resides in Flagstaff, Arizona attending Northern Arizona University, a cover for his job hacking into terrorists computers for the CIA. Paul intends one day to retire from the government and move back to japan where his childhood love, Yen Sing Hiroshi, resides and eventually take her and their children to Austrailia and live a simple life on the beach.

[Slade]

ok, ok. he's a punter who can kick off. i can live with this. someone please agree with me. i'm going crazy here.

I can live with this, I was hoping we could find a guy who could boom it (boomer), i guess the reason I am disappointed is cause we had 2 wasted picks on CB's. I agree with those that are saying we better get good UDFA's: WR, DE, FS

[footstepsfrom#27]

Mercifully, it's finally over... ugh!~ ugh!~ ugh!~

[Haroldthebarrel]

holy crap. guess he will be confronted with that after the draft. ha ha ha

[Hulamau]

The problem with Ernster is he isnt even on the Sporting News list of 980 college draft prospects, the only guy in two days they dont have any info on!

As I said on Bronco.com, that doesnt mean he wont be the next a Ray Guy, only that we could have EASILY gotten him in 30 minutes for free as a Free agent and saved that pick for someone like, say, Ernest Shazor or some center maybe B. Wilkerson or what have you.

He may turn out to be a great find, but we didn't have to draft his ass! The same problem with much of this draft, the guys may work out, but we could have had them much cheaper and/or gotten other more promising prosects.

[Haroldthebarrel]

this guy rules!!

[-Slap-]

Hey, if he's a punter, than I love this pick. Probably, except for Darrent, the only non-wasted pick of the weekend.

[CBF1]

Now we are superbowl contenders!

[BroncoInferno]

Hey, if he's a punter, than I love this pick. Probably, except for Darrent, the only non-wasted pick of the weekend.

Myers was a pretty solid pick for that stage of the draft. We'll see about those other guys. They've got intriguing ability, anyway.

[GoHAM]

Well at least he's a genious, with high intelegence.

[Dr. Broncenstein]

Might as well waste a 7th round pick as well..... we've got exclusive rights to the baddest ass punter in all of Northern Arizona..

[Slade]

Hey, if he's a punter, than I love this pick. Probably, except for Darrent, the only non-wasted pick of the weekend.

Myers was a good pick and he will see the field as a long snapper. 3 solid picks, they will all see the playing field, 2 completely wasted (CB's), and 1 (Clarett( major ****ing head scratcher.

[FADERPROOF]

It's not like we drafted Maurice Clarett or anything...

****ing Broncos.

[BroncoInferno]

Well at least he's a genious, with high intelegence.

Damn...he's a genious AND has high intelligence?? What a rare combo! ;D

[Evenrude]

The problem with Ernsteris he isnt even on the Sporting News lsit of 980 college draft prospects, the only guy in two days they dont have any info on!

As I said on Bronco.co, that doesnt mean he wont be the next a Ray Guy, only that we could have EASILY gotten him in 30 minutes for free as a Free agent and saved that pick for someone like, say, Ernest Shazor or some center maybe B. Wilkerson or what have you.

He may turn out to be a great find, but we didn't have to draft his ass! The same problem with much of this draft, the guys may work out, but we could have had them much cheaper and/or gotten other more promising prosects.

The only problem with that is then you are competing with other teams for him. Say the he gets free agent offers from Denver and Arizona...... he want s to stay closer to home so he goes to camp there. They must see something in the guy that they didn't want to risk him going elsewhere...

[Evenrude]

Well at least he's a genious, with high intelegence.

I no. He shud have learned to use a spelchecker.......

[DrFate]

BEST @#$% PICK OF THE WEEKEND

http://naustats.newtier.com/football/statistics.pdf

punted 55 times for nearly 48 yards per

My new adopt-a-Bronco - Paul Ernster
:)

[HEAV]

Well at least he's a genious, with high intelegence.


Ya he has a great choice in hobbies!

I enjoy buying and selling stuff on Ebay and browsing for electronics at Best Buy.
Here is another website that i am currently working on for my cis321 class, please note that the current state is not even close to the final project.

Oey Vey............

[BroncoInferno]

Myers was a good pick and he will see the field as a long snapper. 3 solid picks, they will all see the playing field, 2 completely wasted (CB's), and 1 (Clarett( major ****ing head scratcher.

It really is a knee-jerk reaction to call *any* pick wasted, puzzling though the pick may be. There've been suggestions that LaSeuer may move to FS (I thikn he'll be great there, BTW), and if that's the case this makes more sense. They both having intriguing ability, anyway.

[-Slap-]

Originally Posted by GoWYO
Well at least he's a genious, with high intelegence.

I no. He shud have learned to use a spelchecker.......

I'm going to give him a huge benefit of the doubt and suggest he was shooting for irony right there.

[Billy Clyde Puckett]

He is Kiper's second ranked punter for what it is worth.

The one thing I am optimistic about with this offseason is that the Broncs special teams will be much better. The addition of Burns and Gold to the coverage teams will increase the net on punting significantly. Likely Williams will improve the return game. If Elam stays healthy and this kid or any of the other cnadidates can punt with any consistency and can get decent kickoffs.

[footstepsfrom#27]

Now we are superbowl contenders!

I know the Patriots are scared.

Now here's a little salt to rub in the wounds. I just heard Jerry Jones on KTCK 1310 "The Ticket" here in Dallas. He was asked about the Maurice Clarett thing. Jones flatly denied that the Cowboys had ever promised to take Clarett in the 4th round. Quote from Jones, "Nobody here ever told him that. This is the first I'd heard of it. I know what he said, but that doesn't make it true. The earliest we would have considered taking him was the 6th round."

Who do you believe? Hard as it is to say this I believe Jones. Nice way for Maurice Clarett to start his pro career in Denver, by LYING!! Maybe his agent is lying...who knows...point is, Clarett's career begins with a nice big fat whopper.

Fitting.

[Hulamau]

He is strickly a punter and maybe a kick off guy as he was only 50% on FGs and that is no new Jason Elam!

His 47 yard averge was mostly earned at 7,000 feet too so he should do OK at invesco. Lets see how he does with an NFL rush in his face. Hopefully hes a real sleeper we still could have gotten him for free and someone else. Maybe Ryan Fitzpatrick QB from HArvard. He might work out better than Maulk or Van Pelt who knows? Well, the Rams get to find out.

[BroncoInferno]

He is Kiper's second ranked punter for what it is worth.

The one thing I am optimistic about with this offseason is that the Broncs special teams will be much better. The addition of Burns and Gold to the coverage teams will increase the net on punting significantly. Likely Williams will improve the return game. If Elam stays healthy and this kid or any of the other cnadidates can punt with any consistency and can get decent kickoffs.

Sounds like he was probably left unrated by a lot of draftniks because of the lack of experience (only punted one year in college). But the numbers are impressive, plus he can boom kickoffs. Also, he can be the emergency PK if Elam gets hurt throughout the course of a game. You know Shanny likes guys who can do multiple things. Maybe a pick that will pay off. We'll see. Might as well make a pick like this in the 7th.

And I agree about improving STs. That alone will be worth two games. We were dreadful there last year.

[BroncoInferno]

Now we are superbowl contenders!

I know the Patriots are scared.

Now here's a little salt to rub in the wounds. I just heard Jerry Jones on KTCK 1310 "The Ticket" here in Dallas. He was asked about the Maurice Clarett thing. Jones flatly denied that the Cowboys had ever promised to take Clarett in the 4th round. Quote from Jones, "Nobody here ever told him that. This is the first I'd heard of it. I know what he said, but that doesn't make it true. The earliest we would have considered taking him was the 6th round."

Who do you believe? Hard as it is to say this I believe Jones. Nice way for Maurice Clarett to start his pro career in Denver, by LYING!! Maybe his agent is lying...who knows...point is, Clarett's career begins with a nice big fat whopper.

Fitting.

Maybe Jerry Jones is the liar. You think he would come out and say, "Yep, we missed out on our targeted player!" ???

[Arkie]

Boomer kicking off in the Mile High City!

[telluride]

What, we couldn't re-draft Nick Harris?

[Ray Finkle]

Now we are superbowl contenders!

I know the Patriots are scared.

Now here's a little salt to rub in the wounds. I just heard Jerry Jones on KTCK 1310 "The Ticket" here in Dallas. He was asked about the Maurice Clarett thing. Jones flatly denied that the Cowboys had ever promised to take Clarett in the 4th round. Quote from Jones, "Nobody here ever told him that. This is the first I'd heard of it. I know what he said, but that doesn't make it true. The earliest we would have considered taking him was the 6th round."

Who do you believe? Hard as it is to say this I believe Jones. Nice way for Maurice Clarett to start his pro career in Denver, by LYING!! Maybe his agent is lying...who knows...point is, Clarett's career begins with a nice big fat whopper.

Fitting.


Hey this post is sooooooooooo worthwhile, why don't you start a whole new thread about it.....oh wait....

[Drek]

I don't see why we didn't take someone legitimate and look for Ernster as a UDFA, but I guess this way we guarantee him (can't ditch us for a prefered team) and we have a contract basically in place, meaning we can get him into camp and get working on his punting asap. He's got a lot of upside, and since punting results are pretty much the lone result of the punter, he should translate well to the NFL, as long as he can handle the pressure and keep from getting blocked.

[-Slap-]

Tredici told me before this draft that Shanahan was probably going to focus primarily on special teams this weekend. I laughed, but it looks like she was right.

[orange crusher]

Sounds like the guy is a heck of a punter and he can boom kickoffs, neither of which Jason Baker does well. An added plus as a emergency FG kicker if he can improve his accuracy. Can't complain for a 7th rounder. People were probably booing the picks of Mecklenberg and Braxton years ago, so I'll wait to see what he can do.

[frerottenextelway]

Somebody needs to set-up a Paul Ernster fan club.

[broncos love]

He is Kiper's second ranked punter for what it is worth.

The one thing I am optimistic about with this offseason is that the Broncs special teams will be much better. The addition of Burns and Gold to the coverage teams will increase the net on punting significantly. Likely Williams will improve the return game. If Elam stays healthy and this kid or any of the other cnadidates can punt with any consistency and can get decent kickoffs.


Another late round find for shanny and company ..... Good job shanny,a pretty good draft in my opinion

[clint7]

Gee, let's see...he can punt, kick-off, and kick field goals in an emergency if needed, Denver needs a punter/kick-off guy and wants to improve its special teams...I can see why some people would cry and whine about the pick ::)

Punter Earns All-America Awards

Senior punter Paul Ernster, a product of Glendale's Ironwood High School, has been named to the 2004 Sports Network and Walter Camp Foundation All-America first teams.

Ernster led the nation with 47.8 punting average overall on 55 punts with a long of 71 yards. He placed 19 punts inside the 20-yard line. He also made 9-of-18 field goal attempts and all 27 point-after attempts as the regular kicker.

In addition to the all-American status, Ernster was well recognized for his efforts. He was a All-Big Sky first-team choice at both punter and kicker. He was also named the National Special Teams Player of the Week by The Sports Network and CSTV, an I-AA.org All-Star and the Big Sky Conference Special Teams Player of the Week for performance against Portland State. He made a 48-yard game-winning field goal with 12 seconds remaining in NAU's 21-20 victory. Ernster's kick was the closest game-winning kick to the end of regulation in Skydome history and it was also was the first game-winning field goal for NAU with under a minute left since 1997, while ranking as the second-longest fourth-quarter game-winning field goal since 1975. The Big Sky selected him its special teams player of the week three times overall this season.

He is the second consecutive NAU punter to earn All-America honors. Mark Gould was chosen to the first-team All-America squads by four organizations last season, including AFCA, Sports Network, Associated Press and CSTV.

[Meck77]

??? I guess they like his punting potential as well. 47.8 yard average is nothing to sneeze at, but he only punted for a year.

Also keep in mind NAU is a dome. It's a little harder at MH.

[NaptownChief]

They had to draft this kid as a sleeper punter pick cause Scouts.com doesn't even list him on their board of 25 kicker prospects...Not that they are the be all end all but if he were worth a damn at all he would have at least made that not so exclusive list.

[i4jelway7]

The one thing I am optimistic about with this offseason is that the Broncs special teams will be much better. The addition of Burns and Gold to the coverage teams will increase the net on punting significantly.


For the money they paid Ian I better not see him on special teams..


Mike Anderson ring a bell

[Rohirrim]

What makes me really sad is that this guy is my favorite pick of the draft.

[Drek]

Well, it appears that this was definately a special teams emphasis on this draft. A CB who can KR/PR, two CBs who can be special teams gunners, a OL who can long snap, and a guy with a lot of upside as a punter/kick-off/backup kicker.

The second day helped our draft out a lot. I'm still giving us a D, just because Shanahan basically pissed all over the concept of getting value for our picks, but if we can sign a couple key UDFAs we can make up a lot of that ground. Its becoming an annual event for this team to lame duck it out from rounds 3 through 5, then hit on value guys with the 6th, 7th, and UDFA choices.

[Ballhawk]

So What if the kid has only punted for a year. Not rocket science. You take the snap and kick it. He already seems to have the knack for spoting his kicks so welcome, hope he wins the gig.

[Bronco_Beerslug]

What makes me really sad is that this guy is my favorite pick of the draft.
A good punter (and kickoff guy) would be a huge weapon in Denver. I'm hoping this is the kid we need!!!!

[Play2win]

Well, it appears that this was definately a special teams emphasis on this draft. A CB who can KR/PR, two CBs who can be special teams gunners, a OL who can long snap, and a guy with a lot of upside as a punter/kick-off/backup kicker.

The second day helped our draft out a lot. I'm still giving us a D, just because Shanahan basically pissed all over the concept of getting value for our picks, but if we can sign a couple key UDFAs we can make up a lot of that ground. Its becoming an annual event for this team to lame duck it out from rounds 3 through 5, then hit on value guys with the 6th, 7th, and UDFA choices.

I believe Shanny said something towards the end of last year to the effect that SPECIAL TEAMS was just as important of an element to the team's success as the other 2 teams, Offense and Defense.

This, of course, is something (us) more educated fans know and understand, and sometimes scream about. It is something we would expect the coach to know, but for him to come out and say it to the public, and, the, eck!, PRESS- is a whole different thing.

It shows that the team was looking at it as a priority. That and the pass rush. Now, if these Cleveland acquisitions work out, we would have taken care of some of our major top Priorities.

[Play2win]

So What if the kid has only punted for a year. Not rocket science. You take the snap and kick it. He already seems to have the knack for spoting his kicks so welcome, hope he wins the gig.

Also, it depend on how quick he gets it off. I've noticed alot of Awesome Punters in College never make it in the Pros. Mainly because they can't get it off quite quick enough. They're not slow, but they're just not quite quick enough.

Conversely, some Punters not really boomers, and one's that didn't really have a stellar college career make it because they have that quick release.

So, for punters in the NFL, one of the biggest things, IMHO, is how quick they can get the kick off.

So, Paul Ernster, how quick can you get that kick off?!?

[Kaylore]

Tredici told me before this draft that Shanahan was probably going to focus primarily on special teams this weekend. I laughed, but it looks like she was right.
After that squad being ignored for so long, I'm just glad its getting any attention at all and potentially new blood.

[ØrangeÇrush]

He is Kiper's second ranked punter for what it is worth.

The one thing I am optimistic about with this offseason is that the Broncs special teams will be much better. The addition of Burns and Gold to the coverage teams will increase the net on punting significantly. Likely Williams will improve the return game. If Elam stays healthy and this kid or any of the other cnadidates can punt with any consistency and can get decent kickoffs.

Thats what I'm gettting out of this draft. A concerted effor to improve Special Teams.

[Merlin]

Now we are superbowl contenders!
Who do you believe? Hard as it is to say this I believe Jones. Nice way for Maurice Clarett to start his pro career in Denver, by LYING!!
Considering the pick Dallas made in the fourth, a RB (as Clarett stated they would), and the fact that Jones would not want to admit he lost one, I think Clarett is clean on this one.

Merlin

[Billy Clyde Puckett]

For the money they paid Ian I better not see him on special teams..


Mike Anderson ring a bell

You will see him on ST - Just like you saw DJ, Rod Smith and other starters on ST. You see the Patriot and Raven starters on ST. The day of ST being the team scrubs is over.

[Merlin]

They had to draft this kid as a sleeper punter pick cause Scouts.com doesn't even list him on their board of 25 kicker prospects...Not that they are the be all end all but if he were worth a damn at all he would have at least made that not so exclusive list.
Well, Kiper picked him as the second best punter out there, so what's your point ???

[Odysseus]

Tredici told me before this draft that Shanahan was probably going to focus primarily on special teams this weekend. I laughed, but it looks like she was right.

I don't see the disadvantage of picking up a KR/PR/CB, Punter, OG, and depth at CB. If Special Teams is not an issue for the long term what exactly did the Broncos lose out on?

Special Teams IS a part of winning a football game. Why is this such a debacle?

All the QB we face in our division are passing threats with multiple targets. Are we expecting Champ Bailey to cover everything?

[Lestat]

i don't like him being a draft pick over the other guys like Shazor & Butler but we need a P & i can't stand another under 42 yards per punt guy so i pray this dude wins the job & booms punts like mad cause i have to turn off the TV everytime Baker punts

[Crushaholic]

Paul Ernster, 6-0, 217, Senior, Punter/Kicker, Northern Arizona vs Portland State, Glendale, Ariz.

Ernster keyed Northern Arizona's 21-20 victory over Portland State with his punting and place kicking, keeping alive NAU's playoff hopes. With the Lumberjacks trailing 20-10 with 8:17 remaining, Ernster's punt inside the Viking 10 set up a safety to make it 20-12. The ensuing free kick return set up a Lumberjack touchdown to make it 20-18. After Northern Arziona recovered an onside kick, Ernster kicked a 48-yard field goal with 12 seconds left to give his team the victory. Ernster also had a 27-yard field goal earlier in the game and kicked one PAT. He punted six times for 255 yards and a 42.5 average and a long of 57 yards. Ernster leads I-AA in punting, averaging 47.4 yards per kick and has been named the Big Sky special teams player of the week three times this season, twice in a row and five times in his career.

He's a former Lumberjack? He's OK...

[Mr. Trout]

Wasted Pick...we Could Have Had Jr Russell

[Mr. Trout]

Or Anybody Besides A Punter

[Bronco_Beerslug]

Or Anybody Besides A Punter
Are you kidding? He's our best pick in the draft!

[Crushaholic]

Or Anybody Besides A Punter

Actually, we do need a punter (Baker just doesn't have what it takes, IMO.). However, if we waited until the 7th round, we might as well have waited until we picked up an UDFA.

[JCMElway]

He is also a situational cornerback....

If he can play corner it's like having an extra defender on special teams. If he can punt, kickoff, and be a good defender I'm all for it.

[JCMElway]

Well, it appears that this was definately a special teams emphasis on this draft. A CB who can KR/PR, two CBs who can be special teams gunners, a OL who can long snap, and a guy with a lot of upside as a punter/kick-off/backup kicker.

The second day helped our draft out a lot. I'm still giving us a D, just because Shanahan basically pissed all over the concept of getting value for our picks, but if we can sign a couple key UDFAs we can make up a lot of that ground. Its becoming an annual event for this team to lame duck it out from rounds 3 through 5, then hit on value guys with the 6th, 7th, and UDFA choices.

If all of these guys can come in and contribute then I like the draft. I do think thatmost of these picks will make an impact on ST this year, unlike projects. If Myers can LS that'd be great, I like the P pick, Williams (if he pans out) is very much worth a 2, Paymah is a very gifted athlete, Foxworth also has speed to burn, and I am not gonna argue with Turner about RB prospects.

So, this is definitely a wait and see grade for this draft. If our ST improve dramatically, it was a success. We make our impact draft of off and deff next year.

[Breck Bronc]

I don't know if this has been mentioned, but Ernster's punting average could be a mirage. He played at Northern Arizona, which is in Flagstaff -- a city at an even higher elevation than Denver's 5,280 feet. I believe Flagstaff is at like 7,000 feet. So half of his potential punts came at really high altitude.

Of course, you'd think we could get a punter in Denver that booms the ball at altitude, yet Knorr and Baker pretty much sucked here and everywhere else. Imagine what Lechler could do playing half his games here? It seems like every time he punts in Invesco he averages 60 yards per punt.