Bronco9798
07-05-2005, 06:09 PM
The all-time record for punting average in a season is held by Sammy Baugh, who averaged 51.3 yards per kick in 1940. The post-merger mark is held by Todd Sauerbrun, who averaged 47.5 yards per punt in 2001.
This comes up because Sauerbrun is now in Denver, and while Baugh’s record is probably out of reach, Sauerbrun’s unofficial “modern” mark is toast.
Most football fans assume that punts travel farther in the high altitudes of Denver, but a book that will be released in August proves that the Mile High effect is very significant. In Pro Football Prospectus 2005 (a Football Outsiders joint, executive producer Aaron Schatz), Aaron reveals that there are predictable park effects on punts and kickoffs in domed stadiums, in fair-weather locales like Carolina, in cold-weather towns like Buffalo, and in Denver, where the typical kickoff travels about four yards further than average and punts can be counted on to travel about two yards further.
The Mile High effect has concealed mediocre play on the part of the Broncos punters for several years. Like Rockies outfielders, they produce pretty good stats in ideal home conditions, then grade out as well below average on the road. But Sauerbrun is an excellent punter, and with eight home games in high altitude, the people at Sirius are wondering if they can just put some of their satellite radio transmitters on footballs, wait until 4th-and-10, and let Sauerbrun do the rest. (By the way, order Sirius through the link on our site and not only do you get radio broadcasts from every NFL team, we get a bit of the money.)
Sauerbrun has played three games in Denver in his pro career. He punted 12 times in those games, averaging a whopping 48.9 yards per attempt. Yes, yes: small data sample. Looking at it another way, Sauerbrun has averaged 45.3 yards per punt since leaving the Windy City. Tack on a yard or two for the Mile High effect, and Sauerbrun could have an average season by his standards and still ride the park effect train up the all-time leaderboard.
Belgian Waffle: As if all those ex-Browns weren’t enough, the Broncos signed Belgian DT Patrice Majondo-Mwamba to their practice squad. If the Browns/Majondo-Mwamba experiment succeeds, Mike Shanahan will look into replacing the linebacking corps with Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
Puffy Pieces: During and after minicamp, the local press is often flooded with positive articles about how good the rookies looked and how enthusiastic the veterans were. Getting the positive spin treatment in Denver were 1) Quentin Griffin, on the mend from an ACL tear (Shanahan: “He’s made some big strides") 2) Gerald Warren (Shanahan: “Warren has done an excellent job") and 3) Backup QB Bradlee Van Pelt (Coach again: “I definitely think he has what it takes to be an NFL quarterback").
This comes up because Sauerbrun is now in Denver, and while Baugh’s record is probably out of reach, Sauerbrun’s unofficial “modern” mark is toast.
Most football fans assume that punts travel farther in the high altitudes of Denver, but a book that will be released in August proves that the Mile High effect is very significant. In Pro Football Prospectus 2005 (a Football Outsiders joint, executive producer Aaron Schatz), Aaron reveals that there are predictable park effects on punts and kickoffs in domed stadiums, in fair-weather locales like Carolina, in cold-weather towns like Buffalo, and in Denver, where the typical kickoff travels about four yards further than average and punts can be counted on to travel about two yards further.
The Mile High effect has concealed mediocre play on the part of the Broncos punters for several years. Like Rockies outfielders, they produce pretty good stats in ideal home conditions, then grade out as well below average on the road. But Sauerbrun is an excellent punter, and with eight home games in high altitude, the people at Sirius are wondering if they can just put some of their satellite radio transmitters on footballs, wait until 4th-and-10, and let Sauerbrun do the rest. (By the way, order Sirius through the link on our site and not only do you get radio broadcasts from every NFL team, we get a bit of the money.)
Sauerbrun has played three games in Denver in his pro career. He punted 12 times in those games, averaging a whopping 48.9 yards per attempt. Yes, yes: small data sample. Looking at it another way, Sauerbrun has averaged 45.3 yards per punt since leaving the Windy City. Tack on a yard or two for the Mile High effect, and Sauerbrun could have an average season by his standards and still ride the park effect train up the all-time leaderboard.
Belgian Waffle: As if all those ex-Browns weren’t enough, the Broncos signed Belgian DT Patrice Majondo-Mwamba to their practice squad. If the Browns/Majondo-Mwamba experiment succeeds, Mike Shanahan will look into replacing the linebacking corps with Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
Puffy Pieces: During and after minicamp, the local press is often flooded with positive articles about how good the rookies looked and how enthusiastic the veterans were. Getting the positive spin treatment in Denver were 1) Quentin Griffin, on the mend from an ACL tear (Shanahan: “He’s made some big strides") 2) Gerald Warren (Shanahan: “Warren has done an excellent job") and 3) Backup QB Bradlee Van Pelt (Coach again: “I definitely think he has what it takes to be an NFL quarterback").