TSR’s Punter of the Week
Chris Jones – Dallas Cowboys
Who is he?
Jones is a highly-touted left-footed punter who suffered a sprained left knee in week three against the Bucs. It wasn’t known Jones would sit out against the Bears when he was selected by TSR as “Punter of the Week,” but his situation serves as a wonderful example of the delicate and transient nature of the punting profession. Listed as “doubtful” going into the Monday nighter with the Bears, the Cowboys brought in two punters last week in case Jones was unable to go. The jobless former Lions punter Ryan Donahue was called in and worked out. As luck and good timing would have it, the great Bills punter Brian Moorman was cut by Buffalo the same day. Moorman is a two-time Pro Bowler who played 11 full seasons and the first three games of this year with Buffalo. He’s been one of the game’s best punters. Completely out of nowhere, Moorman was run out of town by Bills special teams coach Bruce DeHaven over directional efforts. So, just a day after termination from a team he spent more than a decade with, Moorman found himself in Dallas. Then with Jones deactivated for the Bears game, Moorman played and performed spectacularly. With the Cowboys on a bye this weekend, Jones hopes to heal in time for week 6 but the question now is whether Jerry Jones (unrelated to Chris) and company opt to stick with a quality veteran punter who fell in their lap? Will Moorman stick in Big D? Or will Jones retain the job he temporarily lost due to injury? Most NFL fans don’t pay much attention to the daily transactions column but punters come and go often. It’s a game of musical chairs. The developing career stories of Moorman, Jones and Donahue are not unlike hundreds of punters who change uniforms and/or fade in and out of obscurity
Jones’ stat line vs. the Bears 10-1-12:
Out with the sore punting knee, Jones didn’t play. Moorman replaced him and aced his three punts. It was an incredible performance by Moorman considering his Cowboys debut came against the best return man in the game. Devin Hester of the Bears is just one punt return for a TD shy of the all-time record of 19 held by Neon Deion. Two of the three Moorman punts were placed inside the ten with no return. So much for poor directional punting by Moorman. Teammates and coaches embraced Moorman’s efforts despite a lousy Cowboys loss. An ESPN camera showed Moorman drinking a purple-colored sports drink after one of his pin jobs.
The Sound of a Punt:
63-year-old Mizzou grad Brad Sham calls Cowboys games on radio. This is his 34th season in the booth. The first seven years of Sham’s Cowboys run were alongside Verne Lundquist. He took over the play-by-play mike in 1984. Sham exited for three seasons in the mid-90’s after a spat with Jerry Jones but his popularity in Texas runs deep and his descriptions are crisp. The clip below captures this conciseness. It’s Sham’s call of Moorman’s first punt as heard on KRLD-FM (The Fan) in Dallas.
After Moorman’s third punt, Sham made a failed attempt at humor by citing the Broadway play “The Book of Mormon.” One of the things I really like about KRLD’s radio broadcast is how Sham weaves recorded player interviews into his call.
The Punt-osis:
The immediate Punt-osis on Jones won’t likely be clear until sometime next week. Will the injured young punter with great potential keep his job after Moorman’s great Cowboys debut? And what about Moorman? He converted a rude and abrupt boot out of the door into a smooth transition to another team. Moorman said on KRLD-FM that he views his chance with the Cowboys as temporary. “It’s another chapter in my life. Another chapter in my career. I’m excited to be a part of this organization whether it’s a short time – or whatever. Fillin’ in for Chris (Jones), I told him: Go get healthy, man. You’re doing a great job. I’m just here to hold it down for ’ya.”
Next week’s Punter of the Week:
Bryan Anger – Jacksonville Jaguars