TSR’s Punter of the Week:
Mike Scifres – San Diego Chargers
Who is he?
One of the NFL‘s best punters, Scifres (pronounced Sigh-Fress) is valued most for his ability to limit return yardage. More than half of his 500 plus career punts have not been returned and he’s usually great on the deep ball when the situation calls for it. Scifres became much more of a known commodity among football fans when he was suddenly pressed into placekicking duties during the first week of the 2011 season. Chargers kicker Nate Kaeding tore up a knee on a Percy Harvin kickoff return for a touchdown in the first quarter of last year’s opener leaving Scifres as the only immediate viable roster option on point-after attempts and field goals. Scifres had kicked a big long-distance field goal as a sophomore at Western Illinois University but had not attempted a trey in a game since. As Kaeding’s emergency replacement, Scrifres nailed a 40-yarder and three PAT’s in that Vikes game. Sportscenter and all the highlights shows screamed about the greatness of it and now Scrifres is a borderline household football name. A decade of consistency under his belt, Scifres punts in the best outdoor conditions one could have at a home venue. It’s almost always nice in San Diego. Scifres played high school football in Louisiana. The future Hall of Famer Ed Reed was a Scifres teammate at Destrehan High. Reed graduated one year ahead of Scifres.
The Scifres stat line vs. the Broncos 10-15-12:
4 punts. 180 yards total. Avg. 45.0 yards per. 42.0 net.
The punts in detail:
1. Wearing a white long-sleeve shirt underneath his partially un-tucked powder-blue home Bolts jersey, the 32-year-old Scifres doesn’t have an elaborate on-field routine before the punt. You don’t see much in the way of leg flapping and the like. All I saw Scifres do before punts was blow on his hands. He wears uniform number 5 which is a numeral without a lot of historical football fanfare – fitting for a punter. Scrifres clearly works in the gym to maintain power in his upper body and thighs. He preaches the “two-step, two-second” rule after receiving the snap and may have exceeded that on both counts a bit after the Chargers went three and out on their opening drive. Denver punt rusher David Bruton made a quick slice move off the edge and nearly got his left hand on the ball as Scrifres let it rip. It wasn’t a great punt but the roll worked eleven yards in Sciff‘s favor. Denver return man Trindon Holliday (cut by the Texans the week before) was probably expecting something deeper. He left the ball alone. It was a 51-yard punt. No return.
2. The second Scifres punt was a crazy play. Five minutes into the game (after SD’s second offensive possession went nowhere) the ball was punted from the exact same spot on the field as the first punt. This one went much higher and a little further. Holliday signaled fair catch early on and attempted to haul in the punt at his own 17. Gunner Marcus Gilchrist got in Holliday’s private space as he was about to catch it. The obstruction caused Holliday to muff it. The NFL’s fair catch rule is vague on what constitutes “hindrance.” On the telecast, Gruden said Gilchrist did nothing wrong. It appeared to me that Gilchrist went overboard trying to mess with Holliday’s vision. After the muff, there was a fight for the ball between Denver’s Tony Carter and Chargers tight end Dante Rosario. Umpire Jeff Rice aggressively dug his way into the pile of players to find truth about the ball‘s ownership. It was a bold effort by Rice squirming his way among bodies twice his weight. Rice’s quick action led to the conclusion Rosario had the ball. San Diego scored a field goal off the miscue. Holliday was brought in to give the Broncos punt return game a little more sizzle than what former Jet Jimmy Leonhard was giving it. Incidentally, Leonhard had a big pick early in this game. The punt was 47 yards and the muff made it a zip return.
3. The poocher from Scifres on his third punt was textbook. Just a shade outside of field goal range, Norv Turner sent out Big Mike (nicknamed “Scabies” in college according to one of his online bios) to pin Denver deep in their own territory. Scifres barely kissed it and sent the skin into the coffin corner. It bounced at the 7. San Diego gun man Darrell Stuckey was waiting for it. How did he get in perfect position so quick? I don’t know. Stuckey is lightning fast and took a few peaks up and behind him while in an all-out sprint. Holliday was probably freaked out about another fumble and got way out of the way. 33-yard punt. No return.
4. Sciff’s final punt of the game came as Denver was mounting a furious second half comeback. After Denver sacked Rivers at his own 18, Mike came out with three minutes to go in the third quarter with his team still up ten at that point. His punt looked almost identical to his first one of the game. With a menacing Bruton rush coming from the edge, the Sciff-kick was low in trajectory and not particularly long in distance. The bounce was kind to the tune of about ten yards. Holliday picked it up and scampered up the sideline. 49-yard punt, 12-yard return. Not great by Scifres at a time his team needed a boomer. Not awful but not really what you‘d expect from one of the game‘s best.
The Sound of a Punt:
The familiar voice of Josh Lewin describes Chargers games on radio. Lewin’s just-completed rookie season sitting next to Howie Rose in the Mets radio booth has to be considered a success given the clear chemistry the two built as the season went on. Lewin’s football call is solid and takes on additional importance to Chargers fans who face occasional television blackouts given the team’s failure to sell out the building there. The clip below is Lewin and broadcast partner Hank Bauer describing the first quarter muff of a Scifres punt by Trindon Holliday. The flagship station of Chargers football is KIOZ-FM (Rock 105.3) in San Diego. Chargers games are also carried in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Reno on radio (as well as several smaller California markets).
The Punt-osis:
As has been the trend league-wide with elite punters, Scifres got locked up with a five-year career extender potentially worth $19 million. He inked the deal before last season. It includes eight mil guaranteed. That’s good coin for a punter. Sciff doesn’t go to pro bowls because he just happens to play in the same conference as Shane Lechler but who cares about the Pro Bowl anyway? Scifres puts great emphasis on the drop element of his punt and spends a lot of time practicing a release that falls flat. Scifres is likely relieved he’s recovered fully from hernia surgery and issues with an abdominal muscle. He can still kick like he did before popping the hernia. It appears to me the Chargers need to shore up a vulnerability on the right side of the line during punts. Watching this football game in its entirety makes me a believer in the Denver Broncos come postseason. I knew about the pass rush, but Tony Carter and Chris Harris are tough in the defensive backfield. Peyton Manning looked awesome. One side note on the telecast. I set my DVR to capture this event and my box failed to record it. The error message on my cable box said “the set-top was unable to record this program.” I panicked a little and then ended up dropping $40 on a package of video from the NFL that entitles me to high-quality recordings of every game played this regular season. The DVR malfunction has turned out to be a blessing in disguise because I’m really enjoying “Game Rewind” at NFL.com. I can watch a ton of punts and a lot of them can be viewed using the “Coach’s Film,” which is footage shot from two angles high above the playing surface.
Next week’s Punter of the Week:
Shane Lechler – Oakland Raiders