TSR’s Punter of the Week:
Shane Lechler – Oakland Raiders

Who is he?
Edward Shane Lechler is believed by many to be the best punter in the history of the NFL. TSR isn’t in a position to make such an assertion. I haven’t seen enough of Lechler or many of the great punters who pre-date Bob Parsons and the punters who first caught my attention in the late 70‘s. Lechler’s stats make a good case for him being the best ever. His career average (47.6 yards per punt) is tops all-time and he’s been to the Pro Bowl seven times. The problem with punter stats, of course, is they don’t often accurately measure one’s effectiveness. Last week’s Punter of the Week Mike Scifres says Lechler is the best all-time. Endorsements like that mean a lot. Drafted by Al Davis in 2000 out of Texas A & M, Lechler hasn’t missed a game since 2002. He’s played 196 regular season games and is on pace to hit the one-thousand pro punt mark this season. Now 36, Lechler faces a phase of his career that will present a challenge as he considers preserving his legacy. If he walks away from the game with the best career punting average in league history after perhaps one more contract, Lechler will have supporters pushing for his enshrinement to the NFL Hall of Fame. As you probably know, Canton has been off-limits to punters up until now. Not even the great Ray Guy got in. Lechler could be the one who punts down that bolted door. Lechler is a team captain. He joined five of his Raider teammates for the pre-game coin toss prior to last Sunday’s home game against Jacksonville. Lechler had minor knee surgery on his plant leg this past summer and came into camp a bit slimmer than usual. He holds the ball on all PAT’s and field goal attempts by Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski. The two come from the same draft class and form the best kicker/punter tandem in the NFL. Credit the late Al Davis for risking mockery by taking both players with valuable draft picks.

The Lechler stat line vs. the Jaguars 10-21-12:
6 punts. 264 yards total. Avg. 44.0 yards per. 33.3 net.

The punts in detail:
1. After a three and out on the Black and Silver’s first possession, Lechler stepped onto the field wearing a long-sleeved black shirt under his black home jersey. It was typical Bay area football weather. 62 degrees. A steady breeze. The Coliseum crowd was noisy despite scores of empty seats in the upper level. Lechler’s pre-punt routine appears consistent. He pulls the seam on his shoulder pads down and tugs up a pant leg. He licks his right hand and then rubs both hands together to spread around the moisture. Like a lot of good Raiders over the years, Lechler has a beard. Penalty flags flew when usually reliable Raider long snapper John Condo double-clutched and held the ball while the line back-pedaled up to protect. That moved the ball back five yards. The Raiders deploy three blockers in the backfield which makes the space in front of Lechler a little crowded but safe from harassment. After two un-rushed steps, Lechler hit a solid, high drive. Michael Spurlock of the Jags didn’t move an inch to receive it. With the gunners a good ways off, Spurlock ran to his right and then cut back left in an attempt to circle up the sideline. Raiders coverage man David Ausberry cut him off and chased him to the sidelines. As is Raider custom, Ausberry got into Spurlock’s space after the play was over and gave him a menacing glance that bordered on the unsportsmanlike. It was a 49-yard punt, three yard return.

2. A stall at midfield sent out Lechler for a poocher with a minute to go in the first quarter. Lechler tilted the nose of ball downward and struck it low. The line driver traveled quick to Aaron Ross who made a demonstrative fair catch signal and caught it at the 11. It was a 38 yard punt. The Jags’ punt rush efforts have zero intensity.

3. Raider tailback Darren McFadden has been lousy much of the year which means lots of punts. Lots of Lechler. With the Raiders down 14-3, Lechler’s third punt came as he stood on his own 10. He launched it high. Not crazy deep. It was slowed by the wind. Spurlock caught it at his 30 and went down almost immediately after Mike Mitchell grabbed his ankle while falling down himself. 45-yard punt. Two yard return.

4. With boos raining down on Carson Palmer after a three and out to start second half, Lechler launched it from inside his own ten. Ian Eagle called it a “wobbly” punt, a fact I can’t confirm watching the broadcast. Spurlock fielded it at his 33 (46-yard punt) and somehow slowly wove his way upfield through a maze of bodies for a 28-yard return. You can’t really blame the punt for the lengthy return. Spurlock seemed to catch a few openings and timely blocks. Lechler was nowhere to be seen on the play which is probably smart given how important he is to the team. You can bet Sauerbrun would have been in on the tackle on a play like this. But Sauerbrun was kind of a unique case in terms of his involvement on coverage. Some of the league’s older, dependable punters avoid contact if at all possible. I’m guessing Lechler is probably coached to stay away from situations that may injure him. The 28-yard return by Spurlock killed Lechler’s net number for the day. Too many of these types of returns can really hurt a key punter stat.

5. Lechler had a big job to do on his fifth punt. Standing at his own 42 with his team down a touchdown late in the third quarter, Lechler needed to put the ball inside the 20 without letting it roll into paydirt. What occurred is not what you’d expect from the best punter in the game. Lechler landed it on the goal stripe. It bounced forward. That’s a bad touchback in a big spot. You’re handing the opponent ten yards plus on a touchback. 45-yard punt. 25-yard net. Not good. CBS showed Lechler coming off the field after the play. He looked miffed.

6. Lechler punted from deep in his own zone with a minute to go in a tie game between two bad teams. It was a low, line driver and not what you’d want in this spot. The hang time stunk and Spurlock advanced it ten yards to give the Jags a shot to win it on a trey. Luckily for the Raiders, Chad Henne’s ineptness kept Jacksonville in neutral. The Raiders actually got the ball back and gave Sea-Bass a shot at a 64-yarder to win it. It was short but on line. Woulda been good from 59. Sea-Bass came back later and won the game with a 40-yarder in OT. The miss from 64 is his only fail all season.

The Sound of a Punt:

Greg Papa (not related to Bob Papa) is the primary radio voice of the Raiders. He’s joined in the booth by former Raiders coach Tom Flores. Papa delivers a crisp, enthusiastic and sometimes critical call. A Syracuse grad, Papa got very emotional calling the Raider win hours after last year’s death of Al Davis. The clip below captures Lechler’s first punt against the Jags last Sunday. The sound of foot on ball contact can be heard nicely thanks to solid production by those who put the broadcast together – heard in the Bay area on KITS-FM (Live 105) in San Francisco. This game was nearly blacked out on television locally. The Raiders needed a one-day extension to reach the 85-percent tickets sold threshold necessary to keep the game on the tube.

The Punt-osis:
Lechler is in the final year of a four-year deal worth $16 million. His net punting average is 30th in the NFL this season and his performance against Jacksonville wasn’t vintage Lechler. The Raiders aren’t winning anything anytime soon and I’d think Lechler would use free agency to consider options that would give him a shot at a ring. Lechler has become the most well known punter to play the game since Ray Guy and his body of work as a punter from a statistical standpoint is unrivaled. We’ve seen plenty of punters maintain form into their late 30’s and early 40’s. Lechler likely has an eye on his career yardage per punt number. Hopefully he can retire with some assurance he’ll get a plaque in Canton.

Next week’s Punter of the Week:
Zoltan Mesko – New England Patriots