{"id":502,"date":"2012-09-12T22:18:04","date_gmt":"2012-09-13T02:18:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesauerbrunreport.com\/?p=502"},"modified":"2012-09-13T17:33:23","modified_gmt":"2012-09-13T21:33:23","slug":"502","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesauerbrunreport.com\/?p=502","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

TSR\u2019s Punter of the Week<\/strong>
\nDrew Butler – Pittsburgh Steelers<\/em><\/p>\n

As mentioned here a few weeks ago, TSR will assess performances of 17 NFL punters this season on a weekly basis. The Sauerbrun Report launched in 1995 as a bi-weekly print newsletter devoted to the punts and kicks of the original Punt King: Todd Sauerbrun of the Bears. After three seasons, the print publication ceased. In early 2006, TSR re-started as an online site with a broader mission.<\/p>\n

My paying job\u2019s work schedule makes it impossible to watch much pro football in real time but to maintain closeness to both the sport and the art of punting, TSR is watching one televised game per week on tape and reporting on the output of a single punter in the selected contest.<\/p>\n

This week and every week through the end of the NFL regular season, TSR breaks down the bio, stats and outlook of the punter chosen as Punter of the Week. Included will be a description of each punt and an audio clip of one punt. Installment number 1 of 17 focuses on Drew Butler of the Pittsburgh Steelers.<\/p>\n

Who is he?<\/strong>
\n23-year-old Drew Butler is an undrafted rookie out of the University of Georgia. He signed with Pittsburgh immediately after the draft concluded. The son of great Bears place-kicker Kevin Butler, Drew was named the Steelers punter as camp ended. It was reported Butler won the job because incumbent Jeremy Kapinos had a bad back and was unable to play in the preseason. But even had Kapinos been healthy, Butler\u2019s solid summer and future potential would have been enough to seal the deal fair and square. Butler earned a degree in telecommunications at Georgia. His grade point average was a tick shy of perfect and he was among the nation\u2019s best collegiate punters over three full seasons. His rookie salary is reportedly $390-thousand and he wears uniform number 9. Active on Twitter, Butler sounds off quite a bit on professional golf and Bulldogs athletics.<\/p>\n

Butler\u2019s stat line against the Broncos on 9-9-12:<\/strong>
\n3 punts. 142 yards total. Avg. 47.3 yards per. 40.0 net.<\/p>\n

The punts in detail:<\/strong>
\n1. Butler\u2019s first professional punt came after the game\u2019s opening possession for the Steelers went three and out. Standing inside his own ten, Butler\u2019s warm-up routine included several simulated punting motions in between deep breaths. Looking very nervous, Butler closed his eyes a few times for a second or two and then licked his left hand. Butler wears a hefty set of shoulder pads on his muscular frame. Vertical facemask bars on his helmet extend from the bottom of his chin to the tip of his nose. He wore a tight, black synthetic undershirt that covered his upper arms down to his elbow. After a short count, Butler was delivered the ball with perfection by veteran long snapper Greg Warren. Standing thirteen yards behind the line of scrimmage, Butler took two quick steps before striking the ball solidly. The low, line drive punt with less than optimum hang time was received by former Jet Jimmy Leonhard at Denver\u2019s 28 and returned twelve yards. It was a 52 yard punt. 40-yard net. As you probably know, official record-keeping doesn\u2019t count punting yards traveled from where the ball is kicked. The starting mark is the spot where the ball is snapped. So, in reality, the actual distance on Butler\u2019s punt was 65 yards.<\/p>\n

2. There were more deep breaths and more expressions of nervousness from Butler before his second punt. But boy, was it a beauty. The game was scoreless midway through the first quarter and it appeared punting would play a big role in the battle for field position. The Steelers were forced to punt after Big Ben was sacked near at Denver\u2019s 45 on a third and long. This is where even the most experienced punters are tested as they try to land the ball inside the opponent\u2019s 20. Butler had to shift a bit to his right to field the snap before launching the rock toward the end zone. The ball fell at the one and a half yard line. What was most beautiful about it was the bounce it took. It went straight up in the air. It didn\u2019t somersault into the end zone. It didn\u2019t backspin away from the goal stripe. It went up in a straight line. Steelers coverage man Curtis Brown had a great read and was ready to bat the ball back into play. But because of Butler\u2019s ability to get a flat bounce, DeMarcus Van Dyke was able to swoop in as he ran towards the end zone. He caught and downed the ball at the one. It was a perfectly executed pin job by Butler with great assistance from Brown and Van Dyke. You\u2019ll only see this kind of play a couple dozen times across the entire league all season. The other interesting thing about this great punt was Butler\u2019s reaction to it. You\u2019ll see many punters go wild after a good outcome. Butler was not overly celebratory. He slapped hands with his special teams unit as they came off the field but didn\u2019t appear interested in making it about him.<\/p>\n

3. After Ben failed to see a wide-open Wallace for what would have been a sure TD early in the fourth quarter, Butler\u2019s third punt was a chance to air it out. Standing at his own 14, Butler received the ball with the laces down. He quickly rotated it 180 degrees while taking two quick steps before sending it 58 yards downfield. Again, the hang time was less than what a coverage team would like. Leonhard returned it ten yards. It went in the books as a 46-yard punt, 36-yard net.<\/p>\n

The Sound of a Punt:<\/strong>
\nThe clip below is the Steelers radio call (carried on WDVE-FM in Pittsburgh) on Butler\u2019s beautiful punt downed at the one yard line by DeMarcus Van Dyke. Play-by-play man Billy Hargrove misidentified Van Dyke on the play. His partner Tunch Ilkin caused further confusion by adding another misidentification before Hargrove eventually got it right. The third voice heard in this clip is the sideline reporter Craig Wolffey who adds little value to game descriptions. Aside from the mistakes made, the thing that most annoyed me about the call is the complete failure to credit Butler for his placement of the ball.<\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

The Punt-osis:<\/strong>
\nButler had a great debut and appears ready to prosper as a NFL punter. He fought a serious case of the butterflies to perform well in a noisy building. NBC\u2019s Al Michaels commented before Butler\u2019s first kick that Denver\u2019s altitude makes it punter-friendly. \u201cNice place to make your debut as a punter, at 5280 feet,\u201c said Michaels. That\u2019s true. The game\u2019s opening kickoff landed in the stands. But success as a punter is more than just distance. It\u2019s placement. Ilkin said on the radio that he observed both punters struggling with swirling winds during pre-game. Butler seems to have a firm grip on snap reception and acted cool when he had to. As the holder for all Suisham field goal and point after attempts, Butler was perfect. Expect an effort to improve hang time on punts but otherwise I believe you\u2019re looking at a guy who has both the bloodlines and the ability to stick around and punt on a team with great tradition. Let\u2019s see how Butler fares when it gets cold.<\/p>\n

Next week\u2019s Punter of the Week: \u00a0Andy Lee of the San Francisco 49ers<\/p>\n

-Mike Francesa appeared to fall asleep momentarily while on the air during a Tuesday interview with WFAN\u2019s Yankees beat reporter Sweeny Murti. The video clip<\/a> showing the sequence has been circulated widely. Lots of people in this town seem to gain delight with the occasional Mikey blooper. I think it\u2019s important to remember the hours this guy keeps, especially during football season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TSR\u2019s Punter of the Week Drew Butler – Pittsburgh Steelers As mentioned here a few weeks ago, TSR will assess performances of 17 NFL punters this season on a weekly basis. The Sauerbrun Report launched in 1995 as a bi-weekly … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[98,93],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s28tEv-502","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesauerbrunreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesauerbrunreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesauerbrunreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesauerbrunreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesauerbrunreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=502"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/thesauerbrunreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":506,"href":"https:\/\/thesauerbrunreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502\/revisions\/506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesauerbrunreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesauerbrunreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesauerbrunreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}