{"id":627,"date":"2012-12-12T18:47:53","date_gmt":"2012-12-12T22:47:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesauerbrunreport.com\/?p=627"},"modified":"2012-12-12T22:39:24","modified_gmt":"2012-12-13T02:39:24","slug":"627","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesauerbrunreport.com\/?p=627","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

TSR\u2019s Punter of the Week:<\/strong>
\nPat McAfee – Indianapolis Colts<\/em><\/p>\n

Who is he?<\/strong>
\nFourteen years after Todd Sauerbrun converted great football success at West Virginia University into a punting job in the NFL, McAfee followed the same path. McAfee was taken in the seventh round by the Colts in the 2009 NFL draft. He\u2019s become a popular player for Indy despite an embarrassing public intoxication arrest and one-game suspension in 2010. McAfee\u2019s 46.6 yards per punt (gross) average in 2011 is the best in franchise history. Ahead of that number this year, McAfee has a shot at making the Pro Bowl. McAfee handles kickoff duties too. He moderates Q and A sessions on the Colts Facebook page and has more than 83-thousand followers on Twitter. Among his recent tweets, two stand out: \u201cTurtlenecks are hilarious.\u201d and \u201cKicked footballs reallllly far today. That is all.\u201d McAfee appears with regularity on the Bob and Tom radio show, a morning-zoo type program on a classic rock station in Indianapolis. Before Sunday\u2019s game, McAfee was named one of six team captains for the rest of the season. \u201cIt\u2019s really cool. It\u2019s an honor,\u201d said McAfee on being named a captain. McAfee\u2019s girlfriend is former Miss Indiana USA and Indiana University dental school student Allison Biehle.<\/p>\n

The McAfee stat line vs. the Titans 12-9-12:<\/strong>
\nFour punts. 213 yards total. 53.3 yards per. 49.8 net.<\/p>\n

The punts in detail:<\/strong>
\n1. It was a rainy day in Indy but conditions inside Lucas Oil Stadium are usually optimum for the punter wearing the home jersey. This is the fifth Colts season at The Luke since exiting the Hoosier Dome and more often than not the venue\u2019s retractable lid is in the closed position as it was Sunday. This contest nearly failed to sell out. Colts long snapper Matt Overton fired a crisp spiral to McAfee on his first punt. Standing at his six and wearing a black glove on his left hand, McAfee blasted a boomer to the TN 26. His approach to the ball appears to include an extra half-step. Also a bit unusual is the fact McAfee catches the football with his right foot forward. He positions himself off center to the right a step. Sensing immediate apprehension, Titans return man Darius Reynaud signaled fair catch. It was a 54-yard punt. No return.<\/p>\n

2. Similar circumstances on McAfee\u2019s second punt allowed him to air it out again. The only difference this time is that Tommie Campbell of the Titans completely neutralized the gunner on the right side leaving Reynaud some daylight in front of him. Credit Campbell for nice hustle and timely blocking on Reynaud\u2019s 14-yard return. The punt was again 54-yards.<\/p>\n

3. After an offensive series that saw phenomenal rookie QB Andrew Luck get sacked twice, McAfee came out to punt with two minutes and ten seconds left in the first half. He allowed the clock to run down to the two-minute warning whistle, went to the sidelines during the TV commercials and then back out on to the field. It was another perfect snap by Overton. McAfee rotated the laces up and launched a nice one from his own 20. The deep ball landed at the TN 16, kicked up some tire shreds and went out of bounds at the 15. Reynaud was careful to steer clear although a couple of his stray teammates nearly got hit by the ball. Call it a 53-yarder with no return and mark down coffin in the margin if you\u2019re keeping punt notes at home.<\/p>\n

4. This brilliant momentum-changing McAfee punt with nine minutes gone in the third quarter ended with a rarely-seen on-field punter celebration. The ball was snapped from Indy\u2019s 46 and the Colts down six. McAfee crushed it and went coffin hunting using his innate, radar-like skill. He shorted his approach to the strike by a step and got nice height on the ball. It landed well out of bounds near the goal line. This was a very difficult spot for the side judge Don Carlsen (with no apparent guidance from ref Peter Morelli) but he wove his hands above his heads with great confidence as he marked it at the one-yard line. Alterrauan Verner of the Titans argued loudly about the spot, saying it should have been called a touchback. These types of calls are very tricky obviously. You have a flying football going over an imaginary line at a high rate of speed. Carlsen is eyeballing it the best he can but it\u2019s such a random outcome on this kind of play. McAfee obviously loved the call. He sprinted up field and body slammed special teams teammate Kavell Conner. On TV, Dan Fouts said \u201cOh My!\u201d at the punt and Ian Eagle said: \u201cYou can\u2019t do it much better than that!\u201d The other aspect of the play that won\u2019t go in the record book is that the left guard on the Colts moved just before the snap. It should have been a motion call but the flag didn\u2019t drop. It was a 52-yard punt, no return and it was a sight to see. Because TN opened its next drive in such a precarious spot, Titans QB Jake Locker lost his cool and immediately threw a pick six. The great punt set up the score and turned the game. This is a clear example of the profound importance of a good punter.<\/p>\n

The Sound of a Punt:<\/strong>
\nBob Lamey is the veteran play-by-play voice of the Colts. He\u2019ll turn 74 a week from Sunday. Former NFL offensive lineman Will Wolford works alongside as analyst. Lamey lost his voice prior to the Week 13 Colt win at Detroit but was back in tip-top for this one against the Titans. The cut below was the Lamey\/Wolford call of the McAfee coffin corner special that turned the game around. It was heard on WFNI-AM (1070 The Fan) in Indianapolis.<\/p>\n

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

One funny element of the television broadcast that I should mention came with five minutes left in the first quarter. Titans kicker Rob Bironas tried a 57-yard field goal. The ball landed short and to the right. A CBS camera positioned in the upper level behind the posts had a wide angle of the play that included the hands of standing fans cheering the miss. One fan\u2019s hands could be seen prominently flashing middle fingers at the outcome. I laughed really hard when I saw this because of how ridiculous it looked. This was a Colts fan celebrating the failure of a long field goal by giving the double swear finger salute to who? To Bironas? Or was it simply an expression of joy driven by transmission of a hostile signal to the opponent? The middle finger salute is such a potently negative statement. I can see how some people might use it to convey displeasure but this fan\u2019s use of it was both disturbing and hilarious.<\/p>\n

The Punt-osis:<\/strong>
\nThe comparisons to Sauerbrun\u2019s career at the same stage are valid although McAfee\u2019s swashbuckling online persona seems to serve him well. He\u2019s right there with Kluwe as the most high profile punter in his respective market. There\u2019s no doubt McAfee is talented. The numbers back him up. All six of McAfee\u2019s kickoffs last Sunday were deep into the end zone for touchbacks. His effectiveness in that role allows the Colts to continue using Vinatieri on field goals exclusively. McAfee is the only TSR Punter of the Week to pull double duty (punts\/kickoffs). McAfee is justified in referring to his right leg as his \u201cBoomstick.\u201d Assuming he stays out of trouble, McAfee is a punter to keep an eye on. He\u2019s an unrestricted free agent at season\u2019s end and will likely command big offers to leave a place that seems to love him.<\/p>\n

Next week\u2019s Punter of the Week:
\nBrett Kern – Tennessee Titans<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TSR\u2019s Punter of the Week: Pat McAfee – Indianapolis Colts Who is he? Fourteen years after Todd Sauerbrun converted great football success at West Virginia University into a punting job in the NFL, McAfee followed the same path. McAfee was … 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":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[122,93],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s28tEv-627","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesauerbrunreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627"}],"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=627"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thesauerbrunreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":629,"href":"https:\/\/thesauerbrunreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627\/revisions\/629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesauerbrunreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesauerbrunreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesauerbrunreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}