CSC All-Time Saints Team Nominations: Punter
by Dave Cariello on Jul 24, 2010 6:00 AM CDT
in CSC All-Time New Orleans Saints Team
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PrintToday we'll round out our all-time special teams unit by beginning the process of selecting a punter. Below is a list of players I've researched and deemed worthy of inclusion in our discussion of great Saints punters: Tommy Barnhardt, Brian Hansen, Mark Royals. As usual I will leave it up to you guys, the readers, to nominate any other players you feel should be included or tell me why the ones nominated don't deserve to be.
The poll will open at 6am Central tomorrow morning and will be open for exactly 48 hours, ending on Tuesday, July 27th.
I now open it up for any other nominations of players that you just can't believe I missed or to have one of the players listed below removed from tomorrows ballot. There very well may be a glaring omission and we could use another option or two. Talk it out below. I would also love to hear some personal rumination from our readers who've actually watched these guys play. Remember, this isn't just about choosing a player but allowing readers to share their memories of these players and educating those of us who never had a chance to see them.
Tommy Barnhardt
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 228 lbs.
D.O.B.: 6/11/1963
College: East Carolina
NFL Experience: 14 seasons
Seasons with Saints: 1989-1994, 1999
Brian Hansen
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 215 lbs.
D.O.B.: 10/26/1960
College: Sioux Falls
NFL Experience: 15 seasons
Seasons with Saints: 1984-1988
Notables: One--time Pro Bowler (1984)
Mark Royals
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 225 lbs.
D.O.B.: 6/22/1965
College: Appalachian State
NFL Experience: 15 seasons
Seasons with Saints: 1997-1998
Notables: Tenth overall in league history for punting yards
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THUNDERFOOT!
Add Russell Erxleben to the list. I want to see if he gets any votes.
It was worth the wait.
Jerrel “Thunderfoot” Wilson, considered one of the greatest punters in NFL history, was from New Orleans. As were Clyde Drexler and Reese Witherspoon, originally.
"I was not on the boat in question." -Darren Sharper
Doo do do doo
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by Dave Cariello on Jul 24, 2010 11:57 AM CDT up reply actions
The Intel music goes
Bummmmm bum bum bum bum
"Either you deal with what is the reality or you can be sure that the reality is going to deal with you." - Alex Haley
by SBookerSaintsFan on Jul 26, 2010 10:24 PM CDT up reply actions
Tom Blanchard is commonly considered one of the best punters in team history. He only played 5 seasons (as opposed to Barnhart’s 8), yet still ranks 2nd in number of punts, 2nd in punt distance, and 13th in punt average. He should definitely be on the list.
Others worthy of mention:
Mitch Berger – Played 3 seasons for the Saints. Ranks 5th in number of punts, 5th in punt distance, 3rd in punt average. Outstanding overall career. He made the Pro Bowl as a Saint in 2004.
Tom McNeill – Played 3 seasons for the Saints. Ranks 11th in number of punts, 11th in punt distance, 7th in punt average. 40 years later, he still holds the record for longest punt in team history (81 yards).
Steve Weatherford – Played 3 seasons for the Saints. Ranks 9th in number of punts, 9th in punt distance, 5th in punt average.
Russell Erxleben – best remembered for his failures as a placekicker, he truly wasn’t that bad of a punter. Played 5 seasons for the Saints. Ranks 4th in number of punts, 4th in punt distance, 17th in punt average.
Julian Fagan – Played 3 seasons for the Saints. Ranks 6th in number of punts, 6th in punt distance, 12th in punt average.
Toby Gowin – Played 3 seasons for the Saints. Ranks 7th in number of punts, 7th in punt distance, 11th in punt average.
"I was not on the boat in question." -Darren Sharper
punt distance
is that a measure of how many total yards were punted by adding together all the yards of each punt?
This is not meant as a strike against any of the individual punters, but it’s kind of a dubious statistic for the team, in that a case could be made for one who compiles a large number of punt yardage as one who must have punted A LOT OF TIMES due to a poorly-performing offense.
If we want to do something we've never done before, we've gotta do things we've never done before. -- Drew Brees
by Hans Petersen on Jul 24, 2010 8:27 AM CDT up reply actions
True, but that’s no fault of the punter. A punter is there to surrender the ball when the offense fails and pin the opposing offense back as far as possible each time out. You’re right, it’s a flawed stat … but at least it shows who was doing the job they were called on to do. Those are gross punt averages, btw. Gross yard average is good in that it takes poor coverage out of the equation, but it also doesn’t exactly reward punters with top tier coffin corner accuracy or good hang time. Of course, ANY averages without minimum qualifiers are flawed to a certain extent. For example, the Saints all-time leader on gross punt average is Glenn Pakulak. He played in eight games and punted it a grand total of 24 times. Just something to keep in mind when you see Erxleben way down at 17th. There’s quite a few small sample fly-by-nighters ranked above him.
"I was not on the boat in question." -Darren Sharper
There really isn't a good statistic to judge punters
Punt averages can really be skewed if a punter is constantly in a situation where he wants to use finesse to put the ball within the 10 yard line. I think everyone was happy with the job Morstead did last year for the Saints, but statistics don’t really show him as a standout in any areas of the punting game.
"I want to hand this trophy to the MVP of the Super Bowl -- and the MVP of the entire league.''
-- Saints coach Sean Payton, handing the Vince Lombardi Trophy to Drew Brees after Super Bowl 44.
by VAsaintsfan on Jul 24, 2010 10:25 AM CDT up reply actions
ps
I appreciate your perspective and am glad to see info about these players – thanks, as always, CP, for your due diligence…
If we want to do something we've never done before, we've gotta do things we've never done before. -- Drew Brees
by Hans Petersen on Jul 24, 2010 8:28 AM CDT up reply actions
Tom Blanchard should be on the ballot.
"Dang! The Saints won the Super Bowl!" - my wife, Meso "Happy" Hu Dat.
by Dang Hu Dat on Jul 24, 2010 10:52 AM CDT up reply actions
I have my doubts, based on Payton’s mood swings alone. Granted, the SB win will probably buy both Morstead and Hartley a little leeway, but when either hit a slump (and they’re both bound to at some point over a 4-5 year stretch), it wouldn’t surprise me to see either one of them get the axe. At least, as long as Payton is HC.
"I was not on the boat in question." -Darren Sharper
IMO
These four should DEFINITELY be on the ballot:
Barnhardt
Berger
Blanchard
Hansen
These three could be argued either way:
Erxleben (tenure vs infamy)
McNeill (distance record vs lack of attempts)
Royals (NFL career vs lack of tenure)
These three wouldn’t be missed:
Fagan
Gowin
Weatherford
"I was not on the boat in question." -Darren Sharper
tough one, take your time
I liked Brian Hansen a lot, and Mitch Berger. But it has to be Tommy Barnhardt.
Of these players, I think he had the best seasons as a Saint. Also played in 3 games for the Saints in 1987. As a Saint, he was ranked in the top 10 in yards/punt in all but 1989, when he only appeared in 11 games.
Named to the Saints’ official 40th anniversary team.
Vote for Tommy.
Good times are comin',
but they sure comin' slow.
I'm looking at Barnhardt vs. Blanchard
Barnhardt was consistent in placing in the top 6-9 spots in yards/punt (1990: 7th, ‘91:7th, ’92: 6th, ’93: 9th, ’94: 9th). Blanchard’s placements in yards/punt: 1974: 2nd, ’75: 8th, ’77: 2nd). Source is pro-football-reference.com (genuflect). BTW, Johnnie Poe was also named to that 40th anniversary team.
"Dang! The Saints won the Super Bowl!" - my wife, Meso "Happy" Hu Dat.
by Dang Hu Dat on Jul 24, 2010 12:01 PM CDT up reply actions
The Saints like big punters
i don’t think any of those guys are under six-foot
Players who should be in the Hall of Fame: Pat TIllman, Dwight White, Donnie Shell, L.C. Greenwood, Ray Guy, Steve Tasker, Greg Llyod, Andy Russel, Cris Carter, Kevin Greene and Jerry Kramer
"He Twittered that pitch" Steve Blass
Canal Street Chronicles resident Steelers Fan
punter
id go with morestead a lil cos of wat he did in the superbowl that onside kick was perfect if only he had played longer for us he would be a lock
by rob leffingwell on Jul 24, 2010 11:36 AM CDT reply actions
That onside kick was luck. It bounced off the helmet of Hank Baskett. I can see giving the kicker credit, if the ball took a wicked hop or was placed in an area where there weren’t any opponents. You’re not going to convince me that Morstead knew Baskett would misjudge the ball, if he banked it off his facemask. Perfect result following the scrum, just so-so execution by Morstead, imo.
"I was not on the boat in question." -Darren Sharper
I still think it was a good job for his first time
Even if it was just satisfactory
by Jon Banks on Jul 24, 2010 12:22 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
Gowin & Berger
don’t forget both were excellent kickoff men as well, which I think gives them a little bonus. Gowin must have also had 10 tackles during his tenure. He was tiny and never afraid to stick his neck in there for a hit. I remember he forced a fumble once that the Saints recovered on a kickoff.
Gowin gets sympathy points for having to wear the leotards
Same reason every other recent player fares so well in these elections.
"I was not on the boat in question." -Darren Sharper
speaking of leotards
I want to show this photo of Tolliver that ran with the article about him winning that golf tourney last week.
OK, I couldn’t directly post the image b/c it’s embedded in the story, but go to that link and dig the leotards before they became leotards – they look much better with that gold stripe…
If we want to do something we've never done before, we've gotta do things we've never done before. -- Drew Brees
by Hans Petersen on Jul 24, 2010 2:07 PM CDT up reply actions
Two things I’d like to mention on behalf of Erxleben:
a.) The snap over his head in the 1979 season opener obviously wasn’t his fault. The desperation heave wasn’t really either. If he falls on the loose ball, it’s a safety for Atlanta. At that point in sudden death OT, the game was pretty much over no matter what he did. He at least attempted to prevent it from going into the end zone. You have to give the guy credit for that.
b.) Erxleben once hit the gondola in the Superdome, in an exhibition game against the Dolphins. The ball was immediately whistled dead and the crowd erupted. He even took a bow. The only other NFL punter to accomplish this feat was Ray Guy, during the 1976 Pro Bowl. The massive projection screens, which hung from the ceiling at the time, have long since been removed.
"I was not on the boat in question." -Darren Sharper
I'm voting for Barnhardt
He was the first punter I can remember playing for the Saints and he did it for a long time. I say we do the same thing like the Dome Patrol and vote in Morten Anderson, Tommy Barnhardt, and Tyrone Hughes as a special teams group. We had probably the best special teams in the league back then. Of course, I would be willing to listen to Michael Lewis as KR if we vote on that position as well.
Peyton, I can eat Oreos faster than you!!!!
I agree with the need for a returns specialist election … I just think there’s too many worthy candidates to just hand it to someone. Ballot suggestions:
John Gilliam
Walt “Flea” Roberts (pre-RHCP)
Howard Stevens
Rich Mauti
Mel Gray
Tyrone Hughes
Michael Lewis
Reggie Bush
Utility man, Gunner, ST ace candidates:
Ernie Jackson
Guido Merkens
Reggie Sutton (still holds NFL record for combined blocked punts/FGs in a season)
Bennie Thompson
Brian Milne (deserves it about as much as Tom Dempsey deserves to be our all-time kicker)
Fred McAfee
Steve Gleason
"I was not on the boat in question." -Darren Sharper
what about utility-man?
Guido Merkens?
I saw in the media guide that Tony Galbreath kicked some FGs and XPs one season…
What a bout Dan Simmons as all-time equipment manager? Oh yeah, he’s the only equipment manager we’ve ever had.
If we want to do something we've never done before, we've gotta do things we've never done before. -- Drew Brees
Galbreath handled placekicking and kickoff duties against the Packers in 1979. That’s the biggest downfall to having one player man both the K and P positions. If one unexpectedly goes down, you’re in a world of sh**. That’s exactly what happened that day, as Erxleben pulled a hamstring in pre-game warmups. This less than a week after the season opening OT debacle. Needless to say, he didn’t endear himself to many Saints fans. Wes Chandler handled punt chores that day, just in case you were wondering.
"I was not on the boat in question." -Darren Sharper
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