The-Hogs.net - Washington Football Discussion, Redskins to Commanders Era

The Washington Redskins used a sixth-round pick on a new punter. And Durant Brooks did well enough to earn the starting job.

But he might not be doing well enough in the games to keep it.

Per the Washington Times, the Redskins might bring in some punters for a look-see. A decision is expected to be made on Monday.

The options, according to coach Jim Zorn, are simple: “Either we bring in another punter to compete and see how that works, or we take the punter we do have — and he’s a young guy — and get him maturing very quickly.”

After a 50-yard effort in his first punt on Sunday, Brooks shanked two of his next four, kicking one of them 31 yards and another only 26. The home crowd wasn’t pleased.

“They didn’t like the looks of them,” Brooks said of the fans, who booed several of his kicks.

The most recognizable name on the market is Josh Miller, who most recently had a drink of water with the Titans.

http://www.profootballtalk.com/2008/10/ ... w-punters/

Brooks is averaging just 39.6 yards per punt, which is last in the NFL. That's fine when the Redskins are moving the ball, but when they have field position battles like yesterday, that's obviously not good at all.

I wonder how much longer they'll give Brooks...

At the very least, Brooks won't be punting this Sunday:

On his radio show “The Red Zone” on ESPN 980, Vinny Cerrato just said that the team would be working out two or three punters this week, and “somebody else will be punting Sunday.” In response to a question from co-host Frank Hanrahan about if Durant Brooks had been cut, Cerrato said “No, he hasn’t been cut yet,” but reiterated that somebody else would be punting. More details once I’ve got them.

http://theredskinsblog.com/2008/10/13/a-new-punter/

I'd really like to see Brooks pan out but ... yeah, something had to happen here

Be interesting to see how the team addresses this - Brooks' ability and performance were a concern, the team made the choice and now it looks like that was wrong

Fact is, how long do you wait? This is a cruel business sometimes and I was hoping this guy was going to really be a big time kicker. I'm not sure we have the luxury of waiting - I think they need to now put some pressure on him by bringing in some punters this week .... supporting him does not seem to have worked.

I wonder who is out there available.

As I said much earlier in this thread, and in a couple of blogs too - you give him a few weeks to improve and if he doesn't - you make the switch.

BECAUSE IT IS COSTING THE TEAM.

Gross punting average - 33rd in the league (39.6)
Net punting average - 32nd in league (32.1)

He is 5th in the league in allowed return yardage though... and has allowed the 2nd most TDs.

It is time for Brooks to 'hurt' himself at practice and end up on the IR - or even drop him to the PS before he's played too many games to be allowed to be put there. The way he has played - who would try and 'steal' him from the PS? And if they did - what would we be losing besides a punter that is ostensibly costing us 10 yards of field position PER kick?

He's had his 'chance' and he's done nothing with it - time to bite the bullet, admit that it was a crap draft pick, and move on to someone that won't hurt the team every time they walk on to the field...if you can 'save' him to try him again next season - great; if not, que sera sera. Live and learn.

The Seahawks cut Ryan Plackemeier after one game to make room for Jon Ryan - he would seem a decent addition at this point.

Todd Sauerbrun has off-field issues but just finished a four game suspension and is available.

Josh Miller...

... and at this point, I would just like to point out that I can likely punt the ball 40 yards each time and would work for league minimum...

I'm right there with you Boss....Here is my problem though, I can't get hang time though.

frankcal20 wrote:I'm right there with you Boss....Here is my problem though, I can't get hang time though.

Neither can Brooks

I also thought he was going to improve and become more consistent. He hasn't. It's time to cut him, because our special teams are clearly hurting us, and he's a big part of the special teams problems.

Fios wrote:At the very least, Brooks won't be punting this Sunday:

On his radio show “The Red Zone” on ESPN 980, Vinny Cerrato just said that the team would be working out two or three punters this week, and “somebody else will be punting Sunday.” In response to a question from co-host Frank Hanrahan about if Durant Brooks had been cut, Cerrato said “No, he hasn’t been cut yet,” but reiterated that somebody else would be punting. More details once I’ve got them.

http://theredskinsblog.com/2008/10/13/a-new-punter/

I'd really like to see Brooks pan out but ... yeah, something had to happen here

Yeah, a new punter is coming.

http://www.profootballtalk.com/2008/10/ ... the-skins/

frankcal20 wrote:I wonder who is out there available.

Danny Baugher, Mitch Berger, Glenn Pakulak and Ryan Plackemeier are probably the best 4 of the current bunch of UFA punters on the market now -- assuming we don't bring in an undrafted college kid. Considering what got us here in the first place, that seems like a remote possibility...

http://www.kffl.com/static/nfl/features ... n=P&y=2008

Plackemeier had ELEVEN punts in his only game this year (for Seattle).

The Bills notched a punt return TD in the game, and Plackemeier lost his job after one week. But Zorn would have seen Plackemeier for his couple of years in seattle - would seem a natural fit.

Ironically, the Packers picked up Frost as soon as we dropped him, and got rid of Jon Ryan. Ryan got picked up by Seattle (after their first game) and replaced Plackemeier.

So if Plackemeier comes here to replace Brooks... that's a pretty strange circle.

Is Steve Cox available? I loved the single bar helmet and straight-line punting approach. That guy had a leg...remember Gibbs would trot him out for 60-plus field goal attmepts? Sure...he might be in his 50's now but he wouldn't be any worse than Du-shank Brooks.

ps: best punter name of all-time? Southern Miss's current punter is named (and I'm not making this up) Britt Barefoot.

Yeah, I know what you're thinking. He does wear a shoe when he punts.

BossHog wrote:Plackemeier had ELEVEN punts in his only game this year (for Seattle).

The Bills notched a punt return TD in the game, and Plackemeier lost his job after one week. But Zorn would have seen Plackemeier for his couple of years in seattle - would seem a natural fit.

Ironically, the Packers picked up Frost as soon as we dropped him, and got rid of Jon Ryan. Ryan got picked up by Seattle (after their first game) and replaced Plackemeier.

So if Plackemeier comes here to replace Brooks... that's a pretty strange circle.

strange indeed....

And to think Brooks was drafted ahead of Chris Horton.

cleg wrote:And to think Brooks was drafted ahead of Chris Horton.

sorry - there were a lot of guys drafted ahead of Horton, what's the point really?

Brooks was the only punter drafted too - that must mean something? For a while there were a number of people both at THN and in the Redskins organization that thought this was a good call

maybe we still have not seen the last of Brooks?



There was this has been QB called Rich Gannon too - there are more instances of players making it after apparently being a bad choice than there are players who make teams and were drafted in the first 3 rounds - not a big deal at all - just life in the NFL

There's this guy named Tom Brady. I don't think he was a high draft pick as well. I heard he did okay last year.

The point? Draft pick means almost squat.

cleg wrote:And to think Brooks was drafted ahead of Chris Horton.

If he ever gets his head on straight, he could still turn to the real deal... kickers and punters have a way of doing that, sometimes. If he does, it'll likely be for someone else.

As I recall, we once had David Akers on the roster... yeah, he ain't so hot right now, but for a few years, he was cash money.

matt turk would be sweet

Californiaskin wrote:matt turk would be sweet

He's scheduled to come in and workout the day after Reggie Roby -

BigRedskinDaddy wrote:

Californiaskin wrote:matt turk would be sweet

He's scheduled to come in and workout the day after Reggie Roby -

I know this was a joke, and not to be "Debbie Downer", but Reggie Roby is dead. One of my favorite punters of all time died in 2005, way to soon at the age of 44, of an apparent heart attack. You want to talk about "cash money", this guy was so good, he used to wear a wrist watch into the games so he could track his hang time.

Eerily enough, the other guy who most people have mentioned, Matt Turk, I think would probably not play for the Skins for all the money in the world. If you all remember, the papers and fans destroyed his brother, Dan, after the botched snap in the playoff game vs. the Bucs on a 51 yd FG for the win. Dan and Matt both left the Skins after that play. Saddly, Dan died later that year of cancer.

SkinsJock wrote:

cleg wrote:And to think Brooks was drafted ahead of Chris Horton.

sorry - there were a lot of guys drafted ahead of Horton, what's the point really?

Brooks was the only punter drafted too - that must mean something? For a while there were a number of people both at THN and in the Redskins organization that thought this was a good call

maybe we still have not seen the last of Brooks?



There was this has been QB called Rich Gannon too - there are more instances of players making it after apparently being a bad choice than there are players who make teams and were drafted in the first 3 rounds - not a big deal at all - just life in the NFL

Sorry Mr. Cerreto I did not mean to offend by questioning using a draft pick on a punter who could have been drafted as a free agent and keeping said punter even though he was beat out by a mediocre punter in the preseason. Oh great and powerful OZ I will not question your wisdom again (bow as I back out of the room).

sorry to upset you - I'll try and be more subtle next time.



Then again - Using a draft pick on a kicker only happens when the scouts think that it is worth it - nobody can really tell if any draft pick after the first 3 rounds is a 'good pick" or not and everyone can easily point out the 90+ players who were better choices - it just does not mean squat and adds nothing to the thread - cheers

SkinsJock wrote:sorry to upset you - I'll try and be more subtle next time.



Then again - Using a draft pick on a kicker only happens when the scouts think that it is worth it - nobody can really tell if any draft pick after the first 3 rounds is a 'good pick" or not and everyone can easily point out the 90+ players who were better choices - it just does not mean squat and adds nothing to the thread - cheers

Disagree - we are fans and have the ultimate right to second guess and be irrational.

This kid is going to be good someday. I think that if he could have given us just a little bit more that we would have endured his rookie season. He'll eventually come into his own but it most likely won't be with us.

I have never been a fan of drafting a punter or a kicker in the draft. Those can be found via rookie FA. Having said that, I still like Brooks. The guy can kick! The coaches say he does extremely well in practice, but for some reason he can't always put it together on the field. He has done well as a holder, and hopefully some practice competition will give him a jolt.

In other wierd news, it appears Frosty is playing himself out of a job in Green Bay.

Link

Green Bay (where ex-Skin Derrick Frost has faltered) and Dallas are among teams looking for punters, and some players the Skins liked were already lined up to try to win jobs elsewhere.

Ryan Plackemeier and Josh Miller are both scheduled to be in Green Bay today, and both are scheduled to be in Washington tomorrow, according to league sources. If one wins the job with the Packers, then he won't be here.