I'm still playing Goal Line Blitz, where my punter, Bill Melendez, has truly become one of the elite. Not only can he punt really well, but he also is a tackling machine, with 19 tackles two years ago.
This got me thinking about how rare it is to find badass punters nowadays. Back in the day the punter was some position player who could kick well, but now most just catch a ball and kick it 35-40 yards, hoping they won't have to make the tackle. The point is, they just don't make punters like they did in the early days of football. Except for these next three guys, that is:
Tom Tupa - Tupa was one of my favorite players growing up, and while my hometown bias Patriot roots helped, they were not the main reason I cheered him. Tupa was actually drafted by the Phoenix Cardinals in 1988 as a Quarterback, and that's where he spent his time in the NFL until 1992. He was then cut by the Colts (a .5 td/int ratio and a 60.5 rating will do that) and spent a year out of football as he couldn't get a job.
But Tupa was multi talented (he had punted 6 times for 280 yards in his second season) and the Cleveland Browns signed him in 1994 to punt full time. And this he did, punting with 5 teams over the next 11 seasons. He'd probably say that his career highlights included winning a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers in 2002 or making the Pro Bowl in 1999, but several others stand out more since he's a Punter. Like a 2002 game where the Jets 2 true quarterbacks were injured and Tupa led a furious comeback that fell just short, going 6 of 10 for 165 yards and 2 touchdowns. Or this game in college. Or winning 4 games in a season for the Cardinals. Sure he mostly punted in his latter years, but Tupa clearly was a punter with panache.
Pat McInally - Pat's nickname might as well have been panache, as he was about as multi talented as they come. After graduating from HARVARD and scoring the ONLY perfect wonderlic score to date, McInally punted AND played wide reciever for the Cincinatti Bengals from 1977 to 1985. As if that wasn't impressive enough, McInally then created the Starting Line Up figures that sports collecters love today. Lifetime stats for McInally include 700 punts and 57 receptions for 5 touchdowns.
Michael Koenen - When Koenen signed with the Falcons in 2005, Tupa and McInally were both gone and punters had become completely one dimensional. So thank goodness for this throwback, who placekicked a bit in college and hit a 58 yard field goal before halftime in a game his rookie season. Because the Falcons were so impressed with that one kick (and his booming kickoffs) that they made Koenen their Punter, Kickoff Guy, AND Kicker to start the 2006 season. I was so pumped to see a player who could kick so well and in so many ways.
Needless to say, it didn't work. After hitting a few 50+ yard field goals in the preseason, Koenen began the regular season 2 of 8, causing the Falcons to sign Morten Andersen to take over the kicking duties. It certainly was a downer that Koenen couldn't pull it off, but it was also kind of nice because it allowed Andersen to break almost every old age/longevity record that had ever been set by a kicker. The really beautiful part? Koenen is still considered a gem by the Falcons even after his failed try at placekicking, which is part of the reason they franchised him this past offseason to the tune of $2.48 million dollars for one year. Not too shabby for a punter with panache.
Punters with Panache
