Eagles work out four punters
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Eagles
Eagles work out four punters
Zach Berman, Inquirer Staff Writer
The Eagles worked out four veteran punters on Monday morning, when the team opened training camp with a walk-through that included rookies and selected veterans.
The punters were Brad Maynard, who has played for the Giants, Texans and Browns; Mat McBriar, a former Cowboys standout; Chris Bryan, who played in Tampa Bay; and Jason Baker, who played for six teams, including the Eagles.
The Eagles are expected to sign one to provide competition to Chas Henry, who is entering his second season.
McBriar and Bryan are both Australian, and McBriar was a Pro Bowler in 2006 and 2010. Baker and Maynard are established veterans with more than 2,000 combined punts in the NFL.
McBriar, Maynard and Baker all played in the NFL last season and finished below Henry in net punting average.
Those are all good punters. It's not clear the eagles have confidence in Henry.— armchairGM- Maynard has about 40 punts inside the 20. he was around 5th in the league
— NickM - What's the point? They all finished behind Henry in net punting average. They are all older than Henry. Isn't their decay rate going to be greater than his for the next few years atleast?— Mark1npt
- Oh, I get it. AR must need guys to work out the punt returners he's auditioning this year. Can't have Henry punting to all of them.— Mark1npt
- hope they sign one w/ a high motor— schmidty123
- ...you have to have more than one kicker and punter in camp or you'll wear them out before Training Camp is over. Just want you want going into the regular season are a P/K with a dead leg...— akh
- Where's Sav Rocca when we need him?— SteveS11
- Thank you schmidty123. High motor is all that ever matters. Whether you can make a play or not is irrelevant, as long as your motor is at the right height, you'll be Andy's guy.— TongueWagger
- Since Sheil has left, we get this?? This is trash that took two people to draft. That's horrendous.— TheMissingSock
- Sav is in Washington and he had a better season then Henry. Ok so here are some stats because, clearly, the DN loves to take one stat and make it seem like the "tell all" statistic. I love Maynard and think he would be a better fit here. He and Henry are the closest in stats and McBriar/Baker are not worth noting.
Henry: 66 punts, 2,830 yards (42.9), 2,474 net (36.9), 19 inside the 20, 9 touchbacks, 16 fair catches, and 31 returns
Maynard: 81 punts, 3,282 yards (40.5), 2,974 net (36.7), 32 inside the 20, 1 AND I REPEAT ONE touchback, 25 fair catches, and 25 returns.
I'll let you decide who you want. However, in my opinion I'd say if you're going for youth (because his stats are somewhat comparable) I'd hang on to Henry, but if you're looking for an experienced punter who won't lose you field position (or for that matter swing the momentum more often than not in our direction) I'd take Maynard.— duboy - These guys all have a "High Motor" but they all are leaking oil as well..— outta work
- At this stage of Henry's career, the Eagles would be lax in their obligation to the team and fans if they didn't at least have a semblance of competition. Any top punter will tell you that having someone breathing down his neck for a job is nowhere near as frightening as having a linebacker breathing in his face after the ball is snapped.— gotedge
- A Dynasty doesn't need to punt— kilo_005
They should have brought in Matt Dodge for the irony and the story.- I'm afraid I can't make any judgments on this story without knowing what the average hang time of their punts were and what their pre-game stretching routines consist of.— PinkstonsStrengthCoach
