Police Warn Public: Punter-Related Crimes on the Rise
Posted: May 30th, 2008, 1:15 am
The National Football League assuredly has a colorful cast of characters to say the least. Maybe that age-old cliche of "it takes all kinds" does not fit any other professional league more perfectly than it does the NFL. Despite the different backgrounds and the different characters that make-up any one team, you continually hear former players discussing how much they miss the "locker-room aspect" of their old playing days.
However, for quite a long time, and even currently, a lot of talking-heads (who happen to be former players) have gone on record to make sure everyone knows that real football players do not consider Kickers and Punters a real part of the team. Sean Salisbury, whose career stats are astounding to say the least, does not really have any room to criticize much of anyone. However, he has a hot-sports opinion on this subject, which was demonstrated a few year's back when then-impervious Kicker Mike Vanderjagt was criticized for telling Colts teammate Peyton Manning that together they need to put the team on their backs and win the whole thing. Salisbury's mentality echoed what a lot of players, past and present, think about Kickers and Punters: You are here to play one role, and you are not part of this team.
Nevermind the clutch positioning a Punter can force an offense to have to deal with, or the multiple, amazing kicks that Vanderjagt, as one example, made for Indianapolis before his brains turned to mush. We've seen quite a few Kickers get swarmed with glee when they've won games for their teams, no doubt. But alas, still, they are not considered part of the team by some players.
Where does this mentality stem from? There is a stereotype that Kickers and Punters are maybe the most sissified players on a roster full of tough-guys. They are generally portrayed as little guys who are towered over by the "real" players. Hell, even their single-bar facemasks lead to an unintimidating sight. And the late Sean Taylor did not do any Punters any justice in that Pro-Bowl a few years back when he gave Brian Moorman one of the biggest hits in recent NFL history.
But Punters are starting to change that mentality a little bit. Longtime fans of football say that the game has changed, it has gotten corrupted, it has dripped into the college ranks, and in many cases even the high-school ranks. Has our sports society degraded to the point where even Punters are now causing trouble?
From recent memory, we go back to the 2003 season. Jacksonville Head-Coach Jack Del Rio, an intense guy and a great motivator, takes an axe into the locker-room to demonstrate how the team needs to keep chopping away and making progress. Somehow, Punter Chris Hanson grabs the tool and tries to hack his own foot off. It was severe enough to actually require surgery.
Last December, longtime NFL veteran Punter Todd Sauerbran got a little too frisky with a taxi driver. Yesterday, Sauerbran swallowed his pride and entered a guilty plea so that the incident would be removed from his record. He still declares innocence and plans to sue the driver.
But the worst case of increased Punter-related insanity happened in September of 2006, when back-up Punter Mitchell Cozad was accused of first-degree murder in a stabbing incident at Northern Colorado University. Who did he stab? The starting Punter, Rafael Mendoza, in what police called an attempt to gain the starting Punter's job. Cozad was acquitted of attempted first-degree murder, but did land himself a seven-year contract on Michael Vick's prison football team.
Maybe they aren't such sissies after all.
However, for quite a long time, and even currently, a lot of talking-heads (who happen to be former players) have gone on record to make sure everyone knows that real football players do not consider Kickers and Punters a real part of the team. Sean Salisbury, whose career stats are astounding to say the least, does not really have any room to criticize much of anyone. However, he has a hot-sports opinion on this subject, which was demonstrated a few year's back when then-impervious Kicker Mike Vanderjagt was criticized for telling Colts teammate Peyton Manning that together they need to put the team on their backs and win the whole thing. Salisbury's mentality echoed what a lot of players, past and present, think about Kickers and Punters: You are here to play one role, and you are not part of this team.
Nevermind the clutch positioning a Punter can force an offense to have to deal with, or the multiple, amazing kicks that Vanderjagt, as one example, made for Indianapolis before his brains turned to mush. We've seen quite a few Kickers get swarmed with glee when they've won games for their teams, no doubt. But alas, still, they are not considered part of the team by some players.
Where does this mentality stem from? There is a stereotype that Kickers and Punters are maybe the most sissified players on a roster full of tough-guys. They are generally portrayed as little guys who are towered over by the "real" players. Hell, even their single-bar facemasks lead to an unintimidating sight. And the late Sean Taylor did not do any Punters any justice in that Pro-Bowl a few years back when he gave Brian Moorman one of the biggest hits in recent NFL history.
But Punters are starting to change that mentality a little bit. Longtime fans of football say that the game has changed, it has gotten corrupted, it has dripped into the college ranks, and in many cases even the high-school ranks. Has our sports society degraded to the point where even Punters are now causing trouble?
From recent memory, we go back to the 2003 season. Jacksonville Head-Coach Jack Del Rio, an intense guy and a great motivator, takes an axe into the locker-room to demonstrate how the team needs to keep chopping away and making progress. Somehow, Punter Chris Hanson grabs the tool and tries to hack his own foot off. It was severe enough to actually require surgery.
Last December, longtime NFL veteran Punter Todd Sauerbran got a little too frisky with a taxi driver. Yesterday, Sauerbran swallowed his pride and entered a guilty plea so that the incident would be removed from his record. He still declares innocence and plans to sue the driver.
But the worst case of increased Punter-related insanity happened in September of 2006, when back-up Punter Mitchell Cozad was accused of first-degree murder in a stabbing incident at Northern Colorado University. Who did he stab? The starting Punter, Rafael Mendoza, in what police called an attempt to gain the starting Punter's job. Cozad was acquitted of attempted first-degree murder, but did land himself a seven-year contract on Michael Vick's prison football team.
Maybe they aren't such sissies after all.