The San Francisco 49ers Punter Invented A New Punt… And It’s BROKEN
After a year in which they ranked dead last in special teams, it’s unsurprising San Francisco moved off their special teams coordinator, hired a new one in Brandt Ber, as well as moved off their punter in Mitch Wishnowski. To replace him, they signed veteran Thomas Morstead, who’s consistently been a top 10 punter in the league and has an absolute cannon for leg. But maybe more importantly for San Francisco’s special teams unit that struggled to rise to the occasion routinely, Thomas Morstead is a clutch player. One of my favorite moments of all time for him, for instance, came back in Super Bowl 44 when the Saints were trailing the Colts 10 to6 at halftime. So, what did Shawn Payeyton, the Saints coach, decide to do at the time? Rather than be conservative, he decided to be aggressive, put it all on Morstead’s leg and called an onside kick, which ended up being one of the greatest plays of all time, being referred to as the ambush onside kick. Not only was it play phenomenal, but it really changed the momentum of the game. At that point, it looked like the Saints could easily lose a Super Bowl. But after that, the Saints went down, scored a touchdown, and went on to win the game at 31 to7. If not for that successful onside kick by Morstead, who knows how that game would have played out, and if the Saints could have won that Super Bowl at all. In addition to this clutch nature, Morstead also has a cannon for a leg, and he knows how to use it. when he’s lined up on his side of the field, for instance, he pulls out more like a line drive type of kick to get the absolute most out of his leg strength. And this really helps him flip the field. Last year, for instance, he was able to pull out a 75 yd punt. Then when Morstead is closer to the end zone, he does a phenomenal job of converting this distance over to hang time to allow his coverage unit to get down the field and make the tackle. And then when the return man does decide to allow it to bounce into the end zone, routinely it doesn’t because Morstead does a nice job of putting a backspin on it. Arguably my favorite part about Morstead as a player, though, is how consistently great he’s been over his 16-year NFL career. All time, for instance, he ranks 10th in average yards per punt with 41.6. So, he’s elite to say the least. Morest should also offer consistency as a holder for San Francisco’s kicking unit, which should help Jake Moody or Greg Joseph, whichever one wins out. It’s also worth noting Morstead can handle kickoff duties if necessary if, let’s say, Jake Moody or Greg Joseph performs better when not handling those duties. So, heading into this year, I do expect Morstead to be a major upgrade over the often injured Mitch Wishnowski. But I’d like to hear your thought about the punter who performed one of the most clutch onside kicks of all time. It would also mean a ton to me if you could like and subscribe. And as always, I hope you guys have a great rest of your
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