[This post is neither to praise nor excoriate Hanson; it's to make a relevant point. In particular, all examples are hypothetical, and not based on any specific real punter.]
Talking about punting average, in and of itself, is actually a relative meaningless statistic. As an example, consider these two punters:
Punter A: 35-yard net average
Punter B: 40-yard net average
You'd say punter B is the better punter, yes?
But what if I told you that Punter A's punts start with the ball at the opponent's 48, while Punter B's punts start at the team's own 38?
Would you still say punter B is the better punter?
While I think net yardage has its uses—after all, if a punter simply can't move the ball 30 yards, that's worth noting—but I'd supplement it with net percentage, what percentage of the distance to the opposing goal line did the kick travel? For example, a 40-yard punt from the 50 to the opponent's 10 (80%) is better than a 40-yard punt from your own 10 to midfield (44%).
