I would have to go back and re-watch if that is true and if there are other circumstances. For example I have seen more than one bad snap.
These rankings are through the first three games and again, without knowing the field position, that may alter numbers - but here you go:
- 41.7 gross average per punt - rank: #32
- 37.3 net average per punt -- rank: #30
- 6 punts inside the 20 -- rank: tied for 13th
- 1 punt for a fair catch -- rank: tied for 28th
- 8 punts returned ------- rank: tied for 8th most (ie, T-26th best)
- 5.8 yards per return --- rank: tied for 19th most (ie, 13th best)
I'm not seeing any problem with Allen. He seems to be getting the job done.
I've never thought that standard punting stats were particularly useful, since they don't account for field position, much less game situation.
Gross average, for instance. If a guy is primarily punting from inside his own 30, he's going to have a lot more opportunities to boom his punts than a guy who is punting primarily from outside his own 45. The first guy will tend to have a higher gross average. The second guy's average would tend to be lower, especially if he's getting a decent percentage of his punts downed inside the opponent's 20 and has a relatively low percentage of touchbacks.
Net average, then, is also product of all of the above plus the effectiveness of his return coverage unit. It's also influenced by the game situation. An opponent who's behind, and/or has an elite return guy, might tend to attempt more returns. Also, I don't know whether or not the "Inside the 20" stat includes returns attempted from inside the 20 that are also stopped inside the 20 by the coverage unit.
So, we may need a stat that accounts for the starting point of the punt and the resulting FP for the opponent, although it would still be difficult to quantify the coverage unit's contribution.
Anyway, "hang time" may not need to be tops in the league if the coverage unit is consistently good, and it may not be as important as the directional component.
