Post by EagleGene on Dec 2, 2005 16:14:41 GMT -5
Landeta latest in line of Eagles punters, kickers
By DAN GELSTON, AP Sports Writer
December 2, 2005
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- This sounds like the setup to a very bad joke.
What do you get when you cross a linebacker, long snapper and a USFL veteran? For Philadelphia, the answer is one of its most unstable and unreliable kicking and punting situations in years.
And the Eagles aren't laughing.
When Sean Landeta appears against Seattle on Monday night, he'll be the fourth Eagles punter this year, joining injured starter Dirk Johnson, Nick Murphy and Reggie Hodges.
David Akers and Todd France have attempted extra points and field goals, and Jose Cortez and linebacker Mark Simoneau kicked extra points. Long snapper/reserve tight end Mike Bartrum has kicked off.
"We've had a long way to go, maybe further along than we thought when the season started," special teams coach John Harbaugh said Friday.
Injuries have played a big role in the constant shuffling.
Akers missed four games and parts of two others earlier this season with a hamstring injury. Johnson punted in seven games before he was placed on injured reserve with a sports hernia.
"There's been all sorts of issues this year," said Akers, who kicked four field goals against Green Bay last Sunday. "It's been a tough year."
A sometimes-humorous and often-awful cast of no-names has been filling in far too often. The Eagles are last in the NFL in kickoffs, with the opposition's average start at the 31-yard line.
"The most difficult thing has been that there is not a real foundation of knowledge and experience," Harbaugh said. "Everything is new, so you think you have one thing covered and you think you have an idea and then everything else crops up."
Looking for some sort of stability in the punting game, the Eagles signed the 43-year-old Landeta, one of two remaining USFL players (with New England QB Doug Flutie) active in the NFL and the second-leading punter in league history.
Landeta begins his second stint with the Eagles and his 21st season in the league. A two-time Pro Bowl selection, Landeta spent the last two seasons with the St. Louis Rams and briefly was with the Eagles in training camp.
"It's the first year I went this long without playing, so that was different," Landeta said. "It's really great to have an opportunity to be back playing."
Johnson was having another solid season, ranking third in the NFC with a 38.4-yard net average, but Hodges was much worse, averaging only 36.8 yards with a 33.5 net. Murphy's net average was 33.7 yards on seven punts before he was let go.
"In hindsight, would he have punted better than those two guys? Maybe, he probably would have," Harbaugh said of Landeta. "We thought those two guys would punt better, we hoped they would."
Landeta worked with a high school long snapper several times a week to stay in shape and said he was in contact with the Eagles after Johnson went down. He thought he could have made a difference while the Eagles struggled, even though he's not the same punter he was 20 years ago.
"The last three or four years, if I look at the film and the punts, the balls have been very similar," he said. "Certainly, I don't think my very best punt today is the same as when I was 25, but I don't really think the numbers have indicated there's been much of a slip."
Landeta, who has led the NFC in punting four times and has punted for 59,224 yards (an equivalent of 33.7 miles) for a 43.3 career average, has no idea how much longer he'll play.
"You have to have that desire to get out and practice and do the things necessary to be able to punt well enough to be at this level," he said.
Updated on Friday, Dec 2, 2005 3:59 pm EST
By DAN GELSTON, AP Sports Writer
December 2, 2005
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- This sounds like the setup to a very bad joke.
What do you get when you cross a linebacker, long snapper and a USFL veteran? For Philadelphia, the answer is one of its most unstable and unreliable kicking and punting situations in years.
And the Eagles aren't laughing.
When Sean Landeta appears against Seattle on Monday night, he'll be the fourth Eagles punter this year, joining injured starter Dirk Johnson, Nick Murphy and Reggie Hodges.
David Akers and Todd France have attempted extra points and field goals, and Jose Cortez and linebacker Mark Simoneau kicked extra points. Long snapper/reserve tight end Mike Bartrum has kicked off.
"We've had a long way to go, maybe further along than we thought when the season started," special teams coach John Harbaugh said Friday.
Injuries have played a big role in the constant shuffling.
Akers missed four games and parts of two others earlier this season with a hamstring injury. Johnson punted in seven games before he was placed on injured reserve with a sports hernia.
"There's been all sorts of issues this year," said Akers, who kicked four field goals against Green Bay last Sunday. "It's been a tough year."
A sometimes-humorous and often-awful cast of no-names has been filling in far too often. The Eagles are last in the NFL in kickoffs, with the opposition's average start at the 31-yard line.
"The most difficult thing has been that there is not a real foundation of knowledge and experience," Harbaugh said. "Everything is new, so you think you have one thing covered and you think you have an idea and then everything else crops up."
Looking for some sort of stability in the punting game, the Eagles signed the 43-year-old Landeta, one of two remaining USFL players (with New England QB Doug Flutie) active in the NFL and the second-leading punter in league history.
Landeta begins his second stint with the Eagles and his 21st season in the league. A two-time Pro Bowl selection, Landeta spent the last two seasons with the St. Louis Rams and briefly was with the Eagles in training camp.
"It's the first year I went this long without playing, so that was different," Landeta said. "It's really great to have an opportunity to be back playing."
Johnson was having another solid season, ranking third in the NFC with a 38.4-yard net average, but Hodges was much worse, averaging only 36.8 yards with a 33.5 net. Murphy's net average was 33.7 yards on seven punts before he was let go.
"In hindsight, would he have punted better than those two guys? Maybe, he probably would have," Harbaugh said of Landeta. "We thought those two guys would punt better, we hoped they would."
Landeta worked with a high school long snapper several times a week to stay in shape and said he was in contact with the Eagles after Johnson went down. He thought he could have made a difference while the Eagles struggled, even though he's not the same punter he was 20 years ago.
"The last three or four years, if I look at the film and the punts, the balls have been very similar," he said. "Certainly, I don't think my very best punt today is the same as when I was 25, but I don't really think the numbers have indicated there's been much of a slip."
Landeta, who has led the NFC in punting four times and has punted for 59,224 yards (an equivalent of 33.7 miles) for a 43.3 career average, has no idea how much longer he'll play.
"You have to have that desire to get out and practice and do the things necessary to be able to punt well enough to be at this level," he said.
Updated on Friday, Dec 2, 2005 3:59 pm EST
