Mile High Report
The Denver Broncos will take the field this Saturday to take on the San Francisco 49ers and we have confirmation of sorts that we’ll see some of the starting unit play on both sides of the ball in that game. The hype is pretty strong this offseason. Hopefully the hype translates into reality.
One player we might want to pay close attention to is rookie punter, Jeremy Crawshaw. Everyone hates on a draft pick being “wasted” on a punter, even near the end of the draft. However, Crawshaw has been booming some punts out there in training camp. Sometimes the kicks were a bit wild, but he seems to be honing in on that skill.
“Like I’ve said before with Jeremy [Crawshaw], his talent level is outstanding. Like any specialist, the most important thing is the production on the field,” Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi said. “There’s talent and there’s production, and so the consistency is going to be the most important thing. It’s like you guys have probably heard me talk before, specialists are a lot like golfers or swingers in baseball. You could be the most talented guy, but when you get in the batter’s box or the tee box, you’ve got to produce. So that’s the only thing we have left in this equation is getting him out there in these games, putting him in some live situations and seeing it. He’s a pleasure to work with every day. I’m really, really happy we have him.”
Kicking in Denver is an advantage all in its own, but a lot of punting comes down to placement and the thin air can be difficult to master in that regard. With his leg talent, though, he’ll become a serious weapon in the special teams position battle game if he begins to hone in on the placement side of things.
Broncos coach Sean Payton mentioned earlier in camp that very issue, “It’s kind of like right now, the fireworks. There’s some booms, and then every once in a while, there’s one of those [that isn’t] … But certainly he has the leg talent. You can see that. It’s exciting.”
The excitement comes from his college highlights too. There is a lot to like about Crawshaw and while punting isn’t exactly must-see-tv on the football field, it can seriously help the defense come away with a stop. The longer the field for the opposing offense in today’s offense-friendly NFL, the better it is for the whole team’s chances of coming out on top in close games.
