Beyond Awful

I looked back on my post about Packers that shouldn't be back in 2010 and found that I made one massive oversight. And no it's not Mason Crosby, despite some shakiness at times this season I'm a believer that Crosby is fine (more importantly there isn't a better choice available). But it is a special teamer, Jeremy Kapinos.

How did this player fall into my blind-spot? Well, it helps that he only punted the ball once in the Packers season ending loss to Arizona. But let's be blunt, Kapinos was the worst punter in the NFL this season and there are a bevy of stats to support this conclusion.

1. His net average (34.7 yards) was 32nd in the NFL, mere decimal points ahead of No. 33, Chris Hansen of New England, who also finished at 34.7. Even teams with mid-season injuries to their starter were able to find replacements who were better than Kapinos.
2. Did it seem like he pinned opponents deep? Because he didn't. Just 15 times were Kapinos' punts downed inside the 20. The only regulars with worse numbers were Mitch Berger, who had 13 but only played in 10 games, and Sam Paulescu, who played in just six contest (but still managed eight inside the 20).
3. Kapinos also put the ball in the endzone 10 times for touchbacks. That number by itself isn't so damning, but in concert with his other horrendous statistics it's a bad sign. Only one player in the league had more touchbacks but it was Shane Lechler (with 12), who punted 33 more times and also led the league in average and net average.
4. It did seem, at times, that Kapinos had a big leg. His long punt for the year though was 58 yards, which sounds good until you compare it to the other 31 players who punted the ball further. So yea, that's just about everyone.
5. On punt returns, Kapinos gave up 10.1 yards per, good enough for 8th worst. Blame the coverage if you want, but a big part of controlling the return game is punting the ball high enough that your coverage team can get down the field to make the play. If you watched Kapinos this year it was obvious his kicks didn't have much hang time.

The long and the short of this is that Jeremy Kapinos stinks. There is no redeeming statistic that makes you say "Hey, at least there's this." He was absolutely, unequivocally an atrocious punter.

Green Bay should stick with Mason Crosby because there isn't a better option available, but you can find punters as good as Kapinos on nearly every Division One college team and most Division Two and Division Three teams as well. Kapinos is a crappy punter, and easily replaceable. "Shocked" wouldn't adequately describe my reaction if Green Bay stuck with him for a third season.

Why did the Packers release Jon Ryan again?