12/21/24
December 27, 2008
When Punters and Kickers Attack: Some NFL kickers and punters are starting to make tackles, Judy Battista of the New York Times reports in a story with a lot of great anecdotes. "Before a preseason game against the Chiefs in the 1970s, the returner George Atkinson of the Raiders joked with Kansas City kicker Jan Stenerud ... that he was not a real player because he never tackled anybody. Stenerud tackled Atkinson twice during that game. Stenerud said an angry John Madden, the Raiders' coach at the time, was said to have asked this about Atkinson, 'How could you get tackled twice by a Norwegian skier?'"
Bennett was the first one that came to mind for me too. It's a shame I couldn't find the hit on YouTube.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 06:57 PM on December 27, 2008
It was Andre Hastings of the Steelers that he flattened. Hastings looked like he ran full-speed into a tree. If anyone can find that clip, I'd love to see it again.
posted by TheQatarian at 08:57 PM on December 27, 2008
I remember Darren Bennett, the old punter for the Chargers in his first season. I don't think the word had spread too far around the league that he was an ex Aussie-rules football player. One of his early kicks was returned, with only him to beat. The returner, as they so often do, ran right at him with the intention of watching him go "ole" and making a half-assed attempt at a tackle. Bennett lowered his shoulder pads and stepped into the returner, whose shoulder blades were the first thing to make contact with the turf. It was freakin' classic. I wonder why we don't see more of that.