First Half Grades

Kicker – B+

John Carney is 14-15, including a critical 51 yarder and a clutch pressure kick at the end of the Eagles game. His leg has really held up surprisingly well. He’s somewhat mediocre at kickoffs however. Average starting field position for the opposing team is around the 30, roughly 3 yards more then the NFL average. What’s more is the starting position has increased over the past 4 games, possibly signaling fatigue in Carney’s leg.

Punter – B-

Weatherford has been surprisingly good for a rookie, but is ranking middle of the pack in terms of average distance and net distance. He’s shown a good ability to just boom punts long distances when we need to flip field position, his weakness, as one would expect, seems to be in terms of directional punting and pinning opponents inside of the 10 (he trails most of the league in that regard).

Return Game – C

Rising quickly. It was pretty bad to begin with. Kickoffs were well below average, as were Punt returns. But Reggie Bush has significantly improved his punt returns, scoring one TD as we all know, and the return of Michael Lewis is already having a significant effect in terms of kickoffs. I suspect this will be an “A” in the second half of the season.