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From an article by Luke Johnson of NOLA.COM - June 3rd, 2024
Excerpts:
“I was pretty much here every day,” Hedley said. “I didn’t go back to Australia, because I just wanted to hone in on Year 2 and make it a special one.”
Hedley was proud of his rookie season. He was especially happy with the way the Saints neutralized punt returns, yielding an NFL-best 2.2 return yards per punt. New Orleans also finished in the top 10 in punts downed inside the 20 (41.3%) and punts that went for touchbacks (5.3%).
The Saints asked Hedley to limit returns with his tumbling, end-over-end rugby-style punts, and though he accomplished that mission, it came with a big sacrifice. New Orleans finished the year with the NFL’s worst gross punting average (43.0) and the seventh-worst net punting average (39.7).
So, this spring and summer have been about turning that around. Hedley has worked on improving his traditional, American-style punting, where the ball leaves his foot in a spiral and gives him additional distance and hang time on his punts.
“There’s a lot more distance in the spiraling,” Hedley said.
That was evident during one open practice period a few weeks ago. Hedley consistently booted the ball 50-plus yards downfield, often angling it toward the corner where the sideline meets the front end zone pylon.
Last year, the ask was to limit return yardage, and also to make the punts more difficult for returners to catch. This year may be more of a mixed bag — which, in Rizzi’s estimation, is only a good thing. If Hedley is consistently able to hit both styles of punt, it will make it harder for opposing returners to anticipate what is coming.
“The more tools he has in the toolbox, the more unpredictable he is,” Rizzi said. “People can’t get any tips based on alignment, on depth, all that kind of stuff.”
Full Article In Link Below:
www.nola.com
Excerpts:
Saints punter Lou Hedley explains changes he made, why he's confident going into Year 2
“I was pretty much here every day,” Hedley said. “I didn’t go back to Australia, because I just wanted to hone in on Year 2 and make it a special one.”
Hedley was proud of his rookie season. He was especially happy with the way the Saints neutralized punt returns, yielding an NFL-best 2.2 return yards per punt. New Orleans also finished in the top 10 in punts downed inside the 20 (41.3%) and punts that went for touchbacks (5.3%).
The Saints asked Hedley to limit returns with his tumbling, end-over-end rugby-style punts, and though he accomplished that mission, it came with a big sacrifice. New Orleans finished the year with the NFL’s worst gross punting average (43.0) and the seventh-worst net punting average (39.7).
So, this spring and summer have been about turning that around. Hedley has worked on improving his traditional, American-style punting, where the ball leaves his foot in a spiral and gives him additional distance and hang time on his punts.
“There’s a lot more distance in the spiraling,” Hedley said.
That was evident during one open practice period a few weeks ago. Hedley consistently booted the ball 50-plus yards downfield, often angling it toward the corner where the sideline meets the front end zone pylon.
Last year, the ask was to limit return yardage, and also to make the punts more difficult for returners to catch. This year may be more of a mixed bag — which, in Rizzi’s estimation, is only a good thing. If Hedley is consistently able to hit both styles of punt, it will make it harder for opposing returners to anticipate what is coming.
“The more tools he has in the toolbox, the more unpredictable he is,” Rizzi said. “People can’t get any tips based on alignment, on depth, all that kind of stuff.”
Full Article In Link Below:
Saints punter Lou Hedley explains changes he made, why he's confident going into Year 2
New Orleans Saints punter Lou Hedley explains why he's more confident going into his second NFL season.
