KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Johnny Townsend had his best game of the season Monday night against Denver, and it wasn’t even close.
The Raiders rookie punter averaged 45 yards on five attempts against the Broncos, dropping three inside the opposing 20-yard line. His longest was 64 yards and, most importantly, Denver didn’t have a single return yard.
That’s an excellent day at the office. It’s also something of an outlier during an uneven, often trying campaign for the Florida product.
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SIGN UP HERE The fifth-round pick turned pro with a reputation as an excellent directional punter who could launch it a country mile when required. Townsend would be the first to say he hasn’t been consistent enough this season, with some bad punts and disappointing numbers on his game log.
Coach Jon Gruden’s criticism was fair, but he never lost faith in his new punter despite questions over whether he’d look for another one off the street. Improved recent play has rewarded Gruden’s patience, though he’ll need to continue that trend once more Sunday as the season winds down.
“I think the last few games he’s played better," Gruden said. "He’s punted more consistently. He’s hit a couple of bombs. We’re going to need him in this game, not necessarily to have a great punting average, we need to limit the punt return. Directional punting will be on display, I hope, this week in Arrowhead.”
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NFL
The Raiders play at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs, who feature all-world return man Tyreek Hill.
Townsend did a solid job avoiding him in a Week 13 meeting at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. He only averaged 30.5 yards per punt, but Hill never had a return chance, so that’s counted as a win.
“If all goes well, he won’t get it in his hands at all,” Townsend said. “There have been plays against Hill with beautiful punts to the sideline that he turns into a touchdown. If he does have a catch it, I have to leave it up in the air as long as possible to give coverage a chance to force a fair catch. We’re going to stick with our plan of playing keep away with a guy like that.”
Keeping Hill quiet, albeit with a much higher punt average, would constitute ending this season on a high note. Townsend knows that, no matter what, he must be better and more consistent in his second professional season.
Let’s examine his game in this week’s rookie spotlight:
Johnny Townsend
Position: Punter
Draft slot: No. 173 overall (fifth round)
School: Florida
Height/weight: 6-foot-1, 210 pounds
Stats: 61 punts, 42.3-yard average (37.7-yard net average), 12 punts inside the 20, 4 touchbacks
Raw tools: Townsend is a solid directional punter, with an ability to pin players deep or help trap them with coverage. While he can let a punt rip, Townsend isn’t known for having a super strong leg on par with other top punters. He’s a solid holder for field goals, and an excellent all-around athlete. The high school safety, recruited by Ivy League schools to play defense, flashed serious speed on a fake punt in Week 10, running for 42 yards around the left end against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Early returns: Townsend has produced some good moments, but hasn’t been good enough this season, especially for a drafted punter.
Townsend ranks 30th in net average, 28th on punts dropped inside the 20, 19th on percent of punts returned and 19th on average hang time.
His inconsistency is magnified by solid play from other drafted punters. Seattle’s Michael Dickson in particular has been awesome and Green Bay’s J.K. Scott makes punts tough to return thanks to the league’s best hang time.
Gruden says Townsend punting in practice is top-notch, but it hasn’t translated enough in games.
Where Townsend has improved: He has shown more power in recent weeks, and has flashed solid moments leading up to Monday night’s excellent showing.
Townsend credits an improved mindset heading into games. He’s preparing hard like always, but is allowing himself to play free and avoid worrying too much about present or past performance.
"You have to let muscle memory takes over in the moment,” he said. “If you’re overthinking, if you have too much clutter in your mind, it can interfere with your game play sometimes. I’m playing more freely and having more fun with it, and I think it’s showing on the field.”
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What’s next: Finding consistency will be Townsend’s homework assignment this offseason. Confidence will be gained from that and improved play should follow. He might never be a true boomer with his punts, but he can mitigate the return game and establish steadily solid field position with technical prowess and spot-on accuracy.
It’s uncertain whether Townsend will see true competition in the offseason or in training camp, so keep an eye on who gets signed to a contract, or if the Raiders sign another punter at all. The Raiders hope and believe that Townsend will be the long-term punter here, if he can improve heading into -- and throughout -- his second season.
Quotable: “It’s about being technical. It has to be, because hitting the right punt is a matter of a fraction of an inch with footing and ball placement. Everything has to be working together. That technical aspect is something you try to work on during the week so things flow when you get to the game. You don’t want to be thinking about anything else or be too finicky. We’re going to keep the game plan in mind and just go play ball.” – Townsend, on being a consistently accurate punter.