When it comes to his kicking specialists, Jeff Rodgers can sleep well at night.
The Cardinals assistant head coach and special-teams coordinator doesn’t have to worry about going into the season with an inexperienced long snapper, kicker or punter. Or, holding a competition in training camp when game situations aren’t part of the equation.
Rodgers has a unique vantage point with three guys that have a combined 43 NFL seasons and a remarkable 647 games played. Punter Andy Lee, who turns 40 Thursday, is entering his 19th season and leads the group with 280 games.
Kicker Matt Prater will be 38 Wednesday, while long snapper Aaron Brewer is the young pup of the trio. He celebrated his 32nd birthday on July 5.
Lee is also the holder for placekicks and when he and Brewer missed some games last season, the difference was evident.
“I've known Aaron for a long time,” Rodgers said Monday. “When I was in Denver, we brought him into the league. I just say it like this: When the plane rolls or the bus rolls, there's only one guy I'm looking for: To make sure that long snapper is on the bus. The guy's been doing it for a long time and done it at a high level. So we hope that stays the same way.”
Rodgers was also present in San Francisco when Lee was selected in the sixth round of the 2004 draft.
“We had him as the best punter coming out on the draft,” Rodgers recalled. “He was the second guy drafted; it worked out. Obviously, he's had a long career, but, technique-wise, it was an interesting draft evaluation, When you evaluated Andy, his leg is incredibly fast. It was then; it still is now. And there was a lot of distance going on with his punts. And that's what he was being asked to do. Back in the early 2000s, there was still a lot of coffin-corner going on in terms of the punt team.
“And Andy wasn't that guy. He was trying to hang the ball in the plus-50 area. So I broke down two years worth of plus-50 punts. And it was like, ‘Holy cow, like this guy is averaging 4.8 on these punts,’ it was just he wasn't being asked to do that. So when he came to the league; he's always had great hands. He was a great holder from Day 1. Like a lot of young guys, he worked through some things in the first couple years, but he was still good, and kind of hit his stride towards the end of Year 2 going into Year 3. The consistency with which he's punted throughout his career is something I think all specialists strive to have.”
Asked about the calm he feels knowing what he has, Rodgers said, “The stuff that you worry about, if you have young players, is the unknown performance on game day. There's a lot of guys with a lot of talent, guys that can put the ball in the air for five-and-a-half, six seconds, but can you do it in 1.25 (seconds) to the side of the field with eight guys running after you? That's the unknowns with a young player.
“The stuff with the veteran players is, do they have the same skill set? Can they perform at that same level? Are their legs still the same as what they've been or improving? You find out those answers when you get to camp. Our guys have continually answered that bell. And it's certainly a better feeling knowing what you're likely to get on game day than the unknown.”
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