In order to win games in the NFL, you need a complete 53-man team. So when talking about the Atlanta Falcons' success, you have to credit everyone, including punter Bradley Pinion.
For punters, it's hard to measure success based on statistics, because when your team succeeds, it usually means you're not punting. However, what Pinion provides off the field is the best barometer for how much value he adds to the Falcons.
"He's not just a punter; he could kick off, he can actually hit field goals - he's done it in games before," special teams coordinator Marquice Williams said. "He's a leader both on and off the field, and he's just an overall good human being, a good person, leader of men. So, all those things we took into account and consideration when it came to looking at who we wanted to bring in as a punter, and he's been doing a great job ever since. So, we're very happy to have him in the building."
Last season, the Falcons had three punters throughout the year ... Cameron Nizialek, Dustin Colquitt, and Thomas Morstead. With punters coming in-and-out, it limited the team's consistency on special teams. However, since signing Pinion back in June, he has brought exactly what Atlanta had been hoping for.
"It helps create continuity in that room when it comes to all three of our specialists being able to operate at a high level, whether we're talking about the punt operations, snap and punting, or even field goal and then with our kickoff team," Williams said. "So you can see that having that continuity and having that stability in that room with the punting position really helps us on multiple phases."
Pinion and the Falcons play Sunday at home against the Carolina Panthers. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
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