Bucs Snag Atlanta’s Big-Time Punter
July 29th, 2011
It’s not the big kick in free agency Bucs fans were looking for, but an upgrade nonetheless.
Per BSPN NFL guru Adam Schefter’s Twitter feed, the Bucs have signed the high-brow, big-money punter on the market, six-year veteran Michael Koenan, who once was Atlanta’s franchise player. No joke. (Plus a source told Joe Chucky “loves that guy.”)
Koenan is a kickoff specialist — no longer as important with the rule moving kicks to the 35 yard line — and he’s a damn good punter. Don’t look for the Bucs to have a kickoff return against them for a touchdown anytime soon.
Hmm, if the Bucs had Koenan last year, Eric Weems probably doesn’t have the devastating 102-yard TD return against them in Tampa. Maurice Stovall doesn’t grab Sabby honors, and the Bucs make the playoffs.
Interesting play by Mark Dominik, as Koenan, Joe’s guessing, is probably earning in the $3 million range.
July 29th, 2011 at 12:22 am
ker-plunk.
(the much heralded splash play)
haha no i like it our punter play was inconsistent at best last year
July 29th, 2011 at 12:22 am
And he’s only 29. At least Dominik’s consistent.
Genuinely like the signing, we needed someone Raheem can be confident in.
July 29th, 2011 at 12:27 am
I dig it. Our punters were god awful last year. Some of the worst in the league.
July 29th, 2011 at 12:27 am
I take it back, this is a good signing. It just better not be the only free agent we sign.
July 29th, 2011 at 12:32 am
@Patrick Free agency starts today. Give it some time. Many Free agents don’t deal with agreements off the bat because the longer they hold out, the more offers they’ll receive.
July 29th, 2011 at 12:34 am
In 2008, Matt Ryan’s rookie year, the Atlanta Falcons allowed only 49 yards from punt returns for the season. That’s right, 16 games, 63 punts, 49 return yards.
And you wonder how Matt Ryan got to the playoffs his rookie year…
http://www.nfl.com/player/michaelkoenen/2506255/profile
Not a splash pickup, but something we definitely needed.
July 29th, 2011 at 12:35 am
Hey Joe, do you think we could trade Josh Johnson for anyone that could help our defense? I’d hate to see Johnson go, but he’ll never start here so we might be doing ourselves and him a favor if he got a fresh start somewhere else.
Seattle, San Francisco, Oakland, Miami, and Buffalo all have questionable quarterback situations. Any players from those teams that could come in a trade?
July 29th, 2011 at 12:37 am
@HGO Nice stat pull. That is a scary awesome stat.
July 29th, 2011 at 12:39 am
@Patrick Why hurt one side of the game to benefit the other? Anyone we get for Johnson will not be a starter. Johnson is a Buc until his contract is up.
July 29th, 2011 at 12:41 am
@Patrick
WHO ARE YOU GOING TO SELL A QB WITH ZERO, I SAID ZERO, WINS IN HIS ENTIRE CAREER???
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO GET FROM A 7TH ROUNDER WITH ZERO POSITIVE GAME TAPE??
JOSH JOHNSON HAS 4 TD’s and 8 INTERCEPTIONS FOR HIS CAREER.
But go ahead and post this dumbass question on every JBF.com post….
July 29th, 2011 at 12:41 am
@Patrick Look, bro, I know you want something now because it has been a long time since anything bigtime has happened. I get it. There has been a big ass NFL drought. But lets not allow our impatience to get the best of us.
July 29th, 2011 at 12:42 am
@HGO Damn, brother! Relax! Be cool, man. Why so tense?
July 29th, 2011 at 12:44 am
I was wondering if they were going to add a punter & this guy is just
what the Bucs needed! Our punting was horrendous last year & put
the defense in bad situations every game. On the surface this doesn’t
look like much of a signing, but it’s going to help this young defense
alot! Now who else out there is available worth signing!?
July 29th, 2011 at 12:47 am
pat is just a kid..dude
July 29th, 2011 at 12:47 am
Sorry, but he’s posted that question on every article.
Who in the hell thinks that Josh Johnson has any trade value??
San Fran would be your only shot with Harbaugh but they drafted Kaepernik, while resigning Alex Smith and Nate Davis, so that’s probably out of the question by now.
With how much Freeman likes to get on his horse and run, why would you want to trade a guy who a) is known as a cerebral qb, that b) has been in the system and knows it well?? What are you gonna get for him?? NOTHING
July 29th, 2011 at 12:53 am
@Danny I’m right there with you. Good words from good thought.
@HGO I completely agree 100% percent.
July 29th, 2011 at 12:53 am
yes JJ we wont get a 7th…shoot mcnabb got traded for a 6th so JJ well be a back-up unless freemen gets hurt the if he lights it up..then we can talk
July 29th, 2011 at 1:00 am
Unless Freeman gets hurt, and Josh Johnson fills in admirably(not just being a wildcat or WR gimmick), he will not have any trade value. There are tons of back up QBs in this league. Josh Johnson has done nothing to separate himself from that pack. Matt Schaub, Kevin Kolb etc were clearly worthy of starting shots. Johnson hasn’t done anything to warrant that type of consideration.
I still want him on my team, though. The kid has a spark and that foot speed can’t be ignored.
July 29th, 2011 at 1:02 am
Even though they drafted Colin Kaepernick in the 5th round this year, I thought the 49ers might take a look at Johnson considering they run the west coast offense and that he’d be reunited with his old college coach. Alex Smith sucks, and they don’t really have a good candidate at QB. I know Johnson hasn’t done anything spectacular yet, but we’ve seen his talent before. The guy can run and he’s not the same QB as he was in 2009.
July 29th, 2011 at 1:04 am
Did JoeBucsFan post its first post midnight story last night, and do it again tonight? That is some dedication. It is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
July 29th, 2011 at 1:05 am
what mauha said. thank you for feeding the tapeworm we bucs fan have grown
July 29th, 2011 at 1:07 am
@Patrick
What makes you think that JJ isn’t the same QB from 09??
You have NO, NONE, NADA evidence of that.
BTW, I like Josh Johnson as a backup, but you have to be Bachmann-sh*t crazy to believe that…
July 29th, 2011 at 1:08 am
@Patrick “The guy can run and he’s not the same QB as he was in 2009.”
He can definitely run, but I don’t recall seeing anything that showed a big leap in play from 2009 to 2010. Of course, that is only because he didn’t get any play outside of the wildcat.
So, my question is: What did you see during those few wildcat snaps during the 2010 season that makes you think he has improved enough since 2009 to garner trade value?
July 29th, 2011 at 1:09 am
Kaepernik was a SECOND ROUNDER. Please go read or research things…
July 29th, 2011 at 1:23 am
Ok well still, when Harbough was his coach at San Diego, Johnson was one of the best quarterbacks in the country stat wise, but didn’t get drafted high partly because of the school he went to. No one knows him better than Harbough but yet again this is just a thought. A trade likely wouldn’t happen but if it did, SF would be his best bet for that reason. The relationship between him and his coach.
July 29th, 2011 at 1:23 am
he completed like 9 straight in the steelers game right? *against their 2nd string defense i know*
but he played pretty well when he came up in that game, got a touchdown… proves nothing but just adding to the convo 🙂
July 29th, 2011 at 1:27 am
sorry looked it up, he was 6/6 for 67 yards and 0 touchdowns now that i remember i think they ran it in.
July 29th, 2011 at 1:32 am
do we still have the ole miss qb on our practice squad?
July 29th, 2011 at 1:33 am
@Patrick “No one knows him better than Harbough but yet again this is just a thought. A trade likely wouldn’t happen but if it did, SF would be his best bet for that reason. The relationship between him and his coach.”
Well done, sir. You’ve nailed it.
July 29th, 2011 at 1:35 am
@Dan No we don’t. Jevan Snead was picked up by the Tampa Bay Storm January but they released him March.
July 29th, 2011 at 1:36 am
Jevan Snead? No. Just Johnson and Rudy Carpenter
July 29th, 2011 at 1:38 am
back on topic. maybe dom knows something we dont but this punter only netted 28th in net yards LAST YEAR he may have battled injury or something but obviously isnt the same guy he was when he only had 63 return yards against him in a whole season
July 29th, 2011 at 1:41 am
It is good that we got a good punter……no joke. At least we won’t have punter carousel next year lol
July 29th, 2011 at 1:43 am
i hope he IS a good punter, he was in 2008… last year he was the 28th best… hopefully we get the 2008 guy, not last years
July 29th, 2011 at 1:45 am
Anyone know what happen to huggins? He’s not on the Buccaneers roster that I checked. Also Mossis Madu 32.
http://www.buccaneers.com/team-and-stats/roster.html
July 29th, 2011 at 1:45 am
ok
July 29th, 2011 at 1:46 am
hes a kid dont be mean..
July 29th, 2011 at 1:48 am
@Dan Net yards are determined by many factors: how far a punter has to kick, how far the opponents returned the kicks, how good the puntings team coverage is etc…. His net yards are lower mostly due to a solid offense, ST coverage, and his skills to put the ball in a place that the opposing team has little chance to return. Even his ability to float the ball with long hang time plays a part.
That stat is kinda worthless without the multitude of other variables.
July 29th, 2011 at 1:53 am
@Dan Net yards and return yards are completely different.
As far as return yards, he was 13th.
In Net yards he was one of the best of those who kicked more than 70 punts.
Still, there are so many other factors that go into to it both these stats are pretty much garbage without the circumstance.
The al around consensus was that he has been great. PFF has him ranked among the best as well.
July 29th, 2011 at 1:54 am
good points Mauha a guy trying to pin inside the 20 wont have the net yards a guy trying to boom it 60 yards from his own 20 would thanks for reminding me haha
July 29th, 2011 at 1:55 am
http://www.bucsnation.com/2011/7/3/2257062/kareem-huggins-is-getting-better-but-still-a-long-way-away
huggins was at our mini camp thing
July 29th, 2011 at 1:55 am
Oh, Huggie Bear. How I wish you worked out. I fear his injuries burnt his chances.
Best of luck to you, Mr Huggins.
July 29th, 2011 at 1:57 am
Oh ok, I was just checking cause we was not on the roster. Also Mossis Madu has his number 32. I didn’t see anything about him being released.
July 29th, 2011 at 1:59 am
@Dan No prob at all. That is what these comment sections are about, bro. Getting together to talk about Bucs football and hopefully getting the chance to think about things from another perspective. Cheers!
July 29th, 2011 at 2:39 am
Mauha Deeb,
Teach me your patience… lol
July 29th, 2011 at 2:43 am
@HGO lololol It takes time, young Padawan.
July 29th, 2011 at 2:56 am
Still laughing at:
“Mauha Deeb,
Teach me your patience… lol”
I can literally taste your frustration, HGO. lolol
July 29th, 2011 at 3:09 am
Huggins is a Free Agent. That sucks.
You know how I found out? I Googled “Kareem Huggins Contract”
It’s that easy folks, really. It is that easy…
Wooooo-Saaaaahhhhhhh
July 29th, 2011 at 3:41 am
its weird that they leave him off here: http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/bucs/content/bucs-have-long-list-free-agents-if-cba-proposal-moves-forward
July 29th, 2011 at 7:28 am
Dom makes a major Free Agency splash signing. I hope everyone is happy now.
July 29th, 2011 at 8:43 am
Hate to be the wet blanket, but 23 year old Robert Malone had better numbers in every statistical category last season than the 29 year old Koenen. I’m not sure where Koenen EVER deserved the franchise tag, especially considering the Falcons acquired a punter in the 6th round this past season to get rid of Koenen.
July 29th, 2011 at 8:45 am
Greg Olson, Huggins is a free agent. An exclusive rights free agent, meaning he can’t sign with ANYBODY but us, unless we rellinquish those rights.
July 29th, 2011 at 8:47 am
Which apparently, the Bucs have chosen not to extend an off to Huggins. I don’t see him on any of the Bucs’ lists.
July 29th, 2011 at 9:06 am
and here i was worried we werent gonna make a splash in FA….Championship
July 29th, 2011 at 10:02 am
We will be loving this punter and not for his punts. It will be for his kickoffs, with new rule of the ball being at the 35 yard line this year (5 yards closer). Koenen last year was third in the league last year with 23 touchbacks, Conor Barth had 1 so everyone can make fun of the huge contract. Koenen just became our best kick-off coverage man. Just remembering that Falcons kickoff return for TD, makes this signing worth every penny.
July 29th, 2011 at 12:27 pm
Our punting was horrible last year. I like the signing, we need to put the other team in bad field positioning more often, But if this is our only free agent pick up im going to be fkn pissed..
July 29th, 2011 at 1:10 pm
@Brandon I don’t think you understand how punting stats work. Koenan was at the top of punters with more than 70 punts.
July 29th, 2011 at 2:51 pm
Schefter is saying it’s a 6 year, 19.5 million dollar contract, with 6.5 million guaranteed. Is that a WTF?
July 29th, 2011 at 4:36 pm
That awful yahoo! sports writer has it on the front page bashing the Bucs for this, but I kind of have to agree.
July 29th, 2011 at 5:25 pm
Not only does help the Bucs but it hurts the Falcons and Barth can now focus on Field Goals and not kicking his leg to death on kickoffs. Great move Dom.