Patriots and their Punters

Bill Belichick has been fascinated with left footed punters, and no one can really blame him. Left footed punters kick the pigskin the reverse of the normal right footed kick. From the punter’s perspective, the ball spins counterclockwise, giving the returner a more challenging catch opportunity. The returner must move to his right, going against what they are usually used to (moving to their left). Since Belichick has been hired by New England, the majority of the punters have been left-foot dominant. Zoltan Mesko, Ryan Allen and Corey Bojorquez have all donned the navy blue and red as a left footed punter. With the recent drafting of Stanford punter and kickoff specialist Jake Bailey, he becomes the first right-footed punter to play in Foxboro since….Tom Brady. This just shows how little time right footed punters spend at Gillette. With Ryan Allen signing a 1 year extension, don’t get too confident in the Patriots veteran. Expect a punting competition during Training Camp and if Bailey beats out Allen for the starting spot, cherish it. Right footed punters don’t stay in New England for very long.