Jacob Schum got the surprise nod as starting punter for the Packers in 2016. The Packers brought in Schum last year after releasing the veteran starter Tim Masthay and local phenom Peter Mortell. Mortell was a Green Bay fan growing up and then was an All-Big Ten punter for Minnesota. Jacob Schum started 2016 in Tampa. He was cut and then passed both Packers punters to get the job. Now he is out the door.
Packers released P Jacob Schum, who last year had a 43.2-yard gross average and 39.1 net average while landing 19 of 56 punts inside the 20.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 1, 2017
Jacob Schum Pedestrian in His Chance
Schum did enough to impress coaches leading into the 2016 regular season, but fell far short of hopes. He managed a mere 43.2 yards per punt. That was good enough to rank 27th in the NFL among punters with 40+ punts. His 39.1 net yards placed him 24th among this same group. Now, he also placed 27th among punters with 40+ punts in total punts inside the 20 yard line.
Sure, some of this is just opportunity. In any statistic with bulk numbers, the one with the most chances looks better. A quarterback who throws twice as many passes for half again as many yards is not actually doing better, it is just bulk. Schum was one of just 30 punters to have 40+ punts in 2016. He only had 19 punts inside the opponent’s 20. With a total of 56 punts, that means he placed 33.9 percent of his punts inside the 20. This makes him 19th among these 30 punters in this percentage.
Need for Field Position
The Packers ended 2016 as fourth in the league in yards per drive on offense. They also ranked 28th in yards per drive on defense. This was a team that drove well and generally had good field position at the points when they punted. The Packers did not have as many punts from inside their own 20 yard line as others. The Packers defense needed space to work.
Field position was a big concern for this team because the Packers defense cannot start off backed up. The Packers spent their draft trying to build their defense (and replace their running back corps), but the other half of that formula is getting the other team to start further from your end zone. Having a punter who is less likely to to bury your opponent hurts.
Schum also had four touchbacks, tying him for 16th among punters. In regard to the percentages, only 11 punters had a higher percentage of punts result in touchbacks. His rate was 7.1 percent. So, 66.1 percent of Schum’s punts allowed the opponent to start at their own 20 yard line or better. An even 59 percent of the Packers defensive series started at a spot better than the 20 yard line. Considering the defense gave up an average of 35.1 yards per drive, it puts the opponent inside the Packers’ 45 yard line on average.
The New Guy
So, Mortell came in last year as the fresh face. Mortell averaged 43.9 yards over three years as the punter at the University of Minnesota. His best season was his junior year when he averaged 45.1 yards per punt. He was brought in to fight it out with Tim Masthay. Masthay had a career average of 44.2 yards per punt. In his final season in Green Bay he managed 43.9 (not his career low). In college, Masthay averaged just 40.1 yards, though finished very strong. In his final season at Kentucky he averaged 45.2 yards per punt, his only season averaging over 40 yards.
The only name left on the 90-man roster who is listed as a punter is a rookie named Justin Vogel. Vogel placed 40 percent of his of his punts inside the 20 and had a touch back rate of 4.9 percent. Vogel averaged 42.5 yards per punt during his junior season and then 43.8 during his senior campaign.
The story could get more fun if history completely repeats itself. With just the undrafted rookie left on the roster, what if the Packers’ next punter is on someone else’s roster? For now, Vogel will have training camp to himself.
