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Deion...Darrell Green...Billy "White Shoes" Johnson...Mel GrayI'm sure there's others.
Your Redskin avatar brings Brian Mitchell to mind as well.
The guy from Adam Sandler's Longest Yard?
that was nellyI'm talking the KR/PR from the Giants, Pats and Jets. 2nd all time in Punt return yards.
Who's my QB? That's a lot of time left, if I run it back with Hall does the other team have Mel Gray?You have 1 minute left, the other team is about to punt it deep to your guy.
Who do you want back deep?
Cribbs, Metcalf or Hall?
I would take Metcalf, but that is only because I am a Longhorn homer
I found it amusing that on the PFR blog in the comment section someone asked which would come first:(A) a team having a 16-0 season
Maybe, maybe not. Hester was a fumbler, and there's no way to say for sure that his demise as a returner was related to his move to WR, anyway. Historically, elite returners have rarely put together more than 2 elite seasons. Witness: Dante Hall.
Typically, RB skills don't translate as well on punt returns as WR skills do. If you think historically, all of the best punt returners were listed as WRs or DBs, and all of the elite returners who were RBs (such as Gale Sayers) tended to lead the league in kickoffs, not punts. Last year was no exception. PFR lists the top 12 returners in terms of yards per punt return, and all 12 were WRs. PFR lists the top 10 in total yards, and all 10 were WRs. PFR lists the top 13 in number of attempts, and 11 of them were WRs (2 were DBs). If you think about it, the only punt returner of any note who plays RB is... Reggie Bush, who people always say is more of a WR playing RB (and playing it poorly, I might add). Likewise, kickoffs are typically the domain of RBs- the only WR who excelled on kickoffs was Percy Harvin... who played RB his senior season in college.Anyway, the point I'm getting at is that, if you were going to pick someone who wasn't historically a returner, you should focus on WRs and DBs instead of RBs. For instance, I'd imagine that Lance Alworth could have been an all-time great punt returner if he'd done a bit more of it (he only returned 29 punts, all of which came in his first two seasons as a starter). On the defensive side, I'd think that Champ Bailey and Ed Reed could have been all-world returners. As a dark horse... DeAngelo Hall is a terrible DB, but he's electric with the ball in his hands, and I think he also could have been a great returner. I think teams should do the reverse Devin Hester on him- instead of transitioning him from returner to starter, teams should transition Hall from starter to returner.
In general, you've got a good point, but general rules don't apply to Barry. He was a terrific punt returner in college, and would have also been in the pros, if given the chance.
so i'd guess your about 16?
I've said before that if the Hall of Fame insists on electing a special teamer (and the fact that they keep flirting with Guy and Tasker suggests that they are serious about electing a special teamer at some point), then the #1 choice should be Rick Upchurch. Elite returners are worth far more than elite gunners, and I'd say they're worth more than elite punters, too (would you rather have 2007 Devin Hester or 2009 Shane Lechler? I'd take Hester, no question). Rick Upchurch was one of the three greatest returners of all time (along with Mel Gray and White Shoes). Of the three, Rick Upchurch provided the most additional value on offense to complement his return value (Upchurch had 69 starts, 27 offensive TDs, and averaged 40 yards of offense per game). I don't necessarily believe that special teamers should be in the Hall of Fame, but if you're going to elect one, then elect Rick Upchurch.
