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News » FALCONS REPORT: Stingy punt coverage on pace for NFL record


FALCONS REPORT: Stingy punt coverage on pace for NFL record


FALCONS REPORT: Stingy punt coverage on pace for NFL record
Flowery Branch --- Falcons punter Michael Koenen and the coverage unit are close to setting an NFL record for fewest punt return yards allowed in a season.


The 1991 Buffalo Bills set the mark with 53 yards.

Buffalo punter Chris Mohr generated great hang time on his punts, which were covered by former special teams Pro Bowler Steve Tasker.

Koenen has punted 48 times this season, and just 15 have been returned for 26 yards. Koenen's punts have led to 20 fair catches, most of which were covered by Antoine Harris, who suffered a groin injury and was placed on injured reserved Tuesday.

Koenen has also placed 21 punts inside the 20-yard line and has just three touchbacks.

With Harris out, cornerback David Irons will likely fill his role.

The punt coverage unit will be tested Sunday by Tampa Bay's Clifton Smith. He was the top punt returner coming out of college last season with a 17.1-yard career average at Fresno State.

Smith made the Bucs' practice squad after being an undrafted free agent. He was moved to the roster after seven weeks. He had a 70-yard punt return for a touchdown against Detroit and brought back a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown against Kansas City. Smith had a team-record 259 return yards against the Chiefs.

"He's not an overly fast guy, but boy is he a Football player," Falcons coach Mike Smith said. "He does a nice job in their return game. He's an integral part of the rest of their special teams and return unit."

Injury update

Defensive end John Abraham, the Falcons' sack leader with 12.5, missed his second day of practice.

"We just rested Abe again today," Smith said. "But he should be ready to go."

Abraham's thigh was tight, and he also has a shoulder injury.

Defensive tackle Grady Jackson (knee) and wide receiver Laurent Robinson (hamstring) did not practice.

Pro Bowl voting

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan received the second-most votes among rookies in the Pro Bowl fan balloting, which concluded Tuesday.

Tennessee running back Chris Johnson was the top rookie vote-getter with 534,170. Ryan received 416,468. Rounding out the top five rookies were Chicago running back Matt Forte (246,298), Washington strong safety Chris Horton (242,298) and Houston running back Steve Slaton (220,966).

The top three quarterbacks make the Pro Bowl, and New Orleans' Drew Brees, New York's Eli Manning and Arizona's Kurt Warner all received more votes than Ryan.

Wide receiver Roddy White leads the league in receiving, but Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald received the most votes (655,433) among NFC receivers.

No Falcon was among the top 10 overall vote-getters at his position.

Fan voting counts for one-third of the final results. Nearly 85 million fans voted. Coaches and players voted Thursday and will continue today. The teams will be announced at 4 p.m. Tuesday on the NFL Network.

The Pro Bowl will be Feb. 8 in Honolulu.



Author:Fox Sports
Author's Website:http://www.foxsports.com
Added: December 12, 2008

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