Sam Koch Earns Player of the Week Honors
Baltimore Ravens’ punter, Sam Koch, was deemed Week 12’s AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his dominating performance against the Houston Texans on Monday night.
Koch, who many have considered the creator of modern day punting, had a field day against the Texans, pinning five of his six punts inside the 20 and averaged 51.33 yards per punt.
The defining moment of Koch’s night was his successful fake punt pass to receiver/gunner Chris Moore for a gain of 22 yards in the first quarter. This was Koch’s second fake punt pass on the season, both were successful and both were to Moore. Koch is now a perfect four for four on passing attempts in his career, totaling for 48 yards and a QBR of 116.7.
It’s great seeing Koch earn the recognition he deserves. Although he has only been to one Pro Bowl in his career, (2015) Koch is widely known for pioneering modern day punting. Instead of trying to punt the ball as hard as possible and aiming for the pylons to successfully make a “coffin corner” punt, Koch can put different types of spin on the ball to both trick returners and to have the ball stop as close to the goal line as possible without crossing it.
In a NFL Films Presents segment, linked below, Koch compares his punting to golf, where a golfer has a bag of 14 different clubs used for different situations. Koch also has said he has around 18 different types of punts that can be used in games, depending on the situation.
So, Ravens fans, congratulate Sam Koch for winning the POTW, watch how he does his craft, and remember that punters are people too.
Sam Koch NFL Films Segment: https://youtu.be/5oZYO0FbZ_A
