Here is the
press gazette article on Ryan - interesting about the fact that he could have been starting to be eligible for Packer records this year. I think that tells you what kind of terrible punters we have had more than anything else.
The move was especially shocking because Ryan possessed one of the strongest legs of any punter in team history.
Eric Goska, a Press-Gazette correspondent and an avowed Packers historian, dug up some eye-popping numbers on Ryan and his place in team annals.
Ryan needed six punts to reach the minimum 150 necessary to be considered for team career records. Entering 2008, he ranked first on the all-time franchise punting list for gross average (44.47) dating to 1939, and second in net average (36.99) dating to 1954. Ryan also ranked second all-time in single-season punts (24) of more than 50 yards dating to 1950.
"A kid with a leg this powerful doesn't come around often," noted Goska, the author of "Green Bay Packers: A measure of Greatness," a statistical history of the team. "Work with him on hang times and directional kicking. Had he continued to make strides in those areas, he had a chance to go down as the best punter in Packers history."
Instead, the Packers dumped Ryan in favor of veteran Derrick Frost, a Washington Redskins castoff. Frost's gross and net averages don't match Ryan's, but Stock said those numbers don't tell the whole story.
Consistency was a concern with Ryan as well as his get-off times, which made him more susceptible to blocks.
"It's always going to be a questionable move, because it seemed like everything was copacetic," Stock said. "It would be very comfortable to have Jon Ryan still here. Well, sometimes that comfort level is not as good as you think it is. So, you have to pull the trigger."
