Mike Scifres - Best Punter EVER in the NFL

[Stinky Wizzleteats+]

[TTK]

Bennett then Scifres. SD has been spoiled with the best punters.

[Steve]

The big problem is that he and Lechler are kicking at the same time. Without splitting hairs, I think they are the two best punters in the history of the NFL (yes even better then Ray Guy). But because Lechler has the better stats (both net and gross), Scifres is constantly being shut out. But it is pretty rare for a top punter to play on a team with a decent offense. That alone prevents him from having a really great gross average, which in turn hurts his net. But despite those disadvantages, he is still one of the best all time, despite the fact that he is constantly kicking the ball short for accuracy and not just length, like Lechler has been able to do most of his career.

The other blemish on his stats is all the blocks in that one season where our ST were so bad. So many people still assume that a punter is the only part of the equation, and blocked punts are only because the punter doesn't get the ball off soon enough. In fact, there were a lot of kicks that season that we only got the ball in the air because of Scifres.

If Scifres isn't the best punter in the history of the NFL, I don't know who is. He certainly had the best single game performance, when he almost single highhandedly beat Indy in that playoff game.

It's not going to help win the best punter ever argument, but his performance filling in for Keading when he broke his leg vs Minn, and kicked the game winning FG was not a bad way to add to his Charger legacy.

[Wheels]

He's so automatic at getting the ball fair caught at the 10 yard line that it's ridiculous.

[Yubaking]

The big problem is that he and Lechler are kicking at the same time. Without splitting hairs, I think they are the two best punters in the history of the NFL (yes even better then Ray Guy). But because Lechler has the better stats (both net and gross), Scifres is constantly being shut out. But it is pretty rare for a top punter to play on a team with a decent offense. That alone prevents him from having a really great gross average, which in turn hurts his net. But despite those disadvantages, he is still one of the best all time, despite the fact that he is constantly kicking the ball short for accuracy and not just length, like Lechler has been able to do most of his career.

The other blemish on his stats is all the blocks in that one season where our ST were so bad. So many people still assume that a punter is the only part of the equation, and blocked punts are only because the punter doesn't get the ball off soon enough. In fact, there were a lot of kicks that season that we only got the ball in the air because of Scifres.

If Scifres isn't the best punter in the history of the NFL, I don't know who is. He certainly had the best single game performance, when he almost single highhandedly beat Indy in that playoff game.

It's not going to help win the best punter ever argument, but his performance filling in for Keading when he broke his leg vs Minn, and kicked the game winning FG was not a bad way to add to his Charger legacy.

Scifres had a great game versus IND in the playoffs at the end of the 2008 season. There is no doubt about that. But to say that he almost single-handedly beat IND is absurd. Sproles put up the second most total yards ever in a playoff game. The defense held the high powered Colts to 17 points (and 7 of those happened when Cro failed to pay attention to a quick snap and got burned on a long TD pass). Rivers led the team on a clutch 4th quarter drive to get the game into OT and then the offense scored on the first possession of OT on yet another great run by Sproles to win the game. Dobbins sacked Manning on 3rd and 2 to save our season when a first down would have ended our chances. That was a great team win and an awesome game to attend (as were the come from behind win that featured an onside kick and two TDs in less than two minutes in KC and the regular season beat down finale against the Broncos in the return match after the Hochuli game for the division title).

Scifres has had a great career and he has been almost as good as Lechler, but there is no way he should be rated ahead of Lechler.

Also, in my view, the punting game has simply improved over time. Guy stood out in the 1970s and early 1980s, there is no doubt about that, but I don't think a Ray Guy in his prime would stand out all that much if he were punting right now. Last year, for example, 27 punters had a higher average per kick than Guy had. (I get that that may be deemed heresy in light of Guy's recent election to the Hall of Fame, but I think my statement is correct.) Neither would Reggie Roby and he stood out as well when he played. I would rank Scifres over Guy, Bennett and Roby.

I do not get too excited when I think about punters and the Hall of Fame, not that the Hall of Fame is the be all end all in light of the ongoing bad decisions its voters continue to make. I saw Guy play all the time (lived in northern California for much of Guy's career and got the Raider game every week back in the old days of very limited television channels) and I do not get the Hall of Fame buzz surrounding him at all. He was a very good punter, the best in his time, but his contribution was small compared to players like Fouts, Payton, Joiner, Simpson, Harris, Stallworth, Lambert, Ham, Randy White and many other great players from that era who are "real Hall of Famers" in my book.

[Stinky Wizzleteats+]

And were off!

[oneinchpunch]

And were off!

You might reach 10 pages.

Only because of Steve, Yuba and all the circus clowns that respond to Yuba over and over again

[Beerman]

Jesus seriously...

Please stop taking shit so literal. Clearly Scifres didn't win the game alone.

[Panama]

The defense held the high powered Colts to 17 points

And I suppose field position had nothing to do with that?

Scifres has had a great career and he has been almost as good as Lechler, but there is no way he should be rated ahead of Lechler.

Oh, puh-lease! If the Raiders offense hadn't sucked so badly all of his career, he wouldn't have so much field to kick over. Put Scifres on that same Raiders team, and he'd be outkicking Lechler left, right, and center! You and too many others put way too much emphasis on distance, as if a punter could boom it 80 yards while kicking from midfield. One of the amazing things about Scifres is that he is pinning it inside the 20 no matter where on the field he is punting from. (Oh, and his mom is cool, too!)

[6025]

Scifres practically won the Indy playoff game single footedly.

[Steve]

Scifres had a great game versus IND in the playoffs at the end of the 2008 season. There is no doubt about that. But to say that he almost single-handedly beat IND is absurd. Sproles put up the second most total yards ever in a playoff game. The defense held the high powered Colts to 17 points (and 7 of those happened when Cro failed to pay attention to a quick snap and got burned on a long TD pass). Rivers led the team on a clutch 4th quarter drive to get the game into OT and then the offense scored on the first possession of OT on yet another great run by Sproles to win the game. Dobbins sacked Manning on 3rd and 2 to save our season when a first down would have ended our chances. That was a great team win and an awesome game to attend (as were the come from behind win that featured an onside kick and two TDs in less than two minutes in KC and the regular season beat down finale against the Broncos in the return match after the Hochuli game for the division title).

Scifres has had a great career and he has been almost as good as Lechler, but there is no way he should be rated ahead of Lechler.

Also, in my view, the punting game has simply improved over time. Guy stood out in the 1970s and early 1980s, there is no doubt about that, but I don't think a Ray Guy in his prime would stand out all that much if he were punting right now. Last year, for example, 27 punters had a higher average per kick than Guy had. (I get that that may be deemed heresy in light of Guy's recent election to the Hall of Fame, but I think my statement is correct.) Neither would Reggie Roby and he stood out as well when he played. I would rank Scifres over Guy, Bennett and Roby.

I do not get too excited when I think about punters and the Hall of Fame, not that the Hall of Fame is the be all end all in light of the ongoing bad decisions its voters continue to make. I saw Guy play all the time (lived in northern California for much of Guy's career and got the Raider game every week back in the old days of very limited television channels) and I do not get the Hall of Fame buzz surrounding him at all. He was a very good punter, the best in his time, but his contribution was small compared to players like Fouts, Payton, Joiner, Simpson, Harris, Stallworth, Lambert, Ham, Randy White and many other great players from that era who are "real Hall of Famers" in my book.

your understanding of football is infantile at best. Field position for both offense and defense is everything. Why are turnovers huge? Because they deny the other team that chance to use their kicking game and get field position. Where you or the other team starts is the biggest deciding factor in terms of scoring. And I guess Tony Dungy and Norv, and most of the Chargers players who were talking about Scifres dominant performance were just spouting off?

Lechler stats are only better than Scifres because he kicks the length of the field and can just unload the ball. Scifres is always kicking the ball short to down the ball for FIELD POSITION.

[MakoShark]

your understanding of football is infantile at best. Field position for both offense and defense is everything. Why are turnovers huge? Because they deny the other team that chance to use their kicking game and get field position. Where you or the other team starts is the biggest deciding factor in terms of scoring. And I guess Tony Dungy and Norv, and most of the Chargers players who were talking about Scifres dominant performance were just spouting off?

Lechler stats are only better than Scifres because he kicks the length of the field and can just unload the ball. Scifres is always kicking the ball short to down the ball for FIELD POSITION.

I can't believe Yuba actually typed those words. Either he's, as you say, infantile or he's spouting off just to be contradictory out of spite. CONTEXT Yuba, CONTEXT. Either way he's coming across as foolish. Lechler benefits from inflated numbers because his team was so bad. All he had to do was air it out every single time. Where's the talent in that? Scifres punts are precision strikes that pin the opposing team back. The man has an uncanny talent for making a football (of all things!) fall dead to the ground instead of bouncing through the endzone. Scifres is a precision weapon plain and simple.