It warranted a mention, deep within local newspapers' sporting sections, that
49ers punter Andy Lee was named
Special Teams Player of The Week. This is about as much mention as punters usually get. It's somewhat akin to being named outstanding McDonald's manager for your sub-region. There's only so much notice one's excellence can attract in some positions.
That's a shame -- about the punters, at least. Because Lee and the Oakland Raiders' Shane Lechler are performing at a statistical level exceeding any other players in NFL history. But it's not just them -- even a quick glance at the data reveals that the
entire league is punting far, far farther than it did even a decade ago.
Football is a complicated and nuanced game. The "Yards Per Punt" category is not. And yet the statistics don't lie --
this year's 15th-best punter would have been the
league leader in 2002.
Here's how that breaks down: