A punt returner's lament!

The worst nightmare happened for Jacoby Jones of the Texans early in the first quarter today. The first thing you're told on special teams is stay away from the rolling punt when you're on the receiving team. And I know as I was a punt returner in high school. In fact the first punt I ever tried to extricate from the air in my junior year went off my knee. (Yes my knee). Of course Jones tried to be a hero and the ball bounded off his shoulder pads/helmet leading to a Ravens score. His next try was an adventure also as he fumbled the kick only to recover and dash for 3 yards. Is it too late to change my pick? Entering the 2nd quarter, the Ravens are on pace for 68 points. Houston has 1 first down. Ouch!

For a player in his fifth NFL season, one used to returning kicks, the 27-year-old Jones' error rings even more inexcusable. The rest of the game was about the Texans trying to overcome a gifted touchdown. Jones did recover a fumble later on but was the best player….. for the other team!

Greg, I'm sure that the only thing you ever returned is from the lunch table to get another ham and swiss. But point well taken about Jacoby Jones, a bit of an underachiever, being the best player on the RAVENS roster. Maybe a deal can be worked out in the off-season. But for 2 teams that were bereft of offense, that turned out to be a big play. I was never big on the punt returner hanging by the rolling football anyway. Catching a punt in the air with the ball wobbling counter-clockwise is tough enough. There are other reasons the Ravens won, of course, but a 3-0 second half goes to show just how much at a premium the points were. And after intermission, Arian Foster didn't have the same prosperity he showed in the opening 30 minutes. I give credit to the stout Raven defense and not the ineptitude of the Texans offense!

I did return a punt once. Back to the original owner. LOL.