How long do kick/punt returners last?

cutbarlow · 2010-03-10T00:15:07-08:00

I began thinking about this question because I sort of remembered people talking about returners not maintaining top performance for a real long time. I looked at the stats for Devin Hester, Dante Hall, and Desmond Howard, for instance. I found that Hall only played til he was 30, Howard til 32. Also, I found that there was a point (around 29-30) that neither player was really getting TDs, nor were they getting a real high average per return. Thinking about this, I wonder if FA or RFA would really be the best bet for us. I mean, if we spend good money on a return guy who, say, is age 26-28, still relatively young, and give him a big contract to be a backup RB and a return specialist, will it be worth it? We might only get a good 2-3 years. I know nothing is definite, we could still end up with a heck of a player, but why spend extra money AND a draft pick when we could draft one and possibly pay less and get more years?

Mar 10, 2010 at 12:43 AM

SnakePlissken
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Usually longer than my b***hy ex-wife's phony orgasms.

Mar 10, 2010 at 12:52 AM

BigDaddy
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I read your post and you pretty much answered all your own questions.

Mar 10, 2010 at 1:39 AM

silkyjohnson
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Sounds to me like we need us some Spiller in our future.

Mar 10, 2010 at 5:28 AM

cupcheck
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Until the #13th pick

Mar 10, 2010 at 5:36 AM

prime21
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Originally posted by silkyjohnson:
Sounds to me like we need us some Spiller in our future.

I think Spiller(1st round), Best(2nd round) or Tate(2nd or 3rd round).

[ Edited by prime21 on Mar 10, 2010 at 5:37 AM ]

Mar 10, 2010 at 5:39 AM

Bali-Niner
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Member Milestone: This is post number 1,800 for Bali-Niner.

Originally posted by prime21:
Originally posted by silkyjohnson:
Sounds to me like we need us some Spiller in our future.

I think Spiller(1st round), Best(2nd round) or Tate(2nd or 3rd round).

Yes, Please let it happen...

Mar 10, 2010 at 5:40 AM

Bali-Niner
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Posts: 12,107

Originally posted by Bali-Niner:
Originally posted by prime21:
Originally posted by silkyjohnson:
Sounds to me like we need us some Spiller in our future.

I think Spiller(1st round), Best(2nd round) or Tate(2nd or 3rd round).

Yes, Please let it happen...

Hey I got a milestone! I would have never guessed I would have posted 1800 times..

Mar 10, 2010 at 6:57 AM

jreff22
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Originally posted by cupcheck:
Until the #13th pick

Mar 10, 2010 at 8:10 AM

tohara3
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Originally posted by jreff22:
Originally posted by cupcheck:
Until the #13th pick

Good one

Mar 10, 2010 at 10:23 AM

#10

cutbarlow
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Originally posted by BigDaddy:
I read your post and you pretty much answered all your own questions.

A lot of times, I kind of like the idea of signing a FA who we already know is good versus drafting a guy that we hope will be good, but I just think we'll get a better return on investment by drafting a return guy (or two) this time instead of signing one (especially signing one AND giving up a draft pick in the process).

Mar 10, 2010 at 10:46 AM

#11

m04607
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Posts: 310

Originally posted by SnakePlissken:
Usually longer than my b***hy ex-wife's phony orgasms.

Sooooo....was that a problem with her or with you?

Mar 10, 2010 at 1:26 PM

#12

Wubbie
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My thought is, we need a guy that's SERVICEABLE as a returner. Last year, it got to the point where the return game was HURTING us.

I'd love to pick up the next Devin Hester, but you're right... they typically only have 2-3 years of TOP performance. But, that's not to say that their remaining 6 or 7 years will be necessarily BAD. Very easily, the rest of their career will be MUUUUUCH better than what we had last season. If we can find a good return man when he's young, we'll solidify our return game for a loooooong time. Whether he's a top, top returner is another question, but we need to fix this part of our game. It's embarrassing when the commentators criticize our coaches for our return men's decision-making.

Mar 10, 2010 at 1:40 PM

#13

CornellU49er
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Originally posted by Wubbie:
My thought is, we need a guy that's SERVICEABLE as a returner. Last year, it got to the point where the return game was HURTING us.

I'd love to pick up the next Devin Hester, but you're right... they typically only have 2-3 years of TOP performance. But, that's not to say that their remaining 6 or 7 years will be necessarily BAD. Very easily, the rest of their career will be MUUUUUCH better than what we had last season. If we can find a good return man when he's young, we'll solidify our return game for a loooooong time. Whether he's a top, top returner is another question, but we need to fix this part of our game. It's embarrassing when the commentators criticize our coaches for our return men's decision-making.

Agreed. This is why a guy like Javier Arenas is appealing. He didn't light up the stop watches in the 40, but he is perhaps the most polished return man in the draft and would make for nice depth as a nickel or dime DB. Honestly, I think it would be smart to draft 2 players with return skills since our roster is so depleted of them. A draft along these lines would be good (depending on whether Arenas is likely to go in the 3rd or 4th).
1a) Williams
1b) Iupati
2) Best
3) Safety/LB/Arenas
4) Safety/LB/Arenas

Mar 10, 2010 at 2:36 PM

#14

BurritoSmuggler
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they dont last long.

forget about hester though- his production dropped because he became a WR starter.

but thats the browns were hesitant about a deal with cribbs. thats when i heard about it. GOOD returners really dont last that long. 3-4 years maybe. hall is an exception.

i dont know why that is, but i did read it when that whole cribbs contract thing came up.