Been meaning to respond to this......
Originally posted by LottDMontanaO:
I've watched Pinion closely since he joined the team. Has he had his ups and downs? Yes, definitely. But on the whole for what he's provided overall, as a punter and otherwise, I've been very pleased with him. Will he have the occasional shank? Yes, just as what happens to every punter.
His shanks have gone down substantially over the years. His shanks are not the issue.
But here's what I like, and this is based on what my eyes tell me (not looking at just the stats):
I think this is part of the problem, that you are only trusting your eyes and not using stats to verify what you think you are seeing.
1) I like that he routinely, with the hang time he gets, pins teams down inside the 20 and many more times, inside the 15 or 10;
Hangtime is hard to verify. You say its the reason he pins teams down inside the 20 and other times inside the 15 or 10. I disagree that its due to hang time, and I will illustrate that to you later. Also, relative to the rest of the NFL, Pinion is just barely out of the bottom third of the league in punts inside the 20. He is better than 11 punters only. So its not like he is doing this better than most. In fact, he is worse than most.
2) I like that he can flip field position with some quality distance punts;
Your eyes are deceiving you here. No other way around it. All you would have to do is compare his stats to the rest of the league. His distance is VERY far below average. He is currently 28th in the league in punt distance. That is pathetic, and definitely not something that should be praised.
3) I like his directional punting capabilities;
He had a punt recently (I believe it was the Oakland game), where he had an EXCEPTIONAL directional punt. However, it was stated over and over again by our play by play guys and 49er analysts, that Pinion almost NEVER does directional punts. They repeatedly stated this is not a normal part of his game, which is why they were so surprised by this one punt. I really dont know what you are watching here sir. This is not part of Pinions game in the slightest bit.
4) He's excellent at kickoffs - something that can't be overlooked as I'd rather have teams start at the 25 every time and have to "matriculate the ball down the field" instead of teams ripping off good returns - something that's happened to this team too much IMO whenever there is a return;
I agree this is a skill that is often overlooked and important. However, Pinion is not exceptional at this. He is dead average at it relative to his peers. 15th in the league in touchbacks (with kickers behind him that have played less games). I agree with you that this is important, but I will never glorify a person who is completely average at it.
5) He's a dependable holder on FGs - I can't remember the last time he muffed a hold (another area that can't be taken for granted...along those lines, the LS Nelson has also been outstanding these past few years).
Agree wholeheartedly with this. While I still prefer the holder on FGs and XPs to be backup QBs not punters, Pinion does a good job here.
Overall, I totally disagree with your assessment that eyes tell a different story. Pinion is a below average punter, and should absolutely not be re-signed when his contract is up.