I caught over 100 punts in camp, that's not an excuse anymore

[monstercat]

Unless of course the ball is sailing over your head because the punter kicked the crap out of it and there is no way you can get to it (and no way it can hit one of your blockers by mistake) or its going into the end zone.

There is actually quite a bit that goes into catching a punt, which is why I didn't expect AE to get it down right away. Fwiw, I was pleasantly surprised that he didn't muff one in the baltimore game considering it was a wet field at times.

We're not talking about a ball sailing over anybody's head though. Stevie Wonder could see that this particular punt was going to hit right smack dab in the middle of all those players who were trying to block and cover and had no idea where the ball was. There is almost no way anything good can happen for the receiving team when you let the ball hit the ground in that situation. You can try to spin this 50 different ways, but the bottom line is that the punt returner has to make that catch. There is just no way around that.

[Khyber53]

Yep, his punt return ability looks awful. Good thing this was a practice game and that there will be two more of them. Will he still be handling punts? Not sure, but if he does, I hope he gets a handle on this skill.

On an up note, he did have two catches, and held onto one of them for a first down after a monster hit that he knew was coming. The guy's definitely tougher than I am.

[theedaddy]

[pantherclaw]

Don't give up picks for projects.

Well obviously the panthers did. Get over it already.

To the peole who have hated this pick, edwards will never do enough for them.

That being said, I think they should let him focus just on offense, and he should be able to make an impact by mid season.

[gmonet]

:smilielol5:... damn!

[Wither]

was going to hit right smack dab in the middle of all those players

In the 2 seconds that he had to judge whether or not someone was going to be near it I doubt he was counting on his own team touching it first. Especially considering it felt like the gunner (and his blocker) came towards the middle at the last second.

[KillerKat]

He has made progress at WR, but hasn't with returning punts. Just leave him as a WR/Wildcat/Reverse/Emergency QB type of player.

[monstercat]

In the 2 seconds that he had to judge whether or not someone was going to be near it I doubt he was counting on his own team touching it first. Especially considering it felt like the gunner (and his blocker) came towards the middle at the last second.

Dude, that ball was in the air for over 4 seconds and it was a very catch-able punt. He just stood there and watched it hit the ground. Ask any HC from HS on up and they will tell you that the punt returner has to make that catch in that particular situation. There is no room for debate here.

Look, I'm not saying that AE was a wasted pick at all. In fact, I believe he will eventually be a very good WR and a good wildcat QB, but from what I've seen so far, there is very little chance they will be able to trust him as a punt returner this year. I hope I'm wrong, but it's very hard for me to believe that he's gonna turn into Steve Smith after a couple more preseason games. Meanwhile, Munnerlynn has already proven that he can do this job when the score counts, so why does he need to be replaced in the first place?

[CRA]

I'd like to see Witherspoon handle all return duties preseason game 3. See what we have there. I think AE will be a great player....the Panther trying to put all this one him and expect him to contribute year 1 (week 1) isn't fair to him or the team imo.

[Anybodyhome]

The Panthers have had issues with punt returners throughout their history. And when they found good ones, they never seemed to keep them.... Mark Jones, Smart, etc.

[Wither]

Dude, that ball was in the air for over 4 seconds and it was a very catch-able punt. He just stood there and watched it hit the ground. Ask any HC from HS on up and they will tell you that the punt returner has to make that catch in that particular situation. There is no room for debate here.

In the air for 4 seconds, probably near him for about 2, not to mention at the 4 second mark there wasn't a player anywhere near Armanti, which is what you are basing your argument on.

They probably didn't get even get relatively close until second 3, and the first guys got there right as it hit.

I'm just pointing out it isn't as clear cut that someone was going to touch it as you contend.

[monstercat]

In the air for 4 seconds, probably near him for about 2, not to mention at the 4 second mark there wasn't a player anywhere near Armanti, which is what you are basing your argument on.

They probably didn't get even get relatively close until second 3, and the first guys got there right as it hit.

I'm just pointing out it isn't as clear cut that someone was going to touch it as you contend.

OK, you're right. Standing there and watching that ball hit the ground instead of running 10 the steps neccessary to get under it and catch it was obviously the right play. We should teach all our return men to make a half hearted effort to catch the ball. Hell, as long as they yell at everybody to get away from it, it's OK, right? I mean, they all are able to watch the ball and block at the same time, so avoiding the ball is as easy as breathing, especially since footballs are so predictable when they bounce.

That's pure genius.

[Wither]

OK, you're right. Standing there and watching that ball hit the ground instead of running 10 the steps neccessary to get under it and catch it was obviously the right play. We should teach all our return men to make a half hearted effort to catch the ball. Hell, as long as they yell at everybody to get away from it, it's OK, right? I mean, they all are able to watch the ball and block at the same time, so avoiding the ball is as easy as breathing, especially since footballs are so predictable when they bounce.

That's pure genius.

There is no need to attack me. I thought he should have caught it too. But you are basing some of your points on the idea that it was easy to forsee that someone was going to touch the ball, which I find irrational and have pointed out as such.

[monstercat]

There is no need to attack me. I thought he should have caught it too. But you are basing some of your points on the idea that it was easy to forsee that someone was going to touch the ball, which I find irrational and have pointed out as such.

Sorry, but you have to assume that there is a good chance of bad things happening when you let the ball drop right beside where all those bodies are, because those blockers have no idea where that ball is. Hopefully, AE will learn from this and I turn out to be dead wrong about his ability to return punts. Meanwhile though, I'm perfectly happy with Munnerlynn doing the job until somebody proves, without a doubt, that they are better.