The Bears enter the season facing an unusual and disheartening possibility: Their punter may be the best player on the team.
Todd Sauerbrun, predicted to be destined for greatness when he came out of college, is finally living up to his enormous potential and gaining a reputation as one of the NFL’s best in his third year. Add solid veteran placekicker Jeff Jaeger, and the Bears may have one of the best kicking combinations in the league.
“I don’t doubt that at all,” said Sauerbrun.
Of course, all the pieces were in place last year, too, right?
Well, maybe not when it came to the kicking game, which turned out to be a big question mark. Sauerbrun was coming off a shaky rookie season and hadn’t yet proven himself. Rookie Carlos Huerta won the placekicking job from Kevin Butler, but Huerta was fired three weeks into the season.
This year, however, Sauerbrun has a terrific sophomore season under his belt and Jaeger, one of the league’s better kickers this decade, is firmly entrenched after being brought in last year to replace Huerta.
“I’m glad I dodged that bullet,” jokes Keith Armstrong, the new special-teams coach. “Anytime you come into the season knowing who your players are going to be and they’re pretty good, it’s a great deal.”
Sauerbrun is not yet the NFL’s best punter, but he’s getting close. Last year, he tied for sixth in the league with an average of 44.8 yards per punt, up from a disappointing rookie average of 37.8. This exhibition season, he punted 26 times, averaging 46.7 yards. His longest punt went 60 yards.
“I’ve gotten better in every aspect, especially the inside the 50 `pooch’ punts,” he said. “That’s going to be the toughest part. That and directional punting, to the right or left.”
Armstrong says those pooch punts are the only thing keeping Sauerbrun from being mentioned with the very best. But on leg strength, he said, the 5-foot-10-inch, 209-pound Sauberbrun is “as strong (as), maybe stronger” than any punter in the league.
“I think too often it’s judged on leg strength alone,” Armstrong said. “Todd has the ability to become one of the premier punters, and he wants to be. He’s working on his short game.”
In the same breath, Armstrong says Sauerbrun is “becoming more of a professional every day,” a reference to the punter’s humbling rookie year when he let his mouth, not his play, do the talking. Sauerbrun looks back on those days now with regret and says he has undergone a 180-degree turn, which has lent stability to his punting.
“I feel more and more comfortable every year,” he said. “And every year, I feel better as the season goes on.”
Jaeger, an 11-year veteran, says he’s also feeling more comfortable now that he has gone through a training camp with the Bears. The strained groin that caused him to miss two exhibition games this month has healed, and he should be 100 percent for the opener.
“Just getting to know the guys and fitting in helps,” he said. “I don’t know how stable anybody’s job is in this league, but it’s like anything; once you get familiar with it, it’s easier.”
The Bears are counting on big things from Jaeger, who set a team record last year for field-goal percentage (82.6) in hitting 19 of 23 attempts. He nailed his first eight tries, including four to help the Bears beat his old team, the Raiders, in his second week in Chicago.
Armstrong says Jaeger’s strength is perfectionism.
“He works hard at his game,” Armstrong said. “He works with the holders, making sure they hold the ball correctly and at the angle he likes. And he works with Todd (the holder) to get the proper distance and Rob (Davis, the snapper) as far as getting the laces pointing away from his foot. He’s always grinding away on something.”
Sauerbrun, who handles kickoffs and also filled in as the placekicker when Jaeger was injured during the exhibition season, made a bold prediction about his friend.
“As long as I can get the ball down, I don’t see him missing, ever,” he said. “I know he’s going to get it done, and so does the team, and I think that helps him. We’re very lucky to have Jeff.”
All in all, Armstrong is glad he took over this year, not last, because having two solid kickers makes his job that much easier.
“I know what I need to do with Jeff and Todd, I watch them do it, and then I can go get the rest of the team straightened out,” he said. “Now I can worry more about schemes than about when I’m going to get a kicker.”
