Broncos Punter Named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week
Sunday night's bout between the Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers featured a lot of punting. So much so that Eli Manning surmised that the Broncos should have "paid the punter" instead of Russell Wilson.
That punter is none other than Corliss Waitman, who was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week, the Broncos announced on Wednesday. In Week 4, Waitman punted 10 times for 476 yards (47.6 gross/43.6 net), with six punts downed inside the 20-yard line and zero touchbacks.
Waitman showed that he could be a weapon in the Broncos' battle for field position. The Niners had a whopping five drives start inside their 15-yard line, and Waitman pinned them inside the 5-yard line twice.
Waitman’s six punts inside the 20-yard line were a franchise single-game record. He leapfrogged the previous record of five, which has happened six different times.
There hasn't been a punter since Jake Bailey three years ago to have at least six punts downed inside the 20-yard line without a touchback. Not bad for a guy who the Broncos signed as a possible threat to replace the overpaid Sam Martin earlier this year.
Waitman vanquished Martin in training camp's competition, and the Broncos cut the veteran. With the Broncos going all-in on Waitman, a left-footed punter, there was uncertainty in how his relative lack of experience could affect the season.
So far, so good.
The last Broncos punter to be named Special Teams Player of the Week was Todd Sauerbrun back in 2005. Waitman became the fourth Broncos punter all-time to win the award.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen.
Follow Mile High Huddle on Twitter and Facebook.
Subscribe to Mile High Huddle on YouTube for daily Broncos live-stream podcasts!
