Three Things to Know About Punter Ryan Allen
Ryan Allen had big shoes to fill.
Signed by the Tennessee Titans on Saturday, Allen replaced the injured Brett Kern at punter in Sunday’s 24-17 victory over the Chicago Bears. While much has changed in and around the organization over the years, Kern had been the Titans punter in 180 straight contests including regular season and playoff games dating back to Week 8 of the 2009 season. Along the way, he became one of the best at his position with three Pro Bowls appearances and a first-team All-Pro honor last season.
Thrust into the lineup on short notice, Allen relatively picked up where Kern left off. He punted eight times in the game for a total of 404 yards. He averaged 50.4 yards per kick. Of his eight punts, three of them were 55 yards or longer, including a 60-yard kick and a 65-yard kick late in the second quarter from the Titans end zone.
While it’s a small sample size for Allen, Kern, by comparison, has averaged 48.3 yards per kick (fourth in the league) in eight games. His net average of 41.4 yards is tied for 12th in the league.
“A punt unit is 11 guys working together, it doesn’t matter how far or high you hit it. If your gunners don’t do a good job or protection doesn’t do a good job, it’s a play you’ll end up getting nullified,” Allen said. “There is definitely some stuff I want to clean up. I definitely know I can do that. It was good to be able to execute some of those when we needed them.”
It’s unclear how much time Kern will miss. Allen will be the Titans’ punter for at least the next two games.
So, here is what you need to know about the Titans’ current punter:
• He has NFL Experience: Undrafted out of Louisiana Tech in 2013, Allen began his NFL career with the New England Patriots. In six seasons with the Patriots, Allen was a part of three Super Bowl victories (2014, 2016 and 2018). In 96 games, Allen punted 409 yards and averaged 45.3 yards per kick. He was cut by New England before the 2019 season. However, his efforts with the franchise earned him a spot on New England’s All-Dynasty Team, which the organization announced in October. A combination of fan voting and a panel of Patriots experts was used to determine the honorees.
Allen signed with the Falcons in November of last season. He replaced injured Matt Bosher two different times that season. In eight games, he punted 29 times and averaged 41.9 yards per punt.
With the Titans, Allen is reconnected with kicker Stephen Gostkowski, who he was teammates with from 2013-2018 in New England.
“Steve (Gostkowski) and I have logged several years together,” Allen said Sunday. “I was pretty fortunate when I got the call last week, and I was pretty excited about maybe potentially being able to suit back up for a few weeks and play with (Gostkowski). Him and I are pretty close. I was pretty fortunate when I got the call. It’s been fun.”
• He has the second longest punt in Super Bowl history: Allen’s 64-yard punt in New England’s 2014 Super Bowl victory over the Seattle Seahawks was the longest in Super Bowl history – for a time. It happened with 3:24 to play in the third quarter and resulted in a touchback. Seattle was unable to score on the ensuing drive.
Los Angeles Rams punter Johnny Hekker broke the record with a 65-yard punt in Super Bowl LIII, which the Rams lost to the Patriots. It was also Allen’s final game with New England.
• He was good in college too: Allen transferred from Oregon State to Louisiana Tech, and he immediately had success. He is the only punter to have won the Ray Guy Award -- the highest honor for a collegiate punter -- in back-to-back seasons (2011 and 2012). He was the second Louisiana Tech punter to win the award.
Additionally, Allen was Louisiana Tech’s first unanimous First-Team All-American (2012). Allen played three seasons for Louisiana Tech (2010-2012). He played in 37 games, punting 188 times for 8,437 yards. He averaged 44.9 yards per punt and had 54 punts of 50 yards or more, including an 85-yard punt as a senior in 2012.
