Golden Tate Leads NFL Rookies in punt returns

Published on September 28, 2010 by Seahawk Fanatic

Fourteen rookies have returned punts in the NFL this season.

Six of the 14 play for NFC West teams. A seventh, Jorrick Calvin of Philadelphia, was a Cardinals draft choice this year.

Seattle’s Golden Tate leads NFL rookies with a 25.2-yard average on five returns. The other five rookie punt returners from NFC West teams have 13 returns for 66 yards, good for a 5.1-yard average. They have also accounted for four of the seven fumbles by rookie returners this season.

The Arizona Cardinals’ Andre Roberts did not fumble in his NFL debut as a returner Sunday, but two punts sent his way bounced off teammates. The Oakland Raiders recovered both times. Both punts were shorter than anticipated. Roberts might have been lined up too deep on one of them.

“I’m not down on Andre,” Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt told reporters Monday. “He is a young player. He has got skill in that area and we have to continue to work with him. Fortunately, we were able to still win the game and now we can work on that without the negativity of a loss.”

The chart ranks NFL rookie punt returners by average yards per return. Tate looks like a natural for the role. He has returns of 63 and 31 yards in his first two games (Tate was inactive for the opener).

2010 Rookie Punt Returners Through Week 3

Returner	Team	Returns	Yards	Avg.	TD	Fumbles
Golden Tate	SEA	5	126	25.2	0	0
Dexter McCluster	KC	6	142	23.7	1	1
Antonio Brown	PIT	1	21	21.0	0	0
Dez Bryant	DAL	5	89	17.8	1	0
Marc Mariani	TEN	6	64	10.7	0	0
Jorrick Calvin	PHI	3	31	10.3	0	0
Javier Arenas	KC	9	89	9.9	0	0
Phillip Adams	SF	4	29	7.3	0	1
Max Komar	ARI	5	31	6.2	0	2
Kyle Wilson	NYJ	3	16	5.3	0	1
Andre Roberts	ARI	2	6	3.0	0	0
Perrish Cox	DEN	3	7	2.3	0	1
Walter Thurmond	SEA	1	0	0.0	0	1
Kyle Williams	SF	1	0	0.0	0	0
Totals		54	651	12.1	2	7

Golden Tate exception to NFC West rule – NFC West Blog – ESPN.

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Tags: Antonio Brown, Arizona Cardinals, Coach Ken, Dexter Mccluster, Draft Choice, ESPN, Javier Arenas, Ken Whisenhunt, Komar, Kyle Williams, kyle wilson, Nfc West Teams, Nfl Debut, nfl rookie, Nfl Rookies, Oakland Raiders, Phillip Adams, Punt Returners, Punt Returns, Returner

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