Only 5 days remain until the Pittsburgh Steelers report to Latrobe for training camp and we are getting close to wrapping up our looks at the training camp roster battles to keep an eye over the course of the next several weeks.
In this post we will look at the battle between the two punters on the roster and they are of course Jeremy Kapinos and Drew Butler.
Let\’s have a quick look now at each of them.
Jeremy Kapinos – Kapinos has twice been signed to the Steelers roster after Daniel Sepulveda suffered knee injuries in both the 2010 and 2011 seasons. Kapinos was with the Steelers in training camp last year and pushed Sepulveda to a dead heat. The Steelers ultimately decided to keep Sepulveda though. Last season the Penn State product punted 34 times for a 45 yard average. 10 of those 34 punts resulted in the opposition starting inside their own 20 yard-line and only 1 punt resulted in a touchback. 8 of the 34 were fair caught in addition. The hang time for Kapinos was way below average, according to Pro Football Focus, and this is one area that he needs improvement in. In the holding department, Kapinos appears to be more than adequate at getting the ball down for kicks. The Steelers brought him back as an exclusive free agent this season on a one-year contract worth $540,000, so it is not like he is expensive to keep.
Drew Butler – Butler, the son of former Chicago Bears kicker Kevin Butler, was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Georgia back in April. At Georgia, Butler played in 43 games and punted 167 times for a 45.4 average. 60 of his punts were inside the opponents 20 yard-line and 58 went for 50 yards or more. He did not have a punt blocked his entire college career in addition. Butler does possess a strong leg, but he needs to learn how to control it more, as he often out kicked his coverage while at Georgia. He was noted by one scouting service as being average in both the directional and placement departments, so these two areas of his game will need to improve.
Summation – This should be a pretty good battle during training camp and the preseason, but do not lose sight that Kapinos has plenty of experience and has been fairly reliable for the Steelers. Butler must clearly outshine Kapinos if he wants the job and that includes holding on placekicks in addition. May the best man win.
Previous Training Camp Roster Battle Post
2012 Pittsburgh Steelers Training Camp Roster Battles: Long Snappers
2012 Pittsburgh Steelers Training Camp Roster Battles: Offensive Line
2012 Pittsburgh Steelers Training Camp Roster Battles: Defensive Ends
2012 Pittsburgh Steelers Training Camp Roster Battles: Wide Receivers
2012 Pittsburgh Steelers Training Camp Roster Battles: Tight Ends
2012 Pittsburgh Steelers Training Camp Roster Battles: Kickers
2012 Pittsburgh Steelers Training Camp Roster Battles: Cornerbacks
2012 Pittsburgh Steelers Training Camp Roster Battles: Safeties
2012 Pittsburgh Steelers Training Camp Roster Battles: Running Backs
2012 Pittsburgh Steelers Training Camp Roster Battles: Nose Tackles
