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Sam Martin having good (and great) first season as Broncos punter (and holder)

Martin on Broncos: "I really like how a lot of accountability falls on the players. We’re not micromanaged. It’s all about being a pro."
Credit: AP Photo/David Zalubowski
Denver Broncos punter Sam Martin, left, slaps hands with placekicker Brandon McManus as they take part in drills during an NFL football practice in empty Empower Field at Mile High, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020, in Denver.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Broncos punter Sam Martin took a similar path to the NFL as Broncos Ring of Fame kicker Jason Elam.

Both were soccer standouts while growing up about 30 minutes away from Atlanta – Martin to the south in Fayetteville, and Elam to the northeast in Snellville. Neither kicked a football competitively until high school. Elam became a kicker-punter at Hawaii who was drafted by the Broncos as a kicker. Martin was a punter-kicker at Appalachian State who was drafted by the Detroit Lions as punter.

They came along 20 years apart, but their common thread of soccer leading to NFL kicking is strong.

“I definitely think there’s something to it,’’ Martin said of a soccer upbringing in a sit-down interview with 9News last week. “I don’t think it’s really necessary, but I think the two paths are you have kids kicking (a football) from a young age for 10, 15 years before they got to college. Then you have the kids who played soccer their whole life and decide to kick.

“I didn’t kick a football until my senior year in high school. I think there’s two different routes to it, but I think there’s definitely something to be said about leg speed and strength that you develop from playing soccer.”

After seven seasons with the Lions, Martin signed a three-year contract with the Broncos that is paying him $2.5 million this year. He is having a good first year in Denver, ranking 7th in the league with a 47.5 yard gross average and 12th with a 41.3-yard net.

Those who only casually pay attention to special teams may think a punter should average 65 yards a punt at altitude, but that’s not how it works.

“I’d say the real tight spiral punts you see me hit to the right, those balls because of the physics of it, the aerodynamics, it’s already slicing through the air, so I don’t notice much on those,’’ Martin said about the altitude factor. “But the end-over-end ball you’ll see in the pooch punt territory, or what we call the 'Louie' punt where I show right and pull it left, those end-over-end balls don’t cut through the air as easily, so in the thinner air you see those travelling a little bit further.

“It’s funny, I spent my whole career with (Lions and former Broncos kicker Matt) Prater, and he always thought people credited his big leg to the altitude. And he told me when you get there, you’ll see. It’s not like that. To me it’s minimal. It’s not something where I game plan – I’m not at altitude, I can’t do this. Now that I am at altitude, I can do that. It’s all minute, and it all depends on contact.”

The longer the punts, the closer to the middle of the field, the greater the opportunity for a long return. Not good. Broncos’ special teams coordinator Tom McMahon has said what sets Martin apart from other NFL punters is his ability to directionally punt to his right – a difficult task for a right-footed punter.

Martin says he has enjoyed his first year with the Broncos, even if the team is struggling with a 4-8 record entering its game Sunday at Carolina, and even as COVID protocols have interrupted the normal amount of day-to-day interactions with teammates and staff.

“I really like how a lot of accountability falls on the players,’’ Martin said. “We’re not micromanaged. It’s all about being a pro. You’ve got to take it upon yourself to make sure you’re ready and be prepared to do your job. And in the NFL, that’s probably the way to go, in my opinion, from what I’ve seen. Overhandling and that kind of stuff can be detrimental, so I just really enjoy the culture here in Denver. Between that and a great group of coaches and the locker room in general, I’ve enjoyed the ambience and the culture that this place brings. It’s been really comforting and refreshing, really.”

Credit: AP
Denver Broncos kicker Brandon McManus (8) kicks a field goal as punter Sam Martin (6) holds during the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Martin has two tasks. One is to punt. The other is to hold for placekicker Brandon McManus on extra points and field goals. Martin must be good at his second, no-less important task because McManus is having a career year, making 22 of 24 field goals, including 8-of-10 from 50 yards-plus.

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Especially on those cold, rain or snow days, holding has to be one of the most underrated pressure tasks in the game.

“I joke with people all the time that holding is such a high-pressure thing because it is unnoticeable and no one pays attention to it until you mess a hold up, and it’s the reason for a missed kick,’’ Martin said. “When I came in the league, David Akers was my kicker. He was a lefty. I kicked field goals in college, so I wasn’t a holder. So I had to learn how to hold for a lefty my rookie year, and to say I was bad is putting it lightly. I was not a very good holder for a lefty, and probably just in general because I’d never done it.

“I’d really prided myself after my rookie year to get excellent at holding. I focused really hard on it. Wound up getting a righty kicker (Prater) and have had one since then. It’s something I prided myself on. It took work. Spinning the laces around, hitting the spot. Tempo, rhythm, all that.

“It looks on TV like it’s a simple catch-and-place, but it actually takes a lot of work because you want to be perfect for your kicker. You pretty much have the fate of that guy’s job in your hands. I took a lot of pride with it after my first year and tried to get as best as I could at it and today I pride myself in my holding.”

So tell us, Sam Martin. As the foremost authority on both Prater and McManus, give us a comparison on the two.

“Oh man you’re going to get me in trouble,’’ Martin said. “I would say they’re both excellent. Both top-tier kickers. Historically, two of the strongest legs to ever be in the league. I’ve been fortunate to play with both of them.

“What I’d say about both of them is they have very similar mentalities. They just go out there and do their jobs. They’re not worrying about missing, they’re not worried about the wind. They’re not worried about anything else, it’s just show up and kick. From my experience, that’s the intangible that makes a good kicker, the mindset.

“Obviously the leg strength is great, which they both have, but what’s impressed me about both – and I tried to pull that same mentality from Prater and now from Brandon just to – for a lack of better way to put it – care less. Just go out there and kick it and put the ball through the pipes type mentality, and that’s what both of them do. They don’t overanalyze, they just go out there and perform.

“When it comes to leg strength it’s hard to compare. I had Prater more towards the end of his career, and he’s been playing for a while. But the ball comes off their foot not like most kickers and the ball really flies. I’ve been fortunate to work with both of him but it’s their mentality that makes them great.”

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