Packers Cut Masthay In Favor of Schum
By jasonperone
The Green Bay Packers continued their efforts to trim their roster down on Tuesday, announcing that they were releasing veteran punter Tim Masthay, just one day after they let go of Green Bay native Peter Mortell. Masthay had been the Packers punter since 2010 but faced struggles in 2015 that prompted the team to bring in competition this summer. It appeared as though he had managed to keep his job with Mortell's release and with the regular season opener just a week and a half away. The Packers instead let Masthay go to make room for Jacob Schum, who was claimed off waivers aftering having just been released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Schum took to Instagram to share the news.
.....another door opened. So grateful for this awesome opportunity to be able to be a part of an… https://t.co/ywnp2Z4WEv
— Jake Schum (@JakeSchum) August 30, 2016
Masthay's struggles are well-known and many had Mortell ahead of him in the competition for the job this season. A side-by-side comparison of Masthay and Schum from last season appears to be similar with the exception of Masthay punting almost 30 times more than Schum. In that sense, it may not be a true comparison of the two, but it's far from certain that Schum is an upgrade over the incumbent. The other factor that makes this move a bit puzzling is that Schum has spent zero time with Mason Crosby as his holder on place kicks. The Packers may use another holder, but Masthay and Mortell had seemingly taken all of those reps during training camp and in the three preseason games.
Regardless, Schum appears to be Green Bay's man this season. Denver Broncos punter Britton Colquitt was also released on Tuesday, adding another possible name that Packers general manager Ted Thompson might have inquired about. He very well may have but we know Ted and if there's a generic alternative to the name brand, Ted is all over it.
This isn't the first time Thompson has parted ways with a punter just before the start of the season. Jon Ryan was let go just prior to the start of the 2008 season in favor of Derrick Frost, who didn't even last a full season before the Packers let him go as well. Ryan went on to join the Seattle Seahawks and is still with them today. Here's hoping this situation turns out more favorable to the guys in green and gold.
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Jason is a freelance writer on staff since 2012 and also co-hosts Cheesehead TV Live, Pulse of the Pack and Pack A Day podcasts. You can follow him on Twitter here
Comments (47)
Grandfathered
August 30, 2016 at 09:13 pm
same results and save half a $million?
Bearmeat
August 31, 2016 at 06:30 am
That's got to be it. But you would think the incumbents holding history with Crosby would offset the extra cost? I really am not sure about this. This seems a whole lot like releasing John Ryan 2008 for frosty the snowman. Remember how badly that turned out? Say what you want about Ginger, he hasn't been a great punter. But at least he hasn't sucked hard. Like we had from 2008 to 2010.
If TT was going to make a move like this, I would've expected it to be for a proven commodity. Not someone who is at best marginally better than what we already had.
Ted, sometimes you really are a weirdo.
dobber
August 30, 2016 at 10:06 pm
I just realized that I don't know if the new touchback rule applies to punts? Does anyone know this? Apparently Schum had a decent track record of dropping the ball inside the 20, and if the new touchback rule applies to punts, a guy who can drop it in there is even more valuable...
RobinsonDavis
August 30, 2016 at 10:51 pm
I don't see this in the rules, dobber. Geez! Who gives a thumbs-down for a question?
jeremyjjbrown
August 31, 2016 at 01:12 pm
TTwins (or whatever his handle is ATM) for one. I would see a new down vote on half of the comments based on who wrote them after he showed his face. I got five down votes yesterday for asking what R Rodgers has done this preseason. Maybe a lot of those people where thinking I was questioning A Rodgers and just not reading and understanding the question.
Oppy
August 30, 2016 at 11:24 pm
Dobber, I'm working off memory, but I think Schum had something like 15-of-65 inside the 20, so like 1 in 4, one in 5, where as, Masthay had 120 some punts out of 360, so roughly one in three.
That rules out your speculation.
I'm kinda baffled. I wonder if one of the ST coaches has a working history or connection to Schum.
croatpackfan
August 31, 2016 at 06:28 am
Problem with Tim was that under pressure Tim was very consistent in very bad punting. That hurt team... In crucial times his punting was so bad!
NickPerry
August 31, 2016 at 05:16 am
This is what Acme Packing had in their piece about our new Punter Oppy.
"Statistically, Schum doesn't necessarily represent an improvement over Masthay. Last season, Schum averaged 41.9 yards per punt and 38.0 yards net, lower on both counts than Masthay (43.9 and 40.2 respectively). However, Schum did outperform Masthay on punts landed inside the 20, hitting the mark 26.8 percent of the time compared to 22.2 percent."
Not much there at all IMO. Not worth possibly screwing with Crosby's head just before AND accuracy just 12 days before the Regular Season starts.
Just ONCE I wish Thompson would get a guy we've heard of. Or at the very least a punter who had great stats coming out of College.
Can the dude hold???
Idiot Fan
August 30, 2016 at 10:21 pm
Yeah, I'm kind of a fan of the "devil you know" approach. Neither of them seem to be world-beaters, so you might as well stick with the one you know (or at least, you know can hold a kick).
I would have been more impressed if they had cut Masthay and just said, "screw it, we're not punting this year."
RobinsonDavis
August 30, 2016 at 10:57 pm
Yeah, I wonder who pushed this decision....MM, TT. RZ? The Jon Ryan comparison is interesting, and brings back bad memories. You would think if this move was only to save money, they would have signed Mortell. There has to be more to this story. Maybe the directional punting, as stated above?
croatpackfan
August 31, 2016 at 06:31 am
How you get 0,5 vote? WTF?
Gianich
August 31, 2016 at 09:56 pm
How does one get .5 likes or dislikes? Tinkering Ted scheming again!
GVPacker
August 30, 2016 at 10:46 pm
Good post Bearmeat you made me Chuckle!
lucky953
August 30, 2016 at 09:20 pm
They've just had it with Masthay's inconsistency at crunch time. It wouldn't be a total surprise if they go with another guy come Sunday.
p.s. This move has nothing to do with "trimming the roster"
jeremyjjbrown
August 30, 2016 at 09:22 pm
"The other factor that makes this move a bit puzzling is that Schum has spent zero time with Mason Crosby as his holder on place kicks."
Well, I guess I was wrong that they would value consistency in holding a lot more than punting avg.
Gianich
August 31, 2016 at 09:57 pm
Is Cobb the holder then?
Finwiz
August 30, 2016 at 09:52 pm
Mortell wasn't good in this last game, but Masthay wasn't anything special either. His punting last year was awful in pressure situations. I applaud the GM for at least going out and trying to better the team, if not financially at the very least.
stockholder
August 30, 2016 at 10:01 pm
Dumb move. Masthay was a good holder. A good teammate. Don't like the changes. Don't like the gamble. Clearly affects the kicking game stability.
Gianich
August 31, 2016 at 10:02 pm
I agree to an extent. The holding situation of the kicking game feels uneasy, Especially when we got Makin Crosby. It's one bad hold from Missin Crosby and the yips.
Amanofthenorth
August 30, 2016 at 10:03 pm
First a trade and now this. Packer fans are not used to this type of activity and are having trouble reacting.
https://goo.gl/images/6ObPbt
Grandfathered
August 30, 2016 at 10:08 pm
Maybe Masthay will be available at 1/2 price in a couple weeks?
RCPackerFan
August 30, 2016 at 10:12 pm
It doesn't surprise me that they cut Masthay. It does surprise me that they got Schum.
I saw on Twitter earlier that only 7 punters were worse then Masthay. One of them was Schim
We will see. Hopefully it's an upgrade. At the very least some consistency.
lebowski
August 30, 2016 at 10:33 pm
Ted's eye for punters leaves much to be desired. Head scratcher.
ben
August 30, 2016 at 10:52 pm
Teddy's out, Brett's in.
zeke
August 31, 2016 at 02:08 am
I think you mean Joel Stave. Enjoy.
NickPerry
August 31, 2016 at 07:03 am
No Ex Packers QB's for your team to grab this time Ben. Well maybe, Matt Flynn is still available I believe.
Ferrari Driver
August 30, 2016 at 11:12 pm
All of us non-GM's are pretty much unanimous in our doubt about this move.
All we need is for this punter botch one winning field goal and most of us will be calling for TT's head.
I've always been good on Monday mornings.
Oppy
August 31, 2016 at 12:20 am
It's a complete ACL tear btw, per the release from the Vikings posted around 8:00 pm central time. They also state the good news is 'there isn't any nerve damage.' and it was a non-contact injury. Odd.
http://www.vikings.com/news/article-1/Vikings-Statement-on-Teddy-Bridgew...
It must have been a gruesome injury, because other reports are that other vikings players were 'freaking out' and a prayer circle around Teddy ensued as he writhed and screamed in pain. Might be worth stopping practice over.
TommyG
August 31, 2016 at 12:52 am
I do not understand this move. schum's numbers are nothing but mediocre; heck he couldn't cut it with the Browns. The kicker is directly responsible for putting points on the board. The kicker needs a good holder with which he is comfortable. This move was a mistake.
Bedrock
August 31, 2016 at 01:06 am
This move feels a little Ron Wolf-ian. He would cut a guy that "couldn't play" and get someone in with hunger. If you already know the guy isn't good, and replace him with another guy that isn't good, you haven't lost at that position, but you've gained the rest of the players attention.
sheppercheeser
August 31, 2016 at 05:40 am
Shoulda kept Mortell...excellent holder and a "green" punter that would've only become better with time.
egbertsouse
August 31, 2016 at 07:28 am
Tightwad Ted is back! Probably needs that extra half-mil so he can give Dropvante Adams a big raise.
Since'61
August 31, 2016 at 09:43 am
This move only makes sense if it is to give Schum a one week tryout. He can be cut by Friday and either Morrell or Masthay resigned by Friday. The other possibility is that Masthay has some type of injury but I have nothing to base that on. I agree with many of the posters here that this is not the last move for a punter. Having the punter as a moving piece is one thing but having your holder as a moving piece this late in camp is another. I'm not concerned as much about the punting as I am about the holder. This does send a strong message to the rest of the team. A pretty quiet camp just became a bit shook up. Thanks, Since '61
L
August 31, 2016 at 10:50 am
Just some things on Jacob Schum:
BleacherReport ranked him as the 19th best punter out of 32 punters based on studying 2015 film and stats. For reference: Tim Masthay didn't even rank within the 32 punters despite being a starting punter on an NFL team. Jacob Schum was credited with an overall score of 81 out of a possible 94.
This is what they said regarding his Punting Power:
With an average of 41.5 yards per punt, Jacob Schum was near the bottom of the league, coming in at fifth-worst. That average isn’t skewed by situational punting. When it came time to open up and punt deep, he simply didn’t show the power to exceed the mid-40-yard range. He was given a score of 37 out of 45.
This is what they said regarding his Punting Accuracy:
When it came time for money kicks to pin the opposing offense deep, Schum was better. On the year, he had only four touchbacks on 56 punts and was poised and controlled when tasked with punts that dictated deep starting positions for the other offense. He was given a score of 40 out of 45.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2623989-br-nfl-1000-ranking-the-top-3...
Also, there's a video he posted of himself practicing pinning punts within the redzone from back in May of 2014 (documents hang-time and approximate landing spot).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DweBEwRzSMQ
The video reflects the accuracy spoken of in the BleacherReport and it displays better hang time than what Tim Masthay was giving us. Not to mention, it's from 2014, so I'd assume he's been able to hone his craft even more since then; in fact, there are two newer videos on his YouTube account in which you can watch him practicing his directional punting and power punting. You can also just tell he's continued to improve and work on his fitness/strength since 2014 as he posted this recently on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/BIOIvhlj6q1/
RCPackerFan
August 31, 2016 at 11:02 am
Thanks for providing this.
I just heard the numbers, and saw on twitter that only 7 punters averaged less then Masthay and he was one of them.
Sounds like he may not be a field changing type of punter, but maybe better at pinning opponents deep?
L
August 31, 2016 at 04:49 pm
That's what it sounds like to me too.
JerseyAl
August 31, 2016 at 11:07 am
Thanks for those links. WIthout a rush, of course, but that youtube video is pretty impressive, especially with his consistency. That was Masthay's bugaboo and likely why Schum is now here.
Finwiz
August 31, 2016 at 12:41 pm
That was some impressive punting...what's not to like about those hang times? It seems clear to me the Packers value "hang time" more than they do distance, not to mention the placement. I think they see something in this guy that isn't evident in the statistics. Jeff Janis just became his best friend.
Oppy
August 31, 2016 at 04:40 pm
I watched Schum's self-posted punting reel late last night.
Some things to consider,
1) There's no way of knowing where those punts actually landed- we're taking his word on it.
2) Hang times seemed.. maybe a bit generous on a few of the punts. I have not double checked. Maybe they're all legit. A few seemed, perhaps, rounded up. :|
3) There's no real comparison between a guy drop kicking punts leisurely, and a guy having to handle a snap, and get off a kick with the rush coming at him.
It's still fun to watch, and I got a kick (no pun intended) out of Schum looking back at the camera repeatedly and casually shrugging, like, "Meh, that was alright, wasn't it?"
L
August 31, 2016 at 05:24 pm
I did run a stop-watch on the first hand full or so of punts within his 2014 video to find out if the posted times (in the video) were fairly accurate and I have to admit that the numbers I was getting seemed fairly similar; I mean, there were a few where the posted numbers on the screen seemed rounded up by a hundredth of a second or a tad bit more (probably no more than two hundredths of a second at max), but part of the error was probably from me being a tad slow to start or a bit fast to finish the timing since it's hard to tell exactly when to start and stop. His more recent videos (directional as well as power hang-time) I also did some time tracking for and found that his directional punting included several punts which did not posses impressive hang-times (mid and low 4 second punts), but his power hang-time punts were nearly all at or above the 5 second mark (just don't know what kind of distance they were traveling). In any case I'd say the general hang-times I recorded for Jake Schum seemed to suggest he's probably a better hang-time punter than Tim Masthay; at least, based on the recorded hang-times Masthay put up throughout training camp.
lou
August 31, 2016 at 10:39 am
Whether it works out or not it sends a signal that the team wants to get better at every position which has been the Patriots way of doing business. Defenses the last couple of years have won Super Bowls, which means you need to have the best field position on change of possesions to score. Masthay in the playoffs has not "flipped the field" like the opposing kickers and has trouble placing the ball outside the end zone which led to his ticket out of town. In regards to the place kick holding, find a solid special teamer like Banjo for instance for that purpose so it makes no difference who the holder is. Special teams play have earned their roster spots, add this to their duties.
sheppercheeser
August 31, 2016 at 12:20 pm
The only reason I can see that GB signed Schum is that bringing Mortell back would look bad if they cut him a second time. As is, GB could cut Schum between now and the beginning of the season with no regrets, in hopes that a quality punter (no, not Colquitt- too much $$$) becomes available.
PaulRosik
August 31, 2016 at 01:23 pm
I guess we can throw out all those articles about "meaningless' punter competitions. This team was obviously not happy with Masthay and was looking to change all along.
Oppy
August 31, 2016 at 04:43 pm
That's not necessarily the case. I posted my thoughts on it up above.
4thand1
August 31, 2016 at 06:46 pm
I find it hard to believe teams can't find a guy who can punt a ball 45 yards with decent hang time. WTF, sign Paul Hornung, he did it as a RB 50 years ago. Maybe the new guy is a good tackler.
Point-Packer
August 31, 2016 at 08:08 pm
Forgot we released Jon Ryan. What a bonehead move that was from TT. Guy is one of the best punters in the league and has a cannon of a leg.
Dustin Evans
August 31, 2016 at 09:05 pm
Reckless speculation here but maybe they did it to also send a message to Mason Crosby. It almost felt like Crosby was trying to shank the Pat last preseason game when Mortel was holding, so that masthay has a better shot. Crosby was trying to make it seem he needed HIS holder and couches were like no your not above the team. Him and masthay are friend they both seemed against mortel from the beginning. Masthay didn't seem encourage to get better with the compition, he just got by and hoped his holding would set him above. The couches saw this and cut him...... or they wanted a punter with better hang time. Once again just speculation