Green Bay Signing

2 punters added; is Sander on way out?

At a very young age Ryan Dutton found out he was capable of punting at Lambeau Field.Dutton, an Oshkosh native, participated in four Punt, Pass & Kick competitions at Lambeau Field when he was a child. He won three times and finished second once.“I did pretty well,” Dutton said. “Obviously, growing up in Oshkosh, I was a huge Packers fan, so getting to do anything at Lambeau Field was pretty exciting for me.”The Packers announced the signing of Dutton and six other players to reserve/future contracts on Tuesday. Dutton was with the Cleveland Browns during 2004 and was with the Seattle Seahawks in 2005. Dutton is thrilled to have the chance to play for the team that he rooted for as a child.“It’s been tough the last few seasons because I feel like I’ve been close,” Dutton said. “But everything happens for a reason, so we’ll just see what happens.”Dutton will have plenty of competition in attempting to earn a spot on the roster. The Packers also announced the signing of Jon Ryan on Tuesday. Ryan led the Canadian Football League last season with a 50.6 gross average and a 42.3 net average for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Ryan had considerable interest from other teams, including the New York Giants and Cincinnati Bengals, but opted to sign with the Packers.With the addition of Ryan and Dutton, it is looking like B.J. Sander’s days in Green Bay could be numbered. After a solid start in 2005, Sander struggled during the second half of the season. Sander was 30th in the NFL with a gross average of 39.2 yards and was 34th in net average with a 34.5 average. He missed the final two games with a bruised knee. With a salary cap number of $530,906, Sander will have to be significantly better than Ryan, Dutton and Ryan Flinn if he’s going to be the Packers’ punter again in 2006.“You’ve got to be patient with punters,” Packers special teams coordinator Mike Stock said last week. “But you’ve got to make sure you have the right guy in there.”Stock may be the biggest reason why Dutton wound up signing with the Packers.“He tried to sign me when he was with St. Louis,” Dutton said. “It didn’t work out, but I’m definitely familiar with him.”One other thing Dutton has working to his advantage is his experience as a holder, a job that Sander struggled with at times last season. Dutton held in NFL Europe last season and in college when he played quarterback at NCAA Division II Minnesota State-Mankato.“He played quarterback in college and played baseball in college,” said Mark Mersel, Dutton’s agent. “He has very good hands.”Dutton said he will be in Green Bay on Thursday to work out for Stock. Then, it will be determined if Dutton will return to NFL Europe, which Dutton said appears “very, very likely.”“I don’t know if the recent signings will change that, but it certainly looks that way,” Dutton said. “The good thing this year is that the season starts earlier, so I would only miss one of the (three) minicamps.”

Coach Anderson finished off NFLE

NFL Europe ceases operations
Posted by Hugh Bernreuter June 29, 2007 23:46PM
Categories: Generic sports

Hamburg became more than Adam Anderson's second team.
It was his second home.
The former Chesaning High School and Western Michigan University punter was a member of the Hamburg Sea Devils, the 2007 and final World Bowl champions.
The NFL's development league in Europe folded Friday after 16 years, less than a week after the Sea Devils beat Frankfurt, 37-28, in the World Bowl.
"It's disappointing, sad," Anderson said. "It was an incredible experience. You always dream of traveling to Europe and now you're going and getting paid for it.
"Hamburg became my second home. My family's roots go back to Hamburg."
Anderson spent the last two training camps with the Detroit Lions and the last two seasons with Hamburg in NFL Europa (formerly the World League of American Football and NFL Europe). He signed with Atlanta and will attend the Falcons' training camp in August.
"It was an important developmental league," he said. "There were a lot of guys on the cusp of making the NFL but did not get a fair look during camp.
"They were able to go to Europe, get experience and show what they could do. In some situations in training camp, no matter if you outperform the other player, you know they're going to keep that player with the name.
"Europe gave us a place to put together some game tape, to show the NFL that we can do the job."
Other Saginaw-area football players have made stops in NFL Europa on their way to the NFL.
Former Saginaw High and Central Michigan University player Tory Humphrey played in Europe before landing a job with the Green Bay Packers. Former Saginaw Valley State University receivers Ruvell Martin and Glenn Martinez also played in Europe before the NFL.
Martin played for Amsterdam in 2005, leading the team to the World Bowl title while finishing second in the Most Valuable Player voting. He tied the league record with 12 touchdown receptions.
"I went from Saginaw Valley to the San Diego training camp all wide-eyed," Martin said. "In Europe, I was able to play against guys from big schools and big conferences. It did a lot for my confidence."
Martin played for Green Bay last season and reports to camp Thursday, July 28.
"I don't know what players are going to do now to get that experience," Martin said. "If it wasn't for NFL Europe, I wouldn't be the player that I am now."
NFL Europa included six teams, five from Germany with Amsterdam completing the league.
Anderson believes the decision is a bad one for the NFL.
"It was losing money and it's a bottom-line business," Anderson said. "But it was starting to gain in popularity. It was gaining fans. Attendance was up 5,000 per game. It had potential with a few tweaks to really grow, but it won't get that chance now."
The final World Bowl game drew 48,125, but NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league was losing approximately $30 million per season.
Instead, the NFL will build on the base of fans created by NFL Europa by expanding its regular-season schedule to include international games. The first game is Sunday, Oct. 28, between the Miami Dolphins and New York Giants in London.
The league also wants to schedule games in Germany, Mexico and Canada.
As a developmental league, NFL Europa provided a training ground for some of the NFL's top players, including quarterback Kurt Warner, kicker Adam Vinatieri and quarterback Jake Delhomme.
And, Anderson hopes, Adam Anderson.
Still, the folding of the league means Anderson will have at least one claim to fame. He was a member of the final World Bowl championship team.
"Maybe that means my ring will be extra big."

NFL punters to teach the game to kids at camp

Published: July 1, 2008

FORMER ALL-AMERICAN Ryan Dutton is ready for the third installment of his football camp on the shimmering FieldTurf at Sonora High School's Dunlavy Field.

By ALLAN MANDELLThe Union Democrat

"This is a great football community," says Ryan Dutton. "These kids here love football and they want to be out on that field someday, whether playing for Summerville High School or Sonora High."Dutton, 29, a two-sport letterman at Minnesota State in Mankato (class of 2002), puts a high premium on proper instruction."I had great coaches growing up and good values instilled in me, so now I want to pass this on to kids."
The third annual Ryan Dutton's "Stars of Tomorrow Football Camp" will run July 10, 11 and 12 at Sonora High's Dunlavy Field."The first day of the camp, we'll work on the fundamentals: Correct positioning, footwork, running mechanics. The second day we'll get into gadgets — letting the kids have some fun while learning along with offensive and defensive skill work. We'll then break down into their specific positions."
The third day, what Dutton calls "our fun day," is set up to resemble a mock National Football League combine camp.
"This day will be what the college all-stars go through when the NFL is looking at them. We'll have a big obstacle course and we'll take what we've learned over the first two-and-a-half days and let the kids have fun with their buddies and compete a little bit."
Assisting Dutton in running the camp is Adam Anderson, a former punter with the Detroit Lions, the Atlanta Falcons and the Hamburg Sea Devils of NFL Europe.
Anderson, 27, now an assistant pastor in Chicago, said, "More than anything, you always want to help kids get to the next level. When you've been to the top, you want to send the elevator back down. Ryan feels the same. We want to give kids what football has given us."
"Adam has such a wide range of knowledge of the game," said Dutton. "He has a lot of different skills."Anderson was an all-state linebacker at Chesaning High School in Michigan. At Western Michigan University, Anderson earned all-Mid American Conference honors as a punter.
"For kickers and punters there's a bad stereotype," said Anderson. "People don't always look at us as football players. But the majority of guys that make it to the NFL are real athletes."
Dutton was an all-conference quarterback as well as all-American punter in college. He made the Cleveland Browns as a punter in 2004.
In 2005, he signed with the Seattle Seahawks, who eventually placed Dutton on their NFL Europe team — the Amsterdam Admirals. As well as punting for Amsterdam while it won the league championship, Dutton served as backup quarterback.
Dutton's goal of becoming a starting punter with an American NFL team was hampered after suffering a stress fracture in his right tibia.
He did make the Oakland Raiders' practice squad at the end of 2005 and then signed with the Green Bay Packers in 2006.
For Dutton, a three-sport all-state athlete at Oshkosh West High in Wisconsin, a contract with the Packers was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.
Even after being cut by the Packers, Dutton still persisted onward and went to camp in 2006 and 2007 with both the Raiders and San Fransisco 49ers.
"I think the parents around here appreciate that someone with my experience is willing to teach the kids about football," said Dutton. "That's one of the reasons I invite the parents to come and watch our camp. I didn't grow up in a huge town and I want the kids at our camp to know you don't have to go to a big school in a big city to have big dreams and aspirations."
Said Anderson, "Ryan is very detailed, very focused on the mental aspects of the game. You can be the most talented kid in the world, but if you don't have the focus, the mental preparations, you can fall through the cracks. This is where I think Ryan excels as a teacher."
In looking at the roster of kids who are already signed up for this months' camp, Dutton said, "I'm recognizing the names from the last two years and we're getting a lot of parents saying, ‘My kid really enjoyed it before and wants to do it again this year.' "
Dutton smiles.
"To me, that's what it's all about."

* PRO COLLEGE FOOTBALL DREAM TEAM

2009 DuttonFootball Sonora Camp

July 23-25 @ Sonora High School

It's that time of year once again, and DuttonFootball is coming back to Sonora for it's 4th Annual "Stars of Tomorrow" youth football camp for all kids ages 7-15 that would love three days of learning, motivation, and fun that will take their love of the great game of football to another level!!


Ryan Dutton is excited to once again have the opportunity to teach the youth of Tuolumne County about the great game of football. The support and attendance has been tremendous during the first three years of hosting the camps. Parents and kids come so excited and motivated to become better athletes and take advice from positive role models.


Our website, http://www.duttonfootball.com/ is under some minor construction and will hopefully be back to updated status soon. It is still available to check out and see what we are about, but the site is set on it's 2007 settings, and that's not where we are at!!!!

2006 Oshkosh West High School Hall of Fame Induction

Ryan Dutton
Inducted 2006

FOOTBALL
Letter Winner 1993, 1994, 1995
All Conference 1st Team Quarterback 1994, 1995
All Conference 1st Team Punter 1995
Most Valuable Player 1995
1st Team All Area Quarterback and Punter 1995
All State Punter 1995
All State Quarterback 1995
Street & Smith Top Recruit (Midwest QB)

BASKETBALL
Letter Winner 1994, 1995, 1996
2nd Team All-Conference 1995
1st Team All-Conference 1996
Most Valuable Player 1995, 1996
Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Division 1 All-Star Game Selection 1996
McDonalds All American Basketball Selection 1996
Career Scoring Leader after Senior Year
Wisconsin All-State Basketball Team selection 1996
Street & Smith All-American


BASEBALL
Letter Winner 1994, 1995, 1996
Honorable Mention All Conference 1994
First Team All Conference 1995, 1996
Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association All Star Game 1996
1996 Team MVP, Team Captain
David Tyriver Scholarship Winner 1996
Top 100 Midwest baseball recruit

Received scholarship to play football and baseball at Minnesota State University - Mankato

FOOTBALL
Starter at Quarterback and punter
Letter Winner 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
First Team All-Conference Punter 2000
2nd Team All-American Punter 2000
Played in the Division II All Star Game.
Holds numerous school passing and punting records.
Listed on NFL draft "Steals" board

BASEBALL
Letter Winner 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
Played first base, third base, & pitcher
1st Team All Conference - 1B 2001
1st Team All Conference - P 2001
North Central Conference Player of the Year 2001
Fifth in Career Batting Average with a .455 Average
All-Midwest Region 1st Team selection 2001

NFL SIGNINGS
Cleveland Browns 2004
Seattle Seahawks 2005
Amsterdam Admirals 2005
Green Bay Packers 2006

2005 World Bowl Champions!

Party Time! Admirals win the NFL Europe title
By Hugo Guzman Monday, June 13, 2005 ( 0 )

Sign Up and be the first to comment on this article!The Amsterdam Admirals have won their first NFL Europe Title. They defeated the Berlin Thunder 27-21 in a barn burner of a championship. They game ended when the Admirals foiled the potential game-winning drive in the waning seconds of the contest.The Amsterdam Admirals jumped out to a lopsided early lead riding on the arm of starting quarterback Kurt Kittner. Voted MVP of the game, Kittner completed 15 of 28 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns. Kittner helped his team open up a 24-7 lead in the 3rd quarter despite the fact their league-leading rushing attack, led by Jarred Payton (son of Walter Payton), was stifled for most of the night.The game then turned in the Berlin Thunder's favor. The team, led by quarterback Dave Ragone, fought their way back into the contest. Ragone finished up with 328 yards and three touchdowns.The final two minutes of the game where as classic as they come. Up by only 6 points Amsterdam was forced to punt with 1:56 on the clock. Punter Ryan Dutton managed to get the ball to die at the Berlin 6-yard line, forcing Ragone to drive 94 yards in order to put his team in a position to win the game. The final drive began with Ragone completing passes of 7 yards to Little John Flowers, 17 yards to Michael Jennings, and 6 yards to Terrence Stubbs before the clocked ticked down to leave them with one minute remaining. He then got a huge play as he connected with Stubbs again for a 24-yard gain that took them down to the Amsterdam 28-yard line with 31 seconds on the clock. The Thunder moved closer with 12-yard hookup between Ragone and Robert Redd that got them down to the 16, but a sack by Admirals' defensive tackle Norman Heuer followed by a 5-yard false start penalty knocked them back to the 22. On third down defensive end Omari Hand tipped Ragone's pass so that it fell harmlessly to the ground, leaving the Berlin Thunder with one last play to win the game. Ragone looked for his former high school teammate Redd in the endzone but safety Norman LeJeune jumped up to knock the pass away. The comeback was denied and the Amsterdam Admirals were the champions. Now it's party time for the champions who are conveniently situated in one the biggest party cities in the world!

Ryan Dutton was born in Oshkosh, WI and attended Oshkosh West High School. His love for football began at local NFL Punt, Pass, & Kick competitions. Ryan won 3 Wisconsin State Titles in PP&K. He was an All-State performer in baseball, football, and basketball at Oshkosh West. During his career, Ryan broke 32 school records for the Wildcats. A very versatile athlete, Ryan was a P/1B in baseball and QB/Punter in football at Minnesota State. He was a perennial All-American in football, and was named the NCC Conference MVP in baseball his senior year. He still holds career marks for passing and punting at MSU. Ryan has worked his way to the NFL, playing for the Cleveland Browns in 2004. In 2005, he was signed by the Seattle Seahawks. They sent him to NFL Europe where he led the league in punting, and helped the Amsterdam Admirals win World Bowl XXIII. An injury set him back in training camp, but he made his way home and signed on with the Green Bay Packers for the 2006 season. In 2007, Ryan was part of the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders, being signed to the practice squads to practice and workout with the team in order to help prepare their punt returners for upcoming games against left-footed punters. Following his career in the NFL, Ryan has gotten into the teaching and coaching world, currently teaching at Tioga High School in Groveland, CA, along with coaching the varsity baseball and basketball teams. Ryan is excited about bringing his knowledge and enthusiasm to enhance your camp experience and football career!

P Anderson getting his kicks for Hamburg

by Chris Pika, AtlantaFalcons.com

As Hamburg battles for one of two spots in NFL Europa's World Bowl XV, P Adam Anderson has helped the Sea Devils' defense as he has pinned opposing offenses deep in their own territory in key situations.
Anderson has 22 punts for 904 yards (41.1 gross yards per punt average) with a net punting average of 36.4. He has placed six of his 22 punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line and has a long kick of 56 yards.
He is fourth in NFL Europa in gross punting average, has the least punts returned (seven) by any kicker in the league and seven other punts have been fair caught by opposing return men.
Last week in the Sea Devils' 41-31 loss at Amsterdam, Anderson had season highs in gross (48.3) and net (45.0) averages as he boomed four punts for 193 total yards, including a 53-yarder, with one punt inside the 20-yard line and three fair catches.
Anderson was signed by the Falcons on February 7 after he spent two training camps with Detroit in 2005 and 2006 out of Western Michigan. This is his second tour of duty with the Sea Devils as he led the league with 50 punts for 2,045 yards and was third in gross punting average (40.9) in 2006.
The familiarity of playing in the same city for the second consecutive season helps Anderson with focusing on football, but also to appreciate the culture that playing in Europe affords him.
"I've been able to get a pretty a good idea of the public transportation system in Hamburg," he said. "Once you get a decent grasp of that -- which is completely different from the States obviously, because everything works by train -- you pretty much can do whatever you want on your days off occupying yourself by seeing the city of Hamburg."
Anderson hopes that the consistency he has shown in Hamburg will carry over to the next phase of his NFL career.
"The problem with me not sticking with a team thus far has been consistency, so it's been tweaking little things and figuring out what it is exactly that coaches want to see out of me," Anderson said. "If a coach wants me to improve in a certain area, I want to get from them where they want me to improve."
Part of that consistency comes from working on his basic techniques.
"When you narrow it down and take a look at it and focus on it, it gives me details on my drop and my body position before and after the punt," he said. "I would say that the majority of it is that I'm working on being composed."
Each punt in a game situation gives Anderson experience that he would not have if he was just working out on his own or in offseason team workouts.
"It's one thing to get out on my own or to be in minicamps, but when you've got actual game reps and the reps are with a game on the line, it's different in the sense that every week I'm not fighting for my position," he said. "In a sense, it's like a college atmosphere where I know I'm the guy and if I have a bad game I know that I won't be released. There isn't that crazy pressure that sometimes comes along with the NFL, especially when you're trying to establish yourself. So that in itself, allows you to ease back a little bit and just do what you do over here as opposed to being in the States."
Anderson's goal, like most players in NFL Europa whose teams have sent them to work on their development, is to return and make the NFL roster in September.
"There's also the side of being here and getting actual reps," he said. "It's not me at home, kicking with a friend, and it's not being in a situation in the preseason hoping to get a couple of reps. With the commitment that Atlanta has put into me and the money it takes for me to be here, I'm taking this as seriously as possible with the aspiration that I'm going to be an Atlanta Falcon in the fall."