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."
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."
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