Late last season, Matt Bosher began to get his legs under him. The 2011 campaign began as a season that had Falcons fans questioning why a sixth-round pick was spent on him, but behind the scenes, Bosher never let his slow start get him down. He ended the season averaging 50 yards per punt in five of the final six games. In the one game he didn't hit 50 yards, he averaged 47.8 yards.
This preseason, Bosher showed he's ready for the regular season to begin, and go better than it did last year. He's been a stand-out performer on special teams and he's quickly proven to be a valuable commodity on special teams.
Bosher was using the preseason to work on some specific aspects of his game, as many players are, but he still turned in a performance among the top punters in the league. His 20 punts averaged 42.5 yards, with a long of 60 yards.
On kickoffs his 43.8 kickoff average ranked 11th among kickers in preseason. Bosher took part in 16 kickoffs.
Where Bosher impressed the most was on punts. Beyond his impressive averages and long, he was able to demonstrate his ability to place the ball where he wanted on punts. Bosher had 11 punts placed inside the 20-yard line. That number put him in a tie for first among punters in the NFL during the preseason.
Bosher has settled into his role this year and he should continue his strong preseason performance into the regular season. If he can do that, he'll go from one of the most questioned players early last year on special teams to a potential MVP candidate in that phase of the game for Atlanta.
