Mason's Mailbag: A look at the Broncos' special teams

[Miles]

Why did the Broncos sign a kicker to compete with Brandon McManus, but did not add a punter to push Colby Wadman?


-- Bill Davis


First of all, just because there isn't another punter doesn't mean that Wadman is not in a competitive situation. Special Teams Coordinator Tom McMahon noted at minicamp that he is "watching every single guy" who is in camp with any team, noting that Wadman's competition is among the punters with other clubs who don't make it.


Wadman is also younger than McManus and is at the point where extra repetitions can help his development. When Wadman worked during OTAs, placement punting was a priority. McMahon placed a particular emphasis on punts down the right side of the field.


"I challenged him with his right ball -- we call it a 'rip,' punting to his right," McMahon said. "That's hard for a righty, because as you guys know, in baseball, most righties pull to left field. So you'll see a lot of righties hit the ball down the middle when they miss, and his misses right now are few and far between, whereas last year, he pulled the ball a lot to the other field, and it would really hurt us in terms of our coverage."