National Football League

Redskins look to Australia for a punter

Published Aug. 24, 2011 5:34 a.m. ET

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Down Under, Sav Rocca was in the middle of the action.

You might not understand his stats, but he had a load of them: 748 ''goals,'' 1,871 ''kicks,'' 1,318 ''marks,'' 2,360 ''disposals,'' 411 ''behinds,'' 219 ''tackles'' - all in 257 games over 15 seasons with the Collingwood Magpies and the North Melbourne Kangaroos of the Australian Football League.

Now he is in the NFL as the punter for the Washington Redskins, and he spends most of the game just standing on the sideline.

''That was probably one of the biggest adjustments that I had to make,'' Rocca said. ''Apart from the terminology and learning the new rules and sport, the other adjustment was you could have a period of over an hour without kicking in a game. You have to be ready to go out, and you might be ready and you're not required to go out. It's one of those things that I really had to get used to.''

The other big adjustment? Not being a star. But that's not too bad.

''I was used to being one of the more well-known and bigger players in Australia, and you come here and it's not like that,'' he said. ''I think I prefer it, not being quite so well-known.''

OK, there were other adjustments when Rocca became part of the Australian wave of punters migrating to the NFL.

The ball is more pointy and less soft. Helmets and pads are required. He had to learn how to be a holder, a near-mandatory perquisite for a punter these days.

The pay is much better, enough for Rocca to bring his wife and three sons to the United States for a new life after he retired from the AFL. He became the oldest rookie in NFL history when he signed at the age of 33 with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Rocca was middle-of-the-pack with the Eagles, averaging 42.9 yards with a 37.6 net to rank 19th and 15th, respectively, among all NFL punters over his four seasons. He became a free agent at the end of last year and had to go back to Australia during the lockout - because his work visa isn't valid unless he has a job in the U.S.

The Redskins signed Rocca once the lockout was over, and he missed the start of training camp while awaiting a new visa. He said it usually takes two to three weeks to clear all the red tape, but the NFL helped expedite the process. He missed only two days after veteran free agents became eligible to practice.

The Redskins could care less about the late arrival - as long as he sticks around. And they'll gladly take the run-of-the-mill numbers he had with the Eagles.

Why? Because Washington is the worst punting team of the millennium. Last in overall average (40.9) since 2000. Last in net average (34.5) since 2002.

The Redskins have used 14 punters in regular season games since 1999 - not counting placekickers called into emergency duty because of injuries. They've gone through seven punters over the past four years, including three (Hunter Smith, Sam Paulescu and Josh Bidwell) last season.

''I don't like that turning over guys like that,'' special teams coach Danny Smith said. ''I don't have a problem with young guys. I don't have a problem with old guys. I just want it consistent, and we haven't been about to do that. Hopefully we've solidified that with this guy.''

Rocca's hang time is already getting a thumbs-up from his fellow special teams players.

''He's putting the thing up the air, like, 4.5 (seconds),'' linebacker Lorenzo Alexander said. ''Last year we were covering punts that were, like, 3.9. He had a 5.0 one day. I'm glad we have him. It's going to make it a lot easier to get down there and make a lot of good tackles.''

Rocca said one of his biggest challenges is maintaining his technique. The drop must be perfect. He can't overstride. It's a more exact motion than the one he practiced in the AFL, where he would kick on the run while dodging defenders.

But Smith says it's that type of experience that helps the Aussie punters do so well in the NFL. Darren Bennett helped pave the way playing for San Diego and Minnesota from 1995-2005, and now there's Mat McBriar (Dallas) and Ben Graham (Arizona).

''They've been in the heat of battle,'' Smith said. ''They've had to catch, run, throw, as opposed to just being in our American colleges and sitting back there punting. They're good with their hands; they're good with their feet.''

Rocca also isn't afraid to make a tackle, but he's only had six in his NFL career. That's a walk in the park compared to his rough-and-tumble times in the AFL.

''I think the hits that you get in the NFL are a lot a bigger,'' he said, ''but I think that's because you've got a helmet and pads on. If you take the helmet and pads off, then you're not going to lead with your head. If you made both sides even with what they're wearing, it becomes an even battle.''

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Joseph White can be reached at http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP

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