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Tom Telesco and his staff brought in Ty Long this offseason because they needed a new punter. With the preponderance of kicking issues the team has experienced over the last few seasons, the front office was attracted to Long’s ability to both punt (48.3 yards per punt average on 236 punts) and kick (88.2% on 93 attempts with a long of 52).
When starting kicker Michael Badgley tweaked his groin in practice 3 days before gameday, the Chargers made the decision to put Ty Long’s versatility to the test, entrusting kickoff, punting, and place kicking duties all to the former CFL player in his first NFL game.
How did that work out for the Chargers?
P/K Ty Long named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week, a career first. Long made three extra point attempts and a 40-yard FG. Long became the first player since Olindo Mare in 1997 to make a field goal, extra point and punt in career debut. Long also averaged 49 yards a punt.
— Eric Williams (@eric_d_williams) September 11, 2019
Pretty well I’d say!
Long said that he was so nervous before the game that he almost puked multiple times. However, once the game started, he was in the zone. Long converted all 3 extra point attempts, was officially 1/1 on FGs with a 40 yarder, although the 22 yard kick he had that got negated by a penalty was also good, and had 2 punts with a 49 yard average.
It was a fantastic debut for Ty Long and the front office, coaching staff, teammates, and Long himself can now be extremely confident in his abilities to fill in.
Also need to include some props here for Tyrod Taylor who had never been a holder on kicks in a game in his career and was perfect for all 5 kicks that Long attempted.