Guest Nanks Report post Posted June 20, 2003 Question to all the San Diego/NFL in general fans about the place. Is Darren Bennett still in the game?? We only get occasional updates on him back here, just about stuff like when he made a tackle and he kicked a 65 metre drop punt and made the All-American team or something like that. Having formerly played for the AFL team I support I'm naturally curious about how he's going over there. Any chance of an update?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Agent_Bond34 0 Report post Posted June 20, 2003 I looked at the Chargers team roster over at http://www.chargers.com and they still have him on there. Whether or not that's the roster as of right now, I don't know. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest El Satanico Report post Posted June 20, 2003 I believe he's still playing, but probably not much longer as he's in his 40's. In case you were wondering he also happens to be one of the best current punters. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest razazteca Report post Posted June 20, 2003 Kickers and Punters play forever, he will probably be there until the team finds someone better. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Smell the ratings!!! Report post Posted June 20, 2003 I love when Bennett tackles someone and they get up with this look of shock on this face that they just got tackled by a punter, hilarious. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest El Satanico Report post Posted June 20, 2003 Kickers and Punters play forever, he will probably be there until the team finds someone better. eh...Most punters seem to retire around the age of 42. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vern Gagne Report post Posted June 20, 2003 I didn't know he was entering his 9th season. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Agent_Bond34 0 Report post Posted June 21, 2003 I didn't know he was entering his 9th season. You weren't the only one. I was totally unaware of Bennett's age. All I know is, he's a damn good punter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Nanks Report post Posted June 21, 2003 He's actually 38. It was seen as a really funny story here when a big deal was made about him tackling someone. Tackling is a basic part of AFL that all the players are part of, there's no special tackling team or anything, every player has equal responsibility to tackle. Good to hear he's made a good name for himself over there, he worked in the gardening shop near my house in his AFL days, I met him a few times coz he was always one of my favourites, really nice guy. If most punters play til their early 40s sounds like he's got a few years left in him. Good on him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Smell the ratings!!! Report post Posted June 21, 2003 Nanks he's one of the league's best punters the last few years, the distance he gets is probably the best in the league. I knew he was old, but I didn't know he's only played 9 years. I guess he got a late start since he was in rugby originally. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest phoenixrising Report post Posted June 21, 2003 Bennett's been pretty good since he first got in the NFL. He's a good punter, but most people know him for the punishment he dishes out on unlucky return men who manage to get by the coverage team. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Nanks Report post Posted June 21, 2003 Aussie Rules, Smell the Ratings, he played Aussie Rules, there is a HUGE HUGE difference. I love that he's known for being a punter who takes out people. That's awesome. So great to hear he's at the top of his game, he really is a great bloke. EDIT: I just noticed, when I googled Darren Bennet I found an article about a kid called Mat McBriar who apparently got drafted by Denver as a punter. Awesome. I could really see a lot of AFL guys ending up punting in the AFL. We really do have an advantage on most Americans that way, coz we grow up kicking the oval shaped ball, whereas the emphasis is more on throwing it in America. AFL guys have the tackling background going for them too. I'll be interested to see how this kid gets on as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest phoenixrising Report post Posted June 21, 2003 Was McBriar an Aussie Rules player? I know he was a punter at the University of Hawaii and that he was Australian. Haven't heard anything about his hitting skills yet though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Smell the ratings!!! Report post Posted June 21, 2003 no shit? I though Aussie Rules was just an Australian rugby league. I'll be damned. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Nanks Report post Posted June 21, 2003 (edited) No, he's just Australian, never played pro Aussie Rules. He grew up playing the game however, hence the kicking skills. He was more or less actually discovered by Bennett who sent a tape of him to former Chargers coach June Jones who had been coaching at Hawaii for 3 years and got him in there, and apparently he's broken all the punting records at Hawaii. Bennett rates him as better than at least 20 of the punters in the NFL right now, I guess that's gotta count for something. I'll be really interested to hear about his progress Here Smell the Ratings, go to http://www.afl.com.au and check out the Wrap of Rnd 12 link which is just on the right. I might add that in one of the highlights the commentator calls one of the players as hitting a Rock Bottom!! I highly recommend just checking this 5 minute clip of highlights out. Just something different, showcases a little taste of the game I like to rabbit on about so much. Fast connection helps with this one too. Edited June 21, 2003 by Nanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Nanks Report post Posted June 21, 2003 (edited) Double Post - Sorry. Check out the highlights thing from the other post too. Edited June 21, 2003 by Nanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
