It's not that rookie Punter Daniel Sepulveda had a terrible year. He was merely ok, and for a 4th round draft choice, that's got to be labeled a disappointment. Sepulveda finished the year with a 42.4 yards per punt average, good for only the 21st best mark in the NFL. When you look at net average however, Sepulveda fared much better, finishing the year with the 11th best mark at 37.9 yards.
I will say that Sepulveda did a solid job placing his punts inside the 20 when asked to. His 28 punts inside the 20 were 8th best in the league, and he only had two fly into the endzone for touchbacks.
However, Sepulveda failed to deliver in several critical situations this year. By no means is he solely responsible for the New York Jets loss, when his low, poor hang-time punt in overtime only traveled 39 yards and was returned 33 yards. Nor should he bare the brunt of the blame for the loss against Jacksonville last Saturday, when his final punt netted only 24 yards, setting up Jacksonville's go-ahead FG with just a few dozen seconds remaining. But, he still had a hand in those Ls. When we needed him to deliver with a booming 55 yarder the most, he wasn't able to deliver.
It's not like punting in the NFL is something that requires years of development. I'm a bit disappointed by Sepulveda's rookie campaign for that reason. When the organiztion used a 4th round choice on Sepulveda, we expected to be wowed and impressed immediately. At times we were, but at others, we were left no choice but to think that he was merely a run of the mill punter.
I do think Sepulveda will have a great career in Pittsburgh, but the results didn't come through consistently in his first year as a pro. He'll have many more chances to prove himself in a Steelers uniform, but for now, he was the #4 disappointment of 2007 for me.