Giants counting on returns
R.W. McQuarters stared into the night sky, and stepped awkwardly under the punt as the wind played games with the ball. And when it ricocheted off his shoulder, there was a collective gasp.
He never flinched.
McQuarters calmly reached out, gathered in the ball and set the New York Giants up for a game-tying drive in the fourth quarter against the Carolina Panthers a week ago.
"The first thing you think, is, 'Oh, no,' and then you just try and get it,"
he said. "It was hanging and it moved on me, and I think I took my eye off it at the last minute. That's a time you need to remain calm, if anything, don't panic. It was just like, 'Get the ball.' "
It's all in good fun.
There is never a shortage of volunteers to return punts and kicks, and the Giants have been forced to utilize a committee this season.
"You get a huge adrenaline rush when there's 10 guys running down after you all looking to knock your head off,"
said Domenik Hixon, who returned three kicks for 180 yards earlier this season in Arizona. "I think it's exciting."
At this point, McQuarters is running back punts while Ahmad Bradshaw is handling kicks. They both have absorbed some memorable hits. McQuarters is averaging 7.7 yards on punt returns. Bradshaw is averaging 20.6 yards on kick returns.
"When you look at the kickoff return aspect of it, I can't tell you that I have been pleased with that, with the exception of a few games, the majority of the year,"
Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "I think we were battling, we have switched some personnel around, and we are trying to improve that particular area. I thought that Ahmad Bradshaw ran hard (against the Panthers) and gave the people involved in the scheme an opportunity to be excited about a guy that will really lay it up in there and so I think there was something to be gained ... with regard to that."
"We have had different people back on the punt return aspect of it. For the last couple of weeks R.W. has been back there, and with the exception of that one muff, he has certainly always been a guy we rely on heavily because of the skill that he has and the veteran experience that he has in those types of weather games. Ball security is No. 1, and after that, anything else is a plus."
The game switches to fast forward whenever foot meets ball.
"You have to be extremely fast with your thoughts,"
said Hixon, who stopped returning punts when he became a starting wide receiver. "You don't have any time for second-guessing. You have to get the ball and go. If you hesitate, that's when the big collisions come."
And the initial thought is universal.
"First and foremost, you want to catch the ball,"
McQuarters said. "You want to see the rotation of the ball, how high it is, play the wind. That's what you do first. You'll take a peek at the gunners, initially, after you see the ball off the foot. Then it's just catching the ball."
A quick distraction can result in embarrassment.
"It's happened to every returner,"
Hixon said. "You just have to keep your composure and recover the ball."
There is always potential for the kind of big play that inspires the home crowd to jump up and cheer. Once the ball is cradled away, the fun begins.
"I don't think there's any hesitation,"
McQuarters said. "It's a matter of where you want to go, trying to find a hole, trying to read a block. Some guys get caught up on deciding whether they want to return it or fair catch it, so there might be a little hesitation there."
There's not usually as much room to maneuver on punt returns, so the element of danger is always present.
And there's nothing like the feeling of breaking into the clear.
"We've got a really good punt return team and kick return team, so you trust in the guys in front of you that they will get their jobs done,"
Hixon said.
"And if you get your job done, something will happen."
