Bucs Film Room: Camarda A Deciding Factor In Week 9 Win

When you win by three, every play matters. When you win by three in a low-scoring affair, every play matters just that much more. And in Sunday’s 16-13 win over the Los Angeles Rams, Bucs punter Jake Camarda made every play count.

And I cannot understate how much Camarda’s play impacted the outcome of the game. When measuring by expected points added, the Bucs rookie accounted for more than five points in Week 9. For a punter to account for that much EPA is truly a historic feat. How historic?

If the non-touchback had been challenged and overturned it would have gone in as the best 6+ punt game we have on record https://t.co/aX4MSJyCY0

— Puntalytics (@ThePuntRunts) November 7, 2022

“Best 6+ punt game on record” is truly a remarkable feat. Camarda logged six punts for 357 yards against the Rams. That comes out to an average of 59.5 yards per punt! His 54.2-yard net average was the third-highest mark in NFL history. And in looking at the specifics of what he contributed when he contributed it, well, your appreciation should only grow. And you know me. I’m going to take you through it punt by punt.

Punt One — An Open Field Opportunity

Camarda’s calling card coming out of college was his ability to come up clutch in “pin-deep” opportunities. Those are situations when the punting team is near mid-field and trying to pin the receiving team as close to its own goal line as possible without creating a touchback. But many people don’t give Camarda his due when it comes to his “open field” abilities. Open field opportunities are the exact opposite. It is where the punting team is deep within its own territory and trying to flip the field position.

On Camarda’s first punt opportunity of the night, he had the opportunity to show the world (and Rams returner Brandon Powell) that he can boot with the best.

The Bucs were backed up at their own 23-yard line. A positive outcome would be 50 yards net, giving the Rams the ball at their own 27. Camarda laughed in the face of such a mortal result. The rookie’s foot made contact with the ball at the Tampa Bay 13. The ball doesn’t touch grass until it gets buried at the Rams’ 9-yard line. That’s 78 yards of flight!

Powell was completely surprised, and he had to retreat from at least the Rams’ 25. That 16 yards of retreat aided the Bucs in that Powell had trouble fielding the punt, leading to him ultimately muffing it. While he was able to recover, the muff allowed Zyon McCollum to get down field and make a play.

Camarda crushed that ball and put the Rams in a position where they had to drive 91 yards in order to put seven on the board. This punt alone added over 1.5 expected points. Yes, 1.5 expected points on a punt!

Punt Two — Going Big Again

Unfortunately for the Bucs, the Rams did score on a long touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp following Camarda’s first punt. And after a quick three-and-out by the struggling offense, Camarda was called upon again to try and flip the field with an open-field bomb from his own 33-yard line.

This time, Camarda took a much more reserved approach to his knock. You can see the ball dropped at the Rams’ 28 and took a favorable string of bounces before coming to rest at the Los Angeles 19, where it was downed by Anthony Nelson. While this one had a much shorter flight path downfield, it made up for it with incredible hang time.

When the ball initially hit the ground, McCollum was just four yards behind it, ready to pounce no matter what direction it took. Camarda’s hang time has been a calling card of sorts for him. It is, in part, one of the reasons why Camarda has such great pin-deep abilities. For the year, per Pro Football Focus, Camarda ranks fourth in the NFL in average hang time, posting an impressive 4.58 second mark.

This punt would be the least impressive one of the night for Camarda, generating -0.07 expected points.

Punt Three — First Attempt From His Wheelhouse

As I mentioned before, coming out of college, Camarda’s most impressive trait was his ability to pin opponents deep in their own territory on shorter punting opportunities. On his third attempt of the night, he was given this opportunity against the Rams.

Punting from his own 41-yard line, Camarda knocked a beauty of a punt 48 yards to the Rams’ 11, where Powell called for a fair catch. Again, note the fantastic hang time. McCollum once again is waiting in front of Powell long before the punt drops into the returner’s grasp.

If you are keeping track (and it’s okay if you aren’t, because I am) the Rams’ average starting field position following Camarda’s punts to this point was their own 13-yard line. Asking any offense to consistently drive 80+ yards is going to put them at an extreme disadvantage. The expected points added for this punt was 0.15 points, and the running total at this point is 1.59.

Punt Four — Another Boomer

No, not that boomer. We aren’t here to stoke age wars. We are here to appreciate the artform that is punting. And oh, what an artist Camarda was on this night. On his first punt of the second half, Camarda was yet again tasked with flipping the field. The Bucs offense came out of halftime and proceeded to go backward on their ensuing three plays. Camarda came on to punt from his own 24-yard line.

Now, this would be a bit of an example of “outkicking your coverage.” Camarda gets off a booming punt that traveled about 60 yards in the air (he is credited with a 53-yarder from the line of scrimmage). But Powell has an opportunity to make a return. He is able to get the corner on McCollum, cut back inside and follow a good wall while moving up field. Powell then makes holder Zach Triner miss before getting run out of bounds by Camarda himself at the Tampa Bay 35.

But wait! A penalty. Bucs linebacker J.J. Russell got held shortly after the punt was fielded. It negated almost the entirety of the return. The penalty is enforced at the Rams’ 35, but I maintain it should have been enforced at the Rams 25. This could have pushed Los Angeles back to their own 15. But instead, it is their own 25 from which they started.

Punt Five — Bombs Away

I didn’t want to preface this clip. It’s just too pretty to ruin with words. Crushed. It. Check out where the Bucs punter makes contact with the ball. That’s the Tampa Bay 5-yard line. It went out at the Rams’ 11! That’s 84 yards total flight. 84! Officially, he is credited with 74 yards on the kick. Either way you score it, the feat (pun intended) is incredible. After this punt, which added 2.46 expected points, the Rams were averaging a starting position of their own 15-yard line following a Camarda punt.

Punt Six — The One That Got Away

There’s nothing like saving your best work for last, is there? This is the punt that got away, if you will. You be the judge.

The All-22 look doesn’t quite paint the appropriate picture. Let’s get a better look from the broadcast:

This, to me, looks like green grass in between the ball and the end zone line. The Bucs decide not to challenge and ultimately, this is credited as a 66-yard punt that resulted in a touchback. The expected points added on the punt were 0.24. Even with this being a touchback that allowed the Rams to start at their own 20, Camarda and the Bucs finished their night holding the Rams to an average starting position of their own 16-yard line. Had the Bucs challenged and won, that average starting position would have been the Rams’ 13.

In a contest that featured a score differential of just three points, a punter adding five expected points is huge. For the Bucs’ rookie punter, he could not have picked a better night to have what, as of now, was a career night. It earned him a game ball and NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. It may have helped save the Bucs’ season. He also showed every trait you would want out of a franchise punter. And he may have shown that even in the fourth round, he was a steal in the draft.