DALLAS COWBOYS
As he returns from injury, how does Ryan Switzer grade his return game?
BY DREW DAVISON
ddavison@star-telegram.com SEPTEMBER 07, 2017 12:27 PM
FRISCO
Dallas Cowboys rookie Ryan Switzer knows it’s difficult to score touchdowns in the return game these days. They have become more and more scarce in the NFL.
Part of it has to do with bumping touchbacks up to the 25-yard line.
Last season, there were only seven kickoffs and 10 punts returned for touchdowns. By comparison, in 2012, there were 13 kickoffs and 17 punts returned for scores.
So how does Switzer judge his return game?
“For us, on a returnable punt, we like to say get a first down,” Switzer said. “Get the offense a first down, 10 yards. Then when it’s presented to you and you can get more, get more. That’s kind of the baseline for us – a first down.
“On kick returns, obviously you start on the 25 if you take a knee. So anywhere in that range, 25 and on is a bonus.”
Switzer is expected to bolster the Cowboys’ return game this season.
Lucky Whitehead never found the end zone in his two years as the Cowboys’ primary returner, and averaged 7.8 yards on punt returns and 23.2 yards on kickoff returns last season.
Switzer, a fourth-round pick out of North Carolina, had a standout career as a returner in college. He has the ACC record with seven career punt returns for touchdowns, averaging 10.9 yards a return in his college career.
http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/nfl/dallas-cowboys/article171767277.html
