Former Vol helping Chargers prepare for Chiefs' unique advantage ahead of Week 4 AFC West showdown
A former Vols player briefly returned to the NFL recently to help the Los Angeles Chargers prepare ahead of their Week 4 tilt with the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. According to KPRC2 NFL Reporter Aaron Wilson, the Chargers worked out former Vols P Michael Palardy last Thursday. Palardy is a salty NFL veteran […]
A former Vols player briefly returned to the NFL recently to help the Los Angeles Chargers prepare ahead of their Week 4 tilt with the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
According to KPRC2 NFL Reporter Aaron Wilson, the Chargers worked out former Vols P Michael Palardy last Thursday. Palardy is a salty NFL veteran who has played for 10 teams since his rookie season (2014). He appeared in 46 games with the Tennessee Volunteers from 2010-2013 under head coaches Derek Dooley and Butch Jones as a PK combo.
The interesting thing about this is that the Chargers don't actually have a punter problem right now, with J.K. Scott as their starter. In fact, they have one of the strongest special teams units in the NFL this season. So, why did they have Palardy in to work out for the team? The former Vols Second-Team All-SEC punter has one specific trait that Jim Harbaugh values ahead of the Week 4 game against Kansas City: He's a lefty punter, just like Chiefs punter Matt Araiza.
According to The Athletic's Daniel Popper, the Chargers have been bringing in lefty punters for weeks in preparation for facing Araiza on Sunday.
Chiefs P Matt Araiza explains the advantage of being a left punter
Why would a team go through the trouble of bringing in a left-footed punter during the practice week? Catching punts from a left-footed punter isn't the same as catching punts from a right-footed punter.
During Chiefs training camp this summer, I asked Araiza about the advantage being a lefty gives him in the NFL.
"I've punted with a lot of guys in the NFL," He said. "A lot of guys come to San Diego during the offseason to train and the one thing I think I have over everyone is how much my punts move. I've caused a ton of drops here, and I'm looking to see that on Sundays. I think that will be great. Someone muffs a punt, that is a huge game-changing play. So yeah, that definitely does go on being a lefty.
"Being a lefty, the ball rotates a different way. And so especially when the ball starts moving, you know it'll tail at the last second, and guys who aren't used to let these sometimes they're not even close to it like five yards away."
It's very Bill Belichick-esque of Jim Harbaugh to bring a lefty punter to get the Chargers some practice with the type of rotation on the ball they'll see on Sunday. It shows that they're doing everything in their power to ensure that the Chiefs don't have an advantage in any phase of the game.
A pair of Kansas City Chiefs donned Tennessee Vols gear on Wednesday against their will
A former Vol had the last laugh among his NFL teammates this week
