O'Brien discussed the state of the special teams unit prior to Sunday's practice.
New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez (81) catches a pass as he works a bit after practice on the second day of training camp at the NFL football team's facility in Foxborough, Mass., Friday, July 27, 2012. FOXBOROUGH – One of the more surprising moments to come during training camp occurred during special teams drills when tight end Aaron Hernandez dropped back serve as a punt returner.
One of the initial thoughts was that Hernandez was getting work in the event of an emergency, but New England Patriots special teams coach Scott O’Brien shot down that notion Sunday when discussing the state of his unit.
“No. I think anytime you’re a ball handler, one of the hardest things to do is catch punts,” O’Brien said when asked about Hernandez. “It’s not only a great drill for any receiver as well as punt returners to focus in on trying to catch a ball that normally is tough to catch than a quarterback throwing you a ball.”
While it remains to be seen whether Hernandez will ever get on the field as a returner in a game situation, it makes sense for the Patriots to explore new ways to get the ball into his hands as often as possible.
Last season Hernandez accumulated 503 yards after the catch, placing him second among NFL tight ends behind Rob Gronkowski. His 6.4 yards after catch per reception put him second on the team behind Gronkowski (7.1), and ahead of Welker (6.0).
Hernandez hasn’t returned a punt during a game since playing at Bristol Central High School in Connecticut, but said earlier this week he is open to the idea of serving on a unit that finished 16th in the league with an average return rate of 10.2 yards per punt.
“I love having the ball in my hands and make plays,” Hernandez said. “That’s another opportunity. Hopefully I get another opportunity to be back there, but Julian Edelman does a great job.”
Working as the primary punt returner last season, Edelman returned 28 punts for 296 yards. He returned a 72-yard punt for a touchdown in the third quarter of the Patriots’ Week 11 game against the Kansas City Chiefs, a 34-3 victory.
He set a franchise record with a 94-yard return in the 2010 finale against the Miami Dolphins, making him the fourth player in team history to return multiple punts for scores, joining Troy Brown, Irving Fryar and Michael Haynes.
Like Hernandez, Edelman had no experience returning punts when he took on the role, but O’Brien felt he had good ball skills and brought him along in the role.
“There was a learning curve for him, not only catch that ball, understand what the ball was doing in the air, how it was going to come down, and worked really hard on it,” O’Brien said. “The biggest improvement for him, like all young guys, is not only learning our schemes and what our strategies are for certain situations, but field awareness. When you’re on the field, what’s happening to the coverage that you’re going to face, what do you have to do as a return, what decision do I have to make.
“It’s hard for young guys, even if they had experience coming in with us at the beginning, let alone a guy that’s never really done it.”
Hernandez looked comfortable fielding punts but there was one mishap that, much to his chagrin, caused him to call for a fair catch.
“I kind of misjudged it,” Hernandez said. “I’m not a fan of fair catches.”
That may have to change if he hopes to have a future as a return man.