The last time a rookie led the Green Bay Packers in punt-return average, Brett Favre and Mike Holmgren were in their first season together, Lambeau Field held 59,543 fans and the price of gas was $1.13 a gallon.
It was 19 years ago that brassy first-round pick Terrell Buckley was handed the job and told to run with it, which he did - until he began fumbling too much and was eventually replaced. Buckley finished the year with a 10.0-yard average, making him just one of six Packers since 1988 to average double figures.
For most of the last 20 years - Desmond Howard in 1996 being the main exception - the Packers have been searching for someone to be their answer on returns. Since coach Mike McCarthy took over in 2006, the only flicker of hope was the ultra-talented Will Blackmon, whose career never took off because of injury.
After years of fiddling around with the position, general manager Ted Thompson finally made a bold move and drafted Kentucky's Randall Cobb, a multitalented player with the same kind of return credentials as Blackmon. Thompson was so serious about it that he spent a second-round pick to nab Cobb, who doubles as a receiver and has college experience at running back and quarterback.
As good as the Packers were in '96, it took Howard's record-setting performance to push them over the top, and with the Packers facing the daunting task of defending their Super Bowl championship, they'd love Cobb to do the same.
"My expectations are high, No. 1 for our football team," special teams coach Shawn Slocum said. "I think we are going to play at a high level. I think our special teams units are going to do the same thing.
"We'll find out (about Cobb). He hasn't played much, but I have confidence in the direction we're going and I expect us to go forward."
In three years at Kentucky, Cobb averaged 9.8 yards per punt return and 24.6 per kickoff return, all while starting as a wide receiver and playing other positions. He set the Southeastern Conference record for all-purpose yards with 2,396 last season.
The Packers haven't seen a lot of the 5-foot-10, 192-pound Cobb because he suffered two bruised knees on a kickoff return early in the second preseason game and was out until this week. But what they did see led them to believe he can take the return game to places it hasn't been under McCarthy.
"Potentially, I think he can be at least as impactful as Will Blackmon was," said safety Charlie Peprah, a special teams regular. "He's got a lot of explosiveness and suddenness and he's tough. He runs the ball up in there on kickoff returns and same on punt returns. We'll see how it turns out."
You won't find too many people gushing about Cobb just yet. Anyone who has been around the NFL for more than a cup of coffee will tell you there are graveyards of potential all around the league, and Cobb still must prove he's got more than that.
If he does have an impact, punt returns is probably where it will be. In McCarthy's six years, the Packers ranked fifth in 2008 and seventh in '07 in punt returns, but were otherwise 22nd or worse. Blackmon was the primary reason for the high rankings, but injuries too often kept him out of the lineup.
What makes Cobb an interesting prospect is that he's a legitimate wide receiver with the requisite hands to play in the NFL. When he catches the ball it's effortless and when it's time to get going, he never hesitates.
"I think he reads the ball off the punter's foot well," Slocum said. "I think he squares up on the ball well. Once he catches it, he gets off the spot well. And I think he's a good runner."
Last year, starting cornerback Tramon Williams did a yeoman's job on punt returns, averaging 8.0 yards, which ranked 19th. He muffed four punts, none of which went to the opposition, and did not fumble.
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