Age: 26
4th
season in pro football, 1st with Saints
College: Oregon
Height: 6’0” Weight: 190
Prelude:
A quarterback
in college, Blanchard had problems with an injured knee as a senior and split
time with sophomore Dan Fouts, who would go on to a Hall of Fame career as a
pro. He was chosen by the New York Giants in the 12th round of the
1971 NFL draft and caught on as the punter. In three years with the Giants,
Jennings punted 169 times for a 41.6-yard average, with a high of 42.7 in 1972.
He was beaten out by Dave Jennings in the 1974 preseason, but when the Saints
cut P Donnie Gibbs following the first game, Blanchard took his place.
1974 Season Summary
Appeared in 13
of 14 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Punting
Punts – 88 [4]
Most punts,
game – 10 at Atlanta 10/20
Yards – 3704
[2]
Average – 42.1
[2, 1st in NFC]
Best average,
game – 47.5 (on 6 punts) vs. LA Rams 11/17
Punts blocked
– 0
Longest punt
– 71 yards
Saints went 5-9
to finish third in the NFC West.
Aftermath:
Blanchard
spent another four seasons with the Saints and averaged 41.3 yards on 447
punts. He again led the NFC with a 42.4-yard average in 1977 and proved adept
at dropping punts inside the 20. The arrival of kicker Russell Erxleben, a
first-round draft choice in 1979, caused the Saints to trade Blanchard to the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he remained for the last three years of his career.
An injury finished his ’81 season in the third week and he was released
afterward. Overall, he averaged 41.3 yards on 819 punts for his career. Blanchard
returned to his hometown of Grants Pass, Oregon and coached high school
football for 18 years, as well as softball.
--
Highlighted Years features players who were first-team
All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the following
statistical categories:
Rushing:
Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Passing:
Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating
Receiving:
Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Scoring: TDs,
Points, Field Goals (min. 5)
All-Purpose:
Total Yards
Defense:
Interceptions, Sacks
Kickoff
Returns: Average
Punt Returns:
Average
Punting:
Average
*Leagues
include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL
(1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)
**NFC/AFC
since 1970
