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All that long and lonely work paid off for Mitch Berger on Monday when he signed as the new punter for the Denver Broncos.
"I've been training for this since April, thinking I'd be able to get a job," said the North Delta product with the Super Bowl ring. "I was starting to give up hope a little bit.
"Basically, I felt I had four or five weeks left, then I'd have to let it go."
Berger, who was an injury replacement with the champion Pittsburgh Steelers last season, is a two-time Pro Bowler who played two seasons at the University of Colorado in Boulder, near Denver.
He replaces Brett Kern, who didn't impress the 6-0 Broncos with his scatter-gun directional kicking, his inability to consistently punt the ball inside the 20 without putting it into the end zone and his preference for kicking long line drives that let opponents make big returns.
With Denver's mile-high thin air, Berger thinks he might have to make an adjustment when he's trying to drop the ball inside the 20, but otherwise he doesn't think it'll be that much different from kicking in New Orleans' Superdome, sleety Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, the dry desert air in Arizona or the other six fields he has called home over a 16-year NFL career.
"My experience is, if you hit a good ball it's a good ball everywhere," said Berger, 37. "If you hit a bad ball, that ball's going to be bad everywhere."
Berger, who is also an experienced holder on field-goals and converts, faces his first action when the Broncos visit Baltimore on Sunday.
Then, Pittsburgh visits for a Monday-night game.
[url="http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/Berger+lands+with+Denver/2149963/story.html"]http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/B ... story.html[/url]
"I've been training for this since April, thinking I'd be able to get a job," said the North Delta product with the Super Bowl ring. "I was starting to give up hope a little bit.
"Basically, I felt I had four or five weeks left, then I'd have to let it go."
Berger, who was an injury replacement with the champion Pittsburgh Steelers last season, is a two-time Pro Bowler who played two seasons at the University of Colorado in Boulder, near Denver.
He replaces Brett Kern, who didn't impress the 6-0 Broncos with his scatter-gun directional kicking, his inability to consistently punt the ball inside the 20 without putting it into the end zone and his preference for kicking long line drives that let opponents make big returns.
With Denver's mile-high thin air, Berger thinks he might have to make an adjustment when he's trying to drop the ball inside the 20, but otherwise he doesn't think it'll be that much different from kicking in New Orleans' Superdome, sleety Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, the dry desert air in Arizona or the other six fields he has called home over a 16-year NFL career.
"My experience is, if you hit a good ball it's a good ball everywhere," said Berger, 37. "If you hit a bad ball, that ball's going to be bad everywhere."
Berger, who is also an experienced holder on field-goals and converts, faces his first action when the Broncos visit Baltimore on Sunday.
Then, Pittsburgh visits for a Monday-night game.
[url="http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/Berger+lands+with+Denver/2149963/story.html"]http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/B ... story.html[/url]
... sorry but I don't see it. 
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