Herman Weaver Explained

Herman Weaver
Number:	18
Position:	Punter
Birth Date:	November 17, 1948
Birth Place:	Villa Rica, Georgia, U.S.
Height Ft:	6
Weight Lb:	210
Height In:	4
High School:	Villa Rica (GA)
College:	Tennessee
Draftyear:	1970
Draftround:	9
Draftpick:	227
Pastteams:	Detroit Lions Seattle Seahawks
Statlabel1:	Punts
Statvalue1:	693
Statlabel2:	Punt yards
Statvalue2:	27,897
Statlabel3:	Longest punt
Statvalue3:	69
Pfr:	WeavHe20

William Herman Weaver (born November 17, 1948), nicknamed "Thunderfoot", is a former American football punter. He played 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) from 1970 to 1980. He spent his first seven years punting for the Detroit Lions and the last four years with the Seattle Seahawks. During his career, Weaver punted 693 times for 27,897 total yards. In 1975, Weaver was named the NFC Punter of the Year and in 1988 The Sporting News called him “One of the Top 20 Punters of all Time”. Weaver shares the all-time NFL record for having the most punts blocked in a career with 14.^[1]

Weaver played college football for the University of Tennessee Volunteers. While at Tennessee, he had a punt of 71 yards. He also had the best hang-time ever of 5.7 seconds.

"Thunderfoot"

The Detroit Lions were preparing for their game on Monday Night Football, Weaver stepped back to punt as the special teams took the field. Howard Cosell was watching practice and at the highest point of the ball flight, a blast of thunder let out of the sky. The next night on Monday Night Football, Cosell referred to Weaver as "Thunderfoot".

Career statistics

Regular season

	Led the league
	Denotes NFL record

|-| style="text-align:center;"| 1970| style="text-align:center;"| Detroit | 14 || 62 ||2,483 || 40.0 || || 65 || 1|-| style="text-align:center;"| 1971| style="text-align:center;"| Detroit| 13 || 42 ||1,752 || 41.7 || || 63 || style="background:#cfecec;"|2 |-| style="text-align:center;"| 1972| style="text-align:center;"| Detroit| 14 || 43 || 1,734 || 40.3 || || 55 || 0|-| style="text-align:center;"| 1973| style="text-align:center;"| Detroit| 14 || 54 || 2,333 || 43.2 || || 66 || 1|-| style="text-align:center;"| 1974| style="text-align:center;"| Detroit| 14 || 72 || 2,772 || 38.5 || || 61 || style="background:#cfecec;"|2 |-| style="text-align:center;"| 1975 | style="text-align:center;"| Detroit| 14 || 80 || 3,361 || 42.0 || || 61 || 1|-| style="text-align:center;"| 1976| style="text-align:center;"| Detroit| 14 || 83 || 3,280 || 39.5 || || 69 || 1|-| style="text-align:center;"| 1977| style="text-align:center;"| Seattle| 13 || 58 || 2,293 || 39.5 || || 59 || 1|-| style="text-align:center;"| 1978| style="text-align:center;"| Seattle| 16 || 66 || 2,440 || 37.0 || || 59 || 0|-| style="text-align:center;"| 1979| style="text-align:center;"| Seattle| 16 || 66 || 2,651 || 40.2 || || 60 || style="background:#cfecec;"|3 |-| style="text-align:center;"| 1980| style="text-align:center;"| Seattle| 16 || 67 || 2,798 || 41.8 || || 69 || style="background:#cfecec;"|2 |-|- class="sortbottom" style="background:#eee;"|style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career| 158 || 693 || 27,897 || 40.3 || || 69 || style="background:#e0cef2;"|14|}

Honors

NFC Punter of the Year, 1975
"One of the top 20 punters of all time," Sporting News, 1988

Notes and References

Web site: Herman Weaver Stats.