Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

I was checking out a solid and somewhat overlooked DB Kermit Alexander of mainly 49er and Ram fame from 1963-1973. Retired with 43 interceptions. Made 1 Pro Bowl. He had some good seasons returning kickoffs and although his longest was around ~50 yards and didn't get a TD, he had a decent average. Returned 1 fumble, 2 punts and 3 interceptions for TDs. Led the league in fumble recoveries 2 years.

1970 First year with the Rams returned 7 punts for 38 yards with a long of 49. Which of course caught my eye. 10-26-1970 A 13-3 Monday Night loss to the Vikings. No PBP in the PFRA archives to that game. No long listed in Pro football Reference but 2 returns for 37 yards.

So some questions including how to account for the yardage
A mistake or he fumbled a return that was recovered 12 yards behind him?
Can it be a muff that glanced off his pads and went back? If so why credit the lost yards to the returner when he didn't have possession?
How do you account for the yards and does any player get them?

Same type of question if a RB fumbles the ball at midfield and it gets recovered for the first time 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage, does that count as -10 rushing yards for the ball carrier or is the rushing yardage based on where he was when he lost possession?

if a punt is muffed, say it glances off his pads, and the ball travels past the returner, that additional yardage is added to the punt yardage until the punt is picked up or downed or it goes out of bounds. It is almost as if the punt isn't touched from the standpoint that it continues to accrue yardage, only that the kicking team can recover it.

Willie Ellison partly blocked the punt and Alexander picked it up at the Ram 49, going 49 yards until he was caught at the Viking 2.

BD Sullivan wrote:Willie Ellison partly blocked the punt and Alexander picked it up at the Ram 49, going 49 yards until he was caught at the Viking 2.

Thanks. So how do you think he ended up with 37 for the game?