Oakland Raiders punter Johnny Townsend is plenty thankful tha

ALAMEDA De'Anthony Thomas Jersey , Calif. (AP) — t he doesn’t have to cover Kansas City’s Tyreek Hill as a defender.Dealing with Hill on special teams is challenging enough as is, even if it is for only two or three plays a game.Hill has given opponents fits since entering the league as an unheralded fifth-round draft pick in 2016. He’s been voted to the Pro Bowl as a returner in each of his first two seasons in the league and is likely to make it three for three this year.As much as the Raiders have focused on slowing down the Chiefs‘ high-octane offense this week, trying to prevent Hill from breaking loose on special teams has been an equally big emphasis.“He’s an unbelievable athlete and he’s somebody we circle on the calendar every single year. Not only him but that team in general,” Townsend said. “We’re going to do everything we can to limit his returns and try to flip the field.”Saying it and doing it are often two different things, especially when it comes to the Raiders this season.Hill is sixth in the NFL with an 11.6-yard average this year. He had a 91-yard punt return for a touchdown in the opener against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sept. 9 that remains the longest return in the league this year.That’s a significant dip from his rookie season when Hill had a 15.2-yard average but most of that is a result of teams no longer willing to kick the ball in his direction or preferring to pin him to a side http://www.chiefslockerroom.com/authentic-eric-murray-jersey , something Townsend said the Raiders most definitely will attempt to do this week.“Just trying to shrink the field as much as we can and not give him the field to run to is going to be really important,” Townsend said. “As long as we can execute in that aspect I think we’ll be OK. It really is kind of a test for yourself as a punter, especially knowing how successful he’s been in the NFL as a return man.“I’ve been watching him for years in college. Every time I turn on an NFL game and see him play it’s just like, ‘Man that guy’s a tough guy to kick to.’ This is my first opportunity to do it so I’m excited to see how it goes.”Townsend has had mixed results during his rookie season. A fifth-round draft pick, Townsend is averaging 43.5 yards but has had three games where he failed to average more than 38 yards.Not all of the problems have been on Townsend. During last week’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens Womens Dustin Colquitt Jersey , the Raiders surrendered a 70-yard return for a touchdown to Baltimore’s Cyrus Jones, who was never touched while weaving around Oakland’s coverage unit.“We have to do a better job than we did last week,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said. “We gave them a low-hanging punt that gave (Jones) a two-way go, and that’s hard to defend. If we do that against this guy, we’ll have very little chance to win this game. This guy is really unique. Tyreek Hill Steven Nelson Jersey , he’s a unique skill set. You have to limit his opportunities every way you can, on offense and in the kicking game.” The veteran tight end’s stay with Kansas City lasted only eight days." />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - WhiteArrowhead PrideArrowhead Pride | Kansas City Chiefs Schedule, News, Roster and StatsLog In or Sign UpLog InSign UpSeriesLatest NewsFanpostsFanshotsCommunityAboutStubHubMoreAll 322 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteSeries Stagner ThingsLottery Tickets ’19Summer of SpagsDixon’s MailbagLatest News Fanposts Most recentMost activeFanshots Community Community GuidelinesContactAbout StubHub ✕Filed under:Kansas City Chiefs NewsChiefs cut tight end John PhillipsNew,52commentsThe veteran tight end’s stay with Kansas City lasted only eight days.CDTShareTweetShareShareChiefs cut tight end John PhillipsPhoto by Christian Petersen/Getty ImagesIt was a brief stay for veteran tight end John Phillips in Kansas City. Eight days after signing him http://www.chiefslockerroom.com/authentic-laurent-duvernay-tardif-jersey , the Chiefs cut Phillips on Tuesday, according to the NFL’s official transaction report. The 31-year-old Phillips bounced around the league for the past decade before getting an opportunity in Kansas City. The Chiefs also waived quarterback TJ Linta with an injury settlement earlier in the day.As Brooke Pryor of The Kansas City Star noted on Twitter, neither Phillips nor Linta were present at the team’s open media session last Thursday. OTAs are considered voluntary, but their absence was apparently a sign of things to come.The Chiefs moving on from Phillips means that they go back to five tight ends on the current roster: Travis Kelce, Blake Bell Womens Allen Bailey Jersey , Deon Yelder, David Wells and John Lovett.The Chiefs reported interest in veteran Benjamin Watson (who ultimately signed with the New England Patriots before he was suspended four games by the league) paired with briefly bringing Phillips aboard makes me think they still aren’t satisfied with the players they have at the position. I would expect additional moves to happen at tight end before training camp.The two Wednesday moves leave two vacant spots on the Chiefs’ 90-man roster. The next open OTAs media session is scheduled for Thursday.