What was the greatest single season by a Falcons punter?

We’re winding this series down with one of the more interesting and varied positions, namely kick and punt returner, and one of the least interesting and varied, namely punter. We’ll knock punter off first.

The Falcons have had to punt a lot in team history, but they’ve rarely had truly great punters. These four seasons rose to the top.

1968 Billy Lothridge

Consider this: Lothridge led the NFL in punt yardage and yards per punt, with the next closest player (Washington’s Mike Bragg) settling in a full yard per punt behind him. He also had the NFL’s second-longest punt that year at 70 yards, behind Dallas’s Ron Widby, who somehow booted it 84 yards.

It’s hard to overstate how good Lothridge was this year in relation to his peers, and only two punters would exceed his yards per punt average in the next two seasons. He had a brief peak in Atlanta, but it was a great one.

1976 John James

This year, James had to punt a lot, 101 times to be exact. Predictably he put up the highest number of yards in the NFL, but less predictably, he was also second in the league in yards per punt and didn’t have a single one blocked. On an awful 4-10 team coached by Marion Campbell, James was (sadly) one of the few highlights.

2012 Matt Bosher

What elevates Bosher’s 2012? He was just 9th in the NFL in yards per punt that year and didn’t sniff the usage leaderboard, but it was the best yards per punt average in team history and he was strong on kickoffs this year. It was an incredibly strong season a year after Bosher struggled through his rookie season, and it helped this team push through to the NFC Conference Championship Game.

2015 Matt Bosher

The yards per punt mark earns 2012 a look, but 2015 was arguably Bosher’s most complete and impressive season. His 47.2 yards per punt was just behind his 47.5 in 2012, and it ranked 6th in the NFL this season. In addition, he was 6th in the NFL in touchback percentage on kickoffs, making him a legitimate special teams weapon in an otherwise forgettable season for the Falcons.

There are your four contenders. Who are you picking?