Daniel Whelan, punter, Green Bay. Four punts in Detroit Thursday, four inside the 20-yard line. They landed at the 16-, 3-, 9- and 9-yard line of the Lions, and only one resulted in a Detroit scoring drive. Whelan’s a great story. He grew up in Ireland, and moved to the United States when his mom, who worked in the hotel business, got a job at a Ritz-Carlton Hotel in California. A football coach saw him booming kicks as a center fullback and asked if he could try kicking a football. He hit a 52-yard field goal, and one day hit the crossbar from 65 yards out. A prospect was born.
“I couldn’t have written it up any better,” Whelan said recently. “I just love football. I went to a lot of kicking camps once I got to the U.S., and I concentrated on looking at the competition and just trying to be better than the other guys wherever I went. I think it’s possible there can be more kickers and punters from Ireland, if they’re willing to put in the time, the effort and constantly work on their craft.” He’s 22nd in gross punting, with a 46.8-yard average. His net average, 38.9 yards, isn’t good. But he’s had only five touchbacks in 45 punts.
As for what Whelan thinks of Green Bay: “I love it. Green Bay’s a lot like Ireland, a lot like Enniskerry.