NFL: The 1990s All-Decade Team
By Phil Watson
Punter: Darren Bennett, San Diego Chargers (1995-99)
Darren Bennett was 30 years old when he came to the NFL after starring for five years in Australian Rules football, scoring 208 goals in 74 games for Melbourne from 1989-93.
He came to California in 1993 on his honeymoon and contacted the Chargers about a tryout. After a year on the practice squad and a spring in NFL Europe, Bennett won the Chargers’ punting job in 1995 and established himself as the best punter in the league.
Not only did Bennett have a booming leg, but he brought a new weapon to the NFL for short-punt situations, the Australian drop punt.
Bennett was an All-Pro selection and a Pro Bowler as a rookie in 1995.
Kicker: Morten Andersen, New Orleans Saints (1990-94), Atlanta Falcons (1995-99)
Morten Anderson was already an eight-year veteran with the Saints when the decade opened, a well-established two-time All-Pro.
Andersen would make another All-Pro team in 1995, the year he was released by New Orleans and signed with the Saints’ archrivals in Atlanta.
Andersen hit 245-of-309 field goal attempts in the decade, 79.3 percent, including 22-of-42 from 50 yards or more.
Andersen was third in the 1990s in scoring with 1,080 of those points, one of six kickers with at least 1,000 points for the decade (Gary Anderson, Pete Stoyanovich, Steve Christie, Norm Johnson and Al Del Greco were the others).