Bracken Trying to Hang On to Hang Time : NFL: Punter who lost position after six years with Green Bay is hoping to stick with the Rams.

ANAHEIM —  For six years, he was sort of a Green Bay version of Johnny Carson. A parade of competitors came and went, but Don Bracken managed to keep a grip on his rating as the Packers’ No. 1 punter.

“Once I counted up the punters they either drafted, signed or brought in for tryouts while I was there,” Bracken said. “There were 28.”

No. 29 turned out to be Jay Leno.

Bracken was on the verge of becoming the first Packer punter since before World War II to hold onto the job for seven seasons, when Green Bay decided to go with rookie Paul McJulien last season.

Bracken was cut so late in the preseason that he went from the brink of a milestone to the ranks of the unemployed. He spent the 1991 season playing golf and practicing punting in the park while his wife shagged balls.

“We talked to teams all through the year and I just kept kicking and stayed in shape, but it was weird,” Bracken said. “It was disappointing because when I was released, I was really kicking well. In fact, I thought it was the best training camp I’d ever had in Green Bay.

“It makes you wonder what more you can do. Looking back, I guess I should be pleased with myself because at least I didn’t have a bad camp and get cut because I performed poorly. They just felt a change was needed.”

New Ram Coach Chuck Knox isn’t necessarily looking for a change from incumbent punter Barry Helton, but he does want someone who can push Helton through training camp.

“We wanted to bring in a guy who had punted in the league, and we thought (Bracken) would make that position more competitive,” Knox said. “You want to go into camp with a backup guy and you want him to have a chance to make the team.”

When Knox brought up the question of available veterans, Bracken had the right connection. Howard Tippett, new Ram special teams coach, held a similar position at Green Bay last year. And Tippett believes Bracken’s fall from grace with the Packers had as much to do with outside circumstances and past history as punting ability.

“I think the fans were totally unfair to Don in the preseason last year,” Tippett said. “The first preseason game, before he had ever punted the ball one time, they booed him. It just wasn’t a good situation and, frankly, we were worried about that.

“Then we picked up the kid McJulien, who turned out to be a fine punter. It was just a case of us feeling we should go with the kid, especially under the circumstances.”

But Tippett still believed Bracken had the ability to punt in the pros, so when Knox suggested they look for a veteran free agent, Tippett knew just who to call.

Bracken didn’t hold onto his job in Green Bay for six years because of his Ray Guy-like statistics. In fact, he’s never averaged more that 40.9 yards per kick. But he’s never averaged less than 38.

He excels, however, at getting the ball off and up. In six seasons with the Packers, he had only five punts blocked. And his hang time consistently allowed the coverage team to keep long returns to a minimum.

“We feel like if a guy is a consistent 40 yards and gives you the hang time to cover, that guy is as valuable as a 50-yard guy who always has you worrying about the run-back,” Tippett said. “So you’ll gladly take a little less distance.

“Your kicking game establishes field position, and if we knew we could punt the ball 40 yards with no return every time, that would be much better than taking chances. The best runner on the field is usually back there (returning punts). and if you give those guys enough chances to return the ball without a fair catch, they’re eventually going to break one on you.”

Bracken, however, is quick to point out that his less-than-fabulous career punting average (39.7) has a great deal to do with the fact that he spent so much time punting in less-than-ideal conditions.

“In 1990, I only averaged 38 yards and finished like 26th in the league,” he said. “The media made a big deal of where I ranked in the NFL and the fans picked up on that. But it was never mentioned in the papers that opponents averaged just 34.9 yards against us. Or that I outpunted the opponent 11 out of 16 games.

“It was just a bad year for the weather and then when we got in a dome or played in Tampa, I only got to punt a couple of times.”

Most years are bad for weather in Green Bay. McJulien averaged 40.4 last year, 10th in the NFC.

Bracken knows about foul weather firsthand--or maybe first elbow is more appropriate. One fine Green Bay December morning in 1986, he slipped on a patch of ice while punting during practice and dislocated his elbow, missing the last three games of the season.

“I would take this all the time,” Bracken said, pointing to a leaden gray sky hanging over Rams Park. “Practicing in that horrible weather all the time really hurts because you start developing bad habits.

“It would be real nice to be able to loosen up and go out and kick in November without wearing two layers of sweats and gloves.”

Clearly, Bracken is well acquainted with changes in both temperature and fortune. He grew up in Thermopolis, Wyo., a town so named for a nearby Hot Springs.

He and his wife, Mary Laurie, who are expecting their first child about the time Ram mini-camp begins in mid-July, split their residence between Thermopolis and Birmingham, Ala.

Bracken was an all-state defensive end and punter at Hot Springs High School and was a four-year starter at Michigan, where he set a school record with a 43.3-yard average as a sophomore.

He got his first break in the NFL through another inside connection. Former Michigan Coach Bo Schembechler asked former Packer Coach Forrest Gregg to give free-agent Bracken a shot.

Bracken made his first punt as a Packer on Nov. 6, 1985, a 44-yarder against the Vikings, and he averaged 40.1 or more yards in each of the next three seasons. But, as his statistics slowly began to deteriorate, so did his relationship with the fans.

In the last few years, the only time Bracken received any positive publicity was after he and roommate Don Majkowski helped rescue a women from a sexual assault in their apartment complex. Armed with golf clubs, they searched the neighborhood for the assailant.

“I’m no hero,” Bracken said later.

Obviously, the Packer faithful agreed. And the Green Bay brass and the local media weren’t exactly singing Bracken’s praises.

In 1990, the Packers left Bracken unprotected during Plan B and signed former Ram Dale Hatcher. But Bracken managed to beat out the erratic Hatcher in the preseason.

Still, Packer operations director Tom Braatz indicated that Bracken, who served as holder for kicker Chris Jacke, had won the job as much with hands as his foot.

Last year, the Packers not only failed to protect Bracken, but they drafted Memphis State’s Jeff Fite in the fifth round.

“(Fite) is coming in here to be our . . .” Packer Coach Lindy Infante caught himself in mid-sentence on draft day, “to get into the hunt to be our punter with Don and whoever else we have.”

The Packers waived Fite in late September, waived Bracken in later September and brought in four other free agents before settling on McJulien.

“It was real frustrating trying to defend yourself all the time,” Bracken said, “but I’m a positive person and I just kept working. That’s why I came to camp last year so determined to change their minds. But no matter what I did, I don’t think they were going to change their minds.”

So, once again, Bracken will devote his summer to proving himself.

“Punters are a lot like golfers,” Tippett said. “When they’re in a groove, they’re great, but sometimes they struggle.

“Bracken doesn’t have this team made by any means. I worked out Helton in college and I really liked him. Or maybe there will be a guy from the World League who’s getting it done right now.”

Bracken smiles. After all, he’s been through this before.

“You have to be very strong mentally to play this game, no matter where you play,” he says. “In this business, if you worry about all the guys they bring in to compete for the job, you’d never last. You’d go insane.”

And, while he has lost his job, Bracken has managed to hang on to his sanity.