The 49ers Kept Plans Close to the Vest, and 9 More Preseason Takeaways | The MMQB with Peter King

The Patriots made an interesting decision (no, it didn’t have to do with a quarterback) when it decided to cut veteran punter Zoltan Mesko and retain undrafted rookie Ryan Allen. Allen, who won the Ray Guy Award twice as the best punter in college football, is no slouch. Mesko opened the door last year when instead of ascending to elite status he plateaued, and he was average in big spots. Competitions are decided by practices and games, with the latter factoring in a little more heavily considering the pressure. After watching all four preseason games, I’d call the Mesko-Allen battle basically a draw. Allen and Mesko, respectively, were just about even in gross average (44.8 yards each), net (38.6 to 37.2 when you toss out the big Eagles return on Allen’s first punt), get-off time (1.32 to 1.30, hand to foot), and inside the 20-yard line conversions (4 of 5 for Allen, 2 of 2 for Mesko). Mesko’s advantage came in hangtime, 4.4 to 4.25, which points to a little bit more consistency.