He was an outstanding punter for us and his booming kicks often helped us win the field position battle. Often on walkthroughs in domed stadiums the day before the game, he always would try to hit to top of the dome with a punt. He sometimes succeeded, which illustrates just how strong a leg he had. Reggie helped define the position and even after he retired, every time I saw a long, high punt, it always reminded me of one of his kicks.
- Don Shula
He could really turn around a field. As a defensive player, at times he could be your best friend by pinning a team back. It’s a testament to the type of player he was how long he lasted in the league. He was really at the cusp of the new era of punters.
- Kim Bokamper
There are few people who truly revolutionize anything anymore. It’s been said that there are no truly original ideas anymore. I’m not going to argue that contention, except to point out that those who feel this way clearly never saw Reggie Roby punt a football. Over the course of a 16-year career, Roby set a standard by which punters will be judged for years to come.
Having been a punter myself for years, I have an appreciation of the iconoclastic position occupied by a punter. You are used rarely, the less the better, you rarely get to hit (much less tackle) anyone, and yet there are instances when a punter’s performance can alter the character of a game.
In Roby’s case, he was quite capable of doing damage to an opponent with his punting. Blessed with quite possibly the most powerful leg in NFL history, he could hang a punt up long enough to allow his coverage to arrive at the opponent’s punt returner before the ball did.
If you want punters for any length of time, you’ll notice that they all kick more or less the same way. The follow-through of their kicking leg carries so much momentum through the ball that they leave the ground for a moment or two. Reggie Roby’s leg was so powerful and his kicking motion so controlled that his plant leg never left the ground. He always looked as if he was kicking at about 3/4 effort, like a golfer hitting an approach shot. Yet he consistently had one of the highest yards-per-kick averages in the NFL. So much power. So little effort.
Roby left the game of football quietly. Given the obscure and generally ignored nature of punting, few realized just how much he had revolutionized his specialty.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Former punter Reggie Roby, a 16-year NFL veteran and three-time Pro Bowl selection, died Tuesday after being found unconscious at home by his wife. He was 43.
Melissa Roby found her husband with no pulse. Paramedics tried to resuscitate him at home and in the ambulance, but he was pronounced dead in the emergency room at St. Thomas Hospital, according to a statement released by the family.
Roby turned his post-football life into an opportunity to give back to his community. He was the Marketing and Development Director for a non-profit organization called Backfield in Motion, which worked with inner-city kids. He was making a difference.
Reggie Roby was 43 years old, a year younger than I am. Whatever the cause of death, he was taken far too soon. It’s true; tomorrow is promised to none of us.
