Unbeaten Broncos make mid-season switch from punter Kern to veteran Berger

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - Sixteen years into a vagabond NFL career that most recently featured a championship season, Mitch Berger(notes) has come full circle.

The 37-year-old punter had his first practice Wednesday with the Denver Broncos since being signed this week as the replacement for second-year pro Brett Kern(notes), who was waived. It was a homecoming of sorts for the Canadian-born Berger, who starred at the University of Colorado in the early 1990s.

"It's been a long time since I've been back in this area," Berger said. "I loved being at Colorado and have good memories of that. It's been a while since I've been there and I'm happy to be back."

The Broncos are counting on Berger, who joined his 12th NFL team since being drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1994, to steady their punting game. He'll make his debut Sunday, when the Broncos (6-0) visit the Baltimore Ravens (3-3).

Kern had the 10th-best punting average (46.1 yards) in the league, but struggled with his directional game. He put an NFL-high six of his 27 punts into the end zone for touchbacks, a no-no for coach Josh McDaniels, who places a high premium on the battle for field position. The capper may have come Oct. 19 in Denver's 34-23 win at San Diego, when he got off a long punt with little hang time that Darren Sproles(notes) returned 77 yards for a touchdown.

"It certainly wasn't something where Brett was the only person that had made any mistakes or had done anything that we didn't like on the punt team," McDaniels said. "We just felt like, with some of the things we're asking our punter to do, that Mitch would give us an opportunity to improve in that area. We made the change and we're going to work hard to make sure that it's the right move."

Berger, who won a Super Bowl ring as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers last season, was out of football until being signed Monday. McDaniels said critical factors in adding Berger were his experience and grasp of the art of punting, including the ability to take something off his kicks or direct them in a bid to pin opposing teams deep in their territory. Berger also will replace Kern as the holder for place-kicker Matt Prater(notes).

"We don't just tell our punter to kick it as far as you can on every play," McDaniels said. "We ask a lot of them. Mitch has been asked to do that before in his career. We think he can do it the way we want it done and be productive in our system, not really worrying about or concerning himself with statistics or numbers."

Over a long career, Berger said he has come to appreciate the importance of directional punting and the demands that go with it.

"It's just about trying to be able to hit the ball that you need when they need it," he said. "You need all the kicks in your bag. I think it's more than trying to hit more than one kind of kick. You try not to have touchbacks and try making sure you cut them deep, sometimes being able to kick out of bounds."