Is it just something that NEVER happens in the NFL?
Fair catch kick:
Never heard of that rule, but it would have to be a pretty damn lousy punt that allowed a team to fair catch in field goal range!
I can’t explain it or even recall ever seeing it in an NFL game. However, wasn’t something like this done in the movie The Longest Yard? It’s been a while since I seen the movie but I remember the prisoners kicking (punt style) the ball through the uprights and being awarded points.
When you make a fair catch you are usually deep in your own territory. Using your possesion on a slight chance at three points is not a smart move. It is hard enough for the kickers to make a field goal at closer range even when they have a tee.
It sounds to me like an english translation could be:
The game cannot end on a fair-catch by the receiving team. The receiving team does get one play from scrimmage, and field goal attempts are allowed.
I don’t know a site that lists the NFL rules. Yet.
No, I think the OP is correct as written. I vaguely remember it being done a long time ago, but not the field goal part, the fair catch kick. This kick need not be an actual field goal attempt. Of course, if it went thru the uprights, it would be a field goal, but the idea is to kick it out of your territory without worry about a fumble or blocked kick. For example, the fair catch may be around your 40-yard line with a few minutes left on the clock, not enough time to run out the clock without a first down and your defense has been great but your offense has stunk, and somehow you’re winning. Or the fair catch can be deep in your territory and rather than risk a turnover, you decide to punt. Perhaps there’s little time left in the half. You can think of several scenarios where a fair catch kick can make sense.
Here’s the links that explain the kicking game (where the op came from, too.)
Reading these three together explains the differences.
BTW, this means my first answer was wrong,wrong,wrong.
It’s an NFL only rule.
After any fair catch (provided that the receiving team actually catches the ball), they can opt for a fair catch kick.
This is a field goal attempt that the defense can’t try to block. The kicking team tees the ball up like on a kickoff (unless that part of the rule has been changed) from the spot where the catch was made and if it’s successful it’s three points.
It’s normally only used if someone catches a punt on the last play of a half. But if you have a bad punt and the return guy can get there, it’s not a bad play.
During the early 80’s one of the Monday Night Football announcers (I can’t remember which one) used to mention this rule all the time. It was as if he was rooting for it to actually happen during the game.
This wasn’t the play from The Longest Yard. In the movie a field goal was kicked with a drop kick. That is when a kicker drops the ball like a punter, but allows it to touch the ground before kicking it. It’s a valid way to kick a field goal without a holder.
The fair catch kick seems to be a holdover from rugby from some initial checking.
Can any ruggers shed more light on this?
Some coaches must be aware of it,
this is one of the few references I could find to it recently and it was about a coach who forgot about it.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by FortMarcy *
**
Useless information – former Atlanta Falcons kicker Mick Luckhurst (well known to UK American football fans as a commentator) attempted a few drop-kick FGs during the preseason some time in the 1980s. Luckhurst was the last NFL player I ever saw attempt a drop kick in competition.
Note: kickers in the NFL only use a tee for the kick off, not on field goal attempts. This is one of the reasons why college players don’t always adjust to the pro game.
[/nitpick]
I vaguely remember the 49ers doing this in Walsh’s last or second to last season. I didn’t understand it then, and for the past few years thought maybe I imagined the whole thing, but I guess not. I think it was towards the end of the half, and on Monday night.
College kickers haven’t used a tee for field goals since the late 1980s either.
High school kickers still do get to use a tee however. It’s not very high. It’s just a hard piece of rubber about one inch high.
NFL kickers only get to use a 1" tee on kickoffs, but I believe that college kickers can use a 3" tee.
I think (?) I recall seeing this play once. I believe it was at the end of a half (as opposed to the end of the game), and one team had the ball, with 2 seconds left or so, on its own 5 yard line. The ball was punted to their 45 or so (a respectable 40-yard punt), and the guy called for a fair catch. The kicker was brought out to attempt a 55-yard field goal. If I recall correctly, it missed, but the coach was praised for knowing the rules and using this knowledge to at least give his team a chance at some end-of-the-half points.
As for the “drop kicks,” I have always wanted to see this play used, but I’ve never seen it. Apparently it was quite common in the old days (my dad even showed me how to do it long ago). The way it was explained to me made sense: it’s really the same as kicking a field goal, with yourself as the holder. As long as the ball hits the ground first, it’s like a holder placing the ball on the ground for you.
It would be a great strategic move, if one could find a guy who could do it accurately. The special teams would not need to be brought in, as the drop kick, from what I understand, can be made from any point behind the line of scrimmage, even in the middle of a “normal” running play. With the kicking game as specialized as it is now, though, I can almost guarantee that you’ll never see this play occur again in the pros.
You won’t see a drop kick now because the football is too pointy and you won’t get a true bounce. When footballs were rounder, it was a lot easier to do.
You can easily drop kick a soccer ball however, although I don’t think many goalkeepers use that technique anymore.
You just have to bounce it on or opposite the laces. Imagine a punter’s drop falling all the way to the ground, and bouncing on the flat of the ball. It can be done. I practiced it like a maniac for much of the early eighties after seeing, IIRC, a Philadelphia Eagles’ player try one during a busted play. I figured if I developed this skill, I was sure to make the football team. Fortunately (?) I grew like a weed in the following years and ended up a tackle, and never got to show off my drop-kick, except to the kickers during practice.
In rugby, if you are behind your 22-meter line, you can yell “MARK”, and they can’t hit you and you get to kick it out of bounds. I think your team gets the ball where it goes out of bounds, I can ask my coach if anybody cares.