I remember the punter for the Rams during the 1999 season griping cause he had given tickets to a lot of his friends and family when the Rams played a game near his home town and didn’t get a chance to play.I know in many cases the punters have other duties like holding for field goals and PAT’s or kicking the FG’s and PAT’s themselves,but I dont belive the Rams punter did either of those.
My question is,are punters sad or upset when they don’t get a chance to play in a game?Are they pacing the sidelines just waiting for a chance to get in the game and punt?
A punter is an unusual position since the more he appears in a game, the more likely it is that his team is losing since it is making first downs.
The punter mentioned in the OP probably wanted a chance to come out on the field in front of his family and friends. But if his team won, that would mitigate it.
Overall, the punter and kicker are somewhat separate from the other players on a football team. They are expected to do their job when called on and the rest of the time, they are supposed to keep a low profile.
I couldn’t have said it better. When they are expected to perform and do so in a sub-par manner they often recieve the team’s wrath.
In college the kickers, punters and most of the longsnappers didn’t even practice on the same field as us. After stretching they’d go to a seperate practice field and practice kicking things… often after taking a detour to McDonald’s or Taco Bell…
Oh to be a longsnapper…
Everyone wants to be the kicker, except on Sunday.
Trust me, it wasn’t all that sweet. My before-game prayer, “Please, God, don’t let me screw up.”
Say what you will about punters, but the Patriots were losing the field position battle badly last night until their punter uncorked a monster 51-yard punt(that’s net, not total) that send the Chargers all the way back to their own 35. Punters can change a game too.
Speaking off punting, what on earth has happened to the coffin corner kick? It seems to me like punters prefer to boom it into the endzone for a touchback than to try and pin the opposition with an accurate kick. Am I just just a dumb Canadian ignorant of the nuances of the American game?
Left Tackle for a quarterback who was braindead was not much better, but I understand where you’re coming from…
My NFL aspirations were non-existant to begin with, but longsnapping might have been my ticket.
In the NFL, if a punter kicks it into the end zone, he gets credit only as far as the opponent’s 20-yard line. So I can’t imagine that they’re going to prefer fucking up their net averages like that. College punters aren’t bound by the same rules, so I suppose they can do what they like.
(I believe the NFL rule was like the college rule until fairly recently, but I’m not sure.)
?
It’s the same rule in college - if a punter punts the ball into the endzone - it comes out to the 20 (touchback) and the punter only gets credit up to the 20 yard line. So if you’re punting from the 40 - and you punt it into the end zone, it comes out to the 20 yard line and it’s a 20 yard punt.
From the 2006 NCAA Football Statisticians’ Manual.
Section 6, Article 2. When a punt is declared dead on or behind the goal line (a touch-back), the distance of the punt is measured from the line of scrimmage to the goal line.
Well, I’ll be damned. You’re right.
Interestingly enough, there is a statistic (from your same cite) for team net punting which accounts for touchbacks.
However, I stand duly corrected.
What’s the deal with kicking the ball badly, i.e. just letting it bounce and roll ten yards or so?
Can indeed get ugly. One game in college, our longsnapper got hurt, and the very next punt happened to be from deep in our own territory, the punter standing right about on our goal line. Naturally, the backup longsnapper sailed it right over the punters head–ended up out the back of the endzone. Even more naturally, we lost that game 9-7. :smack:
I don’t think that guy got to be the backup longsnapper anymore.
This tells you all you need to know about deep snappers: the only deep snapper I can name is Trey Junkin.
There’s NO glory or prestige in the job, and no one will ever know who you are unless you screw up royally.
Are you perhaps talking about an onside kick? That’s a placekick, which is different than a punt. Punts are handled by the person kicking the ball. Placekicks are either held by someone (as in the case of a field goal) or a tee (as in the kickoff). Placekickers and punters are usually different players on the team.
There’s a few rules governing the onside kick, but basically it’s to give the kicking team the opportunity to regain possession of the ball. In the onside kick, after the ball passes 10 yards, it’s up for grabs for anyone.
Doesn’t have to be a deliberate onside kick,any kick-off traveling 10 yards or more is up for grabs,unless a fair catch is called for.
I think the guy was referring to people who just punt the ball so poorly that it can’t be returned and almost all of the yardage comes on the roll.
That’s a high risk, low reward strategy. You have to make sure you mess it up just so…
Maybe you’re thinking of kickoffs? As far as I’ve seen, punters still try to drop it inside the 20, or even the 10, when possible – and try to pin the opposing team far back. But placekickers frequently try to boom it into the endzone for a touchback – probably because you’re not going to get the coverage team down there inside the 20 fast enough to down it or prevent a runback, like you might on a shorter punt.
Indeed I am, but had forgotten the name. Thanks.
There’s also the squib kick, a low flat kick along the ground intended to prevent any return.