His general observation that it’s a dying art is spot on, though. Even as a Giants fan I am sick to death of every announcer praising Jeff Feagles every single time he steps on the field – which is a lot, considering Eli is the guy throwing the third down passes – but they are absolutely correct. Directional kicking is going the way of the dinosaurs; the name of the game today is all about distance. Guys who can punt it 60 yards (like Moorman up in Buffalo) are who the scouts all like. It’s telling that the best example of a directional punter is 40 years old.
The drawback of directional kicking is that you have to have a talented gunner. It’s no surprise that David Tyree (the gunner who catches Feagles’ coffin corner punts) makes the probowl every year.
After a safety, you are allowed to punt the ball, and you are also allowed to punt it
as an onside kick. I remember the Dolphins won a game once (almost 30 years ago-
before Marino) doing just that.
I’ve noticed one change in punting (perhaps I’m wrong): used to be that the punters
would deliberately aim at the sidelines and try to pin the other team inside their own
5 (so called “coffin corner”). But lately they seem content to kick it so that it comes
to earth somewhere in the middle of the field, around the 10 yard line, where the
returner makes a fair catch. Now the punt returners are usually trained to let it
go if, while standing on the 10, the ball starts to sail over their heads (where it
will usually bounce into the end zone). But not very many punters seem to aim
for the sidelines anymore.