Why are punting and field goal functions usually performed by two different players?
Placekicking and punting are different actions. Different jobs require different skills. It’s unlikely for a single person to be of professional quality at both jobs.
This is especially true in the NFL these days–there are no non-soccer style kickers in the NFL. I don’t think there have been for close to fifteen years or so. Punting, on the other hand, pretty much requires a straight-on kick. You will see some punters (like Minnesota’s Mitch Berger) kicking off.
I realize that they are “different” functions but, on the whole, they pretty much fall in the same category as far as I’m concerned. I can think of at least one Canadian professional team (Montreal) where the same player punts and placekicks without any major problem. It definitely can be done…
It can be done all by one person, but in these days of specialization, they separate the duties.
I remember Randall Cunningham (when he was the QB for Philly) also used to punt. Joe Theissman used to punt, too.
I assume this thread was inspired by Sunday’s Rams-Falcons game? Where the Rams’ kicker got hurt on the opening kickoff and they spent the rest of the game going for 2-point conversions and converting on 4th and 15 instead of going for a field goal? That was a weird game.
Ha ha… No, I hadn’t seen that game. Just something that’s been bugging me for some time. That’s the problem with “specialized” functions: you can get screwed real fast!
Another thing: when they’re something like 50 yards from the goal posts, why do they punt? (especially given the fact that, unlike Canadian football, they don’t even get a single point if the ball crosses the line at the back of the end-zone) Why don’t they try a field goal? What have they got to lose??
If they miss, the other team will get great starting position. The coach will decide whether the risk of the other team getting the ball on the 47 yd line can justify kicking a long field goal which their kicker might or might not make.
(The current rule in the NFL is that the ball is spotted from where the kick took place, not the line of scrimmage. It was designed this way so more teams go for it on 4th down.)
I thought that if the ball winds up in the end-zone after a field goal attempt, it is brought back to the 20 (30?)-yard line (same as with a punt). My knowledge of NFL rules is obviously lacking.
Punting and placekicking can be done by the same person, to be sure. It pretty much comes down to a coaching decision: a roster spot can be freed up by having one guy do both jobs, or the team can sacrifice the spot by keeping a specialist at each.
The current wisdom in the NFL seems to be that it’s worth using the roster spot to get true specialists in both fields. Part of that is probably the herd effect, and part of it is that the kicking game has come to take on such importance that only specialists in punting or placekicking are up to snuff. In the opinion of the head coach, at least. If I remember correctly, some teams have even had separate kickers for kickoffs and FG/PAT’s.
Of course, another thing to consider is what happens if your jack-of-all-trades kicker gets hurt - now you’ve lost BOTH your kicker and your punter. I had sort of been under the impression that, on most teams, they backed one another up (which seems to be at odds with the St. Louis Rams, at least).
Which begs the question: why wasn’t the Rams’ punter used as the backup placekicker? I hear Martz asked for volunteers, and a backup WR wound up taking the kickoffs? I guess when you’re simply kicking your opponents’ butts, it’s easy to shrug off field goals and kicked PAT’s.
If the ball leaves the field of play (as the vast majority of missed FG’s do), the I can confirm what neuroman said; the other team gets the ball from the spot of the kick.
Actually, I just checked the NFL Digest of Rules, and it says that if the spot of the missed kick was inside the 20, the defenders get the ball on the 20. So, 20 yard line or spot of the kick, whichever favors the defenders.
I’m a little fuzzy on what happens if the kick lands on the field. Unfortunately, I found the Digest above to be kind of vague on that point. Perhaps I’m not reading it right, or am misunderstanding some definitions. I think it depends on whether or not the kick was blocked.
About 50 years ago in the CFL, the quarterback was the kicker and the punter. This resulted in interesting plays when it was 2nd and long, the QB would punt it, complete catching the other team off guard. Works pretty good my intramural gmaes too when I need a single point.
You guys can post all night long, but I’m waiting for Mr. Cynical to weigh in on this. He was a pro football kicking prospect, you know.
Oh, Mr. Cynical…! Paging Mr. Cynical…!
In the 70s, college rules stated that, after a missed field goal, the ball came out to the 20 yard line. SO, not surprisingly, teams used to go for insanely long field goals all the time. Here in Texas, guys like TOny (the first barefoot kicker) Franklin, Russell Erxleben and Jeff Ward used to attempt 50-60 yarders all the time. After the rule was changed to bring the ball back to the original line of scrimmage, teams stopped trying super long field goals, except in last-second, do-or-die situations.
Erxleben, by the way, was one of the few guys I can remember who was both place kicker and punter. He held both jobs for the New Orleans Saints, for a little while. When Morten Andersen came along, the Saints made Erxleben a punter, exclusively.
Okay, until Mr. C comes on the scene I’ve got a few questions/comments:
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jb, what you described is called a quickick; I’ve never heard it being done on 2nd down, only third. Why would anyone do it on second?
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I may be going senile, but why do I remember it is/was legal to return a short/missed field goal attempt? Help me, help me.
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Random, possibly outdated, possibly wrong football fact: the oldest pro player was the Raiders’ George Blanda, who started his carreer as a QB/kicker; over the years he was replaced as QB (though I think he was still officially listed as something like fifth-string QB) but continued as kicker into his 40’s (50’s?) enabling him to capture the all-time career points scoring record for many, many years.
Damn I love the kicking game. More stuff to ponder:
Dropkicks are still legal! For those of you who don’t know what it is, a dropkick – once common in the age of watermellon-shaped footballs – is sort of like a field goal, except the kicker is snapped the ball (no holder), he bounces it on the ground and boots it as it rebounds upward. Get it through the goal posts and you score 3 points.
IIRC, the last attempted pro game dropkick was in 1949 on a botched field goal snap. The kicker ended up with the ball and tried to dropkick it through, but I think was unsuccessful. (He may have made it, I forget.)
In recent years, QB Jim McMahon was a devotee of the dropkick and would practice it for hours. Apparently he got quite good at it too – no small trick in this day and age of pointy footballs. Whenever his team would get into range he would nag his coach to let him attempt it, but they never did.
http://www.profootballhof.com/players/enshrinees/gblanda.cfm
I know George Blanda becuase when my dad was growing up in Houston he was the QB for the Oilers. I am currently in Houston, too. (F@#% Bud Adams…)
The previously mentioned NFL Rules Digest (conveniently layed out in one gigantic un-hypertexted clump) yields this nugget from the Kicks From Scrimmage section:
What it says about field goals is:
brad_d, according to the official NFL rules if you miss a FG, no matter where the ball ends up, or what down it is, the opposing team gets the ball at the spot of the kick, unless you are inside the 20 yard line, then the opposing team gets the ball on the 20. And stuyguy, you can’t return a field goal kick according to current NFL rules, although I really have no knowledge about old NFL rules or the CFL at all, and only a rudimentary knowledge about NCAA rules.
Among the 15 yard penalties:
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A punter, placekicker, or holder who simulates being roughed by a defensive player.
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Leaping.
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Leverage.
Leverage? Well, ok, if you say so.
Also in Kicking from scrimmage
- The kicking team may never advance its own kick even though legal recovery is made beyond the line of scrimmage. Possession only.
This is why when the receiving team fumbles, the kicking team can only get it from the spot of the fumble, and not run it back for a touchdown.
So, stuyguy, is your football lust sated yet? 
Uhm, it sure looks like you can according to the passage I listed (in the post above yours.)