As a soccer player in my younger days, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the BBI feature article on the kicking evolution and history of Giants kickers. Many thanks to the author.
I used to think that there is a distinct difference in requirement in drop kicking for a score (be it FG or PAT), and drop kicking in a punt. I thought that in the former, you can kick the ball only after it has touched the ground and is bouncing back up (that is how Doug Flutie did his drop kick PAT in 2005, and of course in all placement kicks the ball is pinned down on the ground), and, for a punt, you must kick the ball before it hits the ground, in mid air, because only such a kick is viewed as an act of surrendering your possession of the ball to the opposition, in exchange for better field position.
It seems my such understanding had been incorrect, after reading the article and doing some search. There is no such restriction and distinction.
Well, then, does it mean that in a punt situation, if the punter somehow kicks the ball above the crossbar and between the uprights, that becomes a scoring FG& #65311; They can argue this is really a FG attempt using drop kick style, right?
And, conversely, if a team tries a drop kick FG attempt of, say, 50 yards, and misses, it can also claim with a straight face that it is a punt, and the opposition must start from where the ball goes dead?
That doesn't sound reasonable, either. Any input to understand this matter is appreciated. Thanks.
For a drop kick to be counted for points (FG or PAT) the ball must contact the playing surface. There are two styles of accomplishing this: kicking the ball off the bounce, or kicking the ball as it hits the field.
A punt through the uprights is a touch back, as the ball is kicked above the ground. I don't think anyone could question intent in either case.
The mechanics of punting & drop kicking are almost identical. I believe the release point of the ball on a drop kick is slightly lower to the ground than on a punt. The way the ball is dropped differs as well. Drop kickers prefer the ball to land near its point while punters want the ball to contact the kicking foot on a more horizontal angle.
I was going to include some of this information in the article, but decided to cut it as it was already pretty long.
Great question though, thanks for asking!
You can see that the drop kicking with instep is essentially a punt, the kicking foot is extended forward.
The point of toe drop kick has the foot in a placekick position, with the ankle locked and toes elevated.
Link - ( New Window )
You can see that the drop kicking with instep is essentially a punt, the kicking foot is extended forward.
The point of toe drop kick has the foot in a placekick position, with the ankle locked and toes elevated. Link - ( New Window )
I can't imagine a situation in today's NFL where a player would try a drop kick (except as a stunt, like Flutie's drop kick), even as a desperation move, and even if he had been practicing it.
I can't imagine a situation in today's NFL where a player would try a drop kick (except as a stunt, like Flutie's drop kick), even as a desperation move, and even if he had been practicing it.
Right. Remember the talk during last off season about abolishing the PAT? I had thought at the time that the rules committee should consider making drop kicking mandatory for PAT's and limit placement attempts to field goals only.
I like that idea more than narrowing the goal posts which they are going to experiment with at the Pro Bowl.
Peace!
So, for a kick to have scoring capability, it must have touched the ground before or during being kicked.
Then, I assume for a drop kick to serve the purpose of punting, it must not have touched the playing surface during the entire kicking process, correct?
And while we are on this topic of kicking, I have another question:
Most of us probably know that, if the offense shows a kicking formation, some special rules are applied, just for this one play. For example, to protect the long snapper, no DL cann directly cover him; and in a fake punt, there is no passing interference, so the DBs should by all means tackle the WRs if the offense attemps a pass out of a punting formation, and so on.
So the crucial element here is, how does one judge whether or not the offense is in a kicking/punting formation? Obviously we cannot leave it to each team's own interpretations. "Hey you were in a punting formation there!" "No we were not, that's just what you assumed."
I was once told that, a FG/PAT formation is one that has at least two players lining up at least 8 yards behind the LOS, whereas a punting formation is one that has one player positioned 15 yards behind the LOS. If, and only if, this appears, the referee applies those special kicking rules for this play, regardless what the offense's true intention might be after the ball is snapped.
Do you know if this is correct? Thanks again.
The DB's won't be called for PI for contacting the gunners/WR's on a pass from a punt formation, but they can be called for defensive holding. I wouldn't advise tackling them.
I think your interpretation of the kicking rules going into effect is correct. A punt from the deep formation is treated differently by officials than a quick kick from the shotgun formation.