Punters and Kickers bit of a rant

[brdawk20]

I've always had a hard time buying this. That is your JOB... Kicking footballs. Clock in at 8 am every day and go until 5. Work on kicking the balls any way you can. You've proven you have talent and a proclivity for striking a football with your shoe, practice the placekick and the punt. I mean hell, MLS goalies can punt or placekick the length of the field

Imagine what kind of contract a guy would command if he could do both... Really, the question is how much would a team be willing to pay for an extra roster spot?

I'm not saying any of this is easy or discounting how difficult any of this is, I just can't believe at the very zenith of the kicking profession guys can only figure out how to kick it off the ground or out of their hands. Wtf

The technique is quite different for both. Also, imagine what would happen if the guy got hurt. Then you need to find two kickers at once.

[zoony]

The technique is quite different for both. .

I had no idea, thanks

[jpage520]

Since he's been here I think Kai has been more than sufficient if not really good especially in comparison to some of the others we've had in the past. I think my "automatic" distance is about 40. If you're a pro kicker and can't drill 40 or below on an almost automatic basis you're way below average.

 

I strongly disagree with the notion of getting rid of the kicking game altogether. It's a big part of the game and should remain a big part of the game. It can be such a big part of your strategy and be a tremendous advantage when you have a kicker who's automatic and a punter who can consistently put the ball where it needs to be to pin teams inside the 20.

 

As was mentioned above I think the "head case" factor is huge when it comes to kickers. See Suisham, Sean. The guy could drill anything under about 45yds as long as it was a non pressure situation. But then you put him in almost ANY situation that put the game on his leg, and considering some of the Redskins teams he played on, that happened pretty frequently and he was almost guaranteed to get shaken up and screwed the pooch. To me, that's about at least 80% of the quality in a kicker. His ability to stay cool under pressure and look at any kick as just another one. That's what made guys like Vinateri, the Andersens, and so many others great. And deservedly so in my opinion. If you're going to acknowledge the "ice in the veins" factor of QBs, receivers, and RBs you damn sure better do it with kickers as well.

[Darth Tater]

Given that probably 40-60 new kickers and punters are available every year and many teams seem never to be able to find such  specialists and that many times old kickers and punters can still find jobs in their late 30s and even 40s in a sport were a lot of guys can't find jobs after their late 20, I think it is pretty self-evident that kicking at a high level is not easy.  In part this is because kicking and punting are two different animals so it is rare that someone can do both at a high level.  Also, few punters in college are called upon to directionally kick.  Many are just taught to do the rugby style punt since in college all linemen are allowed to release on snap (usually, you release on the snap if no one is over you or count 2 Mississippi if you aren't sure) and this delays the punt to get everyone down field while cutting the field in half and creating a punt lane so often a good punter is not needed, just an athletic guy who can punt a bit on the run.  Kickers angle changes, the kick off tees are different and you get a tee for field goals.  Given that what kickers and punters do is so visible, one mistake and everyone knows it and no one can pick you up when you **** up a field goal.  The QB can get lucky and hide his mistakes if his receiver makes a circus catch or the db drops the ball.  Punting and kicking take an extreme amount of mental toughness in a game where fear is a big tool.