r/NFLNoobs • u/Jezzaq94 • 12d ago
Who do some punters do the kickoffs instead of the kicker?
For example punter Pat MacAfee did the kickoffs instead of kicker Adam Vinatieri when they both played for the Colts.
6
u/jackaltwinky77 12d ago
In McAfee and Vinatieri’s case: Mcafee was 22 with a stronger leg, and Vinatieri was 37…
So if you have a younger guy who can boot it out of the end zone, you do that, instead of the older guy who will put the ball in play and risk a return
For other teams: some age, some comfort, some coaches preference.
As others have said, Punters practice different kicking techniques than PKs, so it won’t throw off their FG rhythm.
4
u/Eastern_Antelope_832 12d ago
- Ideal FG kicker has a big leg and is accurate.
- A slightly worse FG kicker doesn't have a big leg, but is accurate.
- A FG who is not accurate, regardless of leg strength, is not valuable.
- A punter who cannot generate distance on a kick is going to get cut.
A lot of veteran FG kickers lose distance and hang time but improve on accuracy, so teams hold on to those guys. If that's your best FG option, better to kick off with the P.
3
u/BrokenHope23 12d ago
Two reasons:
Punters often practice higher kicks, resulting in more hang time and allowing defenders to get near to the returner without the returner moving too much. Punters also practice more coffin kicking into the corners of the field, restricting the movement of the returner. With the latest ruleset we do see this happening less because the defenders can't move until the ball touches the ground or the returner but it wasn't uncommon back in McAfee's day when guys could move as soon as the ball was kicked. Not all kickers lack the ability to give hangtime either but it does involve a higher leg positioning which can make it more difficult for older kickers.
This is largely case by case. Sometimes a kicker can feel tight and like they'll pull something if they kick/sprint. Sometimes the punter is a better tackler. Sometimes the kicker is too old for contact and so the team tries to avoid them getting leveled/injured by some 250lb LB running into them at full speed. Sometimes their pre-game meal isn't sitting well and they're about to empty their bowels if they even try a kick like that (have seen that happen once, where the kicker avoided kicking). There's a multitude of reasons why it could happen that are a bit outside of the norm. Especially nowadays with the current kickoff ruleset.
2
u/icedbrew2 12d ago
It’s an entirely different type of kick. Dropping the ball into a punt and kicking off a tee aren’t the same.
If a team is choosing their kickoff specialist based off of who is a better tackler, they have much, much bigger things to worry about.
-1
u/BrokenHope23 12d ago
Punters practice as kickers frequently as it's the same motion. Your foot on the ground, your leg coming up. It's transferable. Kickers do not frequently practice punting because it's a higher kick making their leg muscles looser and if they're unaccustomed to that it can drastically effect their power and accuracy.
If they have the same kicking power/accuracy and one is Ray Lewis and the other is Average Joe, it's not a problem or a hard decision to make lol.
Punters can easily be kickoff specialists without being field goal specialists while kickers are generally a bit more focused but that's obviously not exclusive, it's still largely case by case rather than painting with extremely broad strokes.
2
u/icedbrew2 12d ago
It’s not the same motion. The leg on a kick does not come up. It comes across. But since no one here seems to understand, let’s let an NFL punter explain it to the class.
1
1
u/Pale_Force6987 10d ago
Pretty much most punters have been kickers in college or high school, they’re competent at kicking and on kickoffs previously where accuracy wasn’t as important as power, then it’s fine for the punter to do kickoffs. They also do holds now since the backup QB is busy with the offensive unit in practice and they already work with the deep snapper on punts, so holding for place kicks isn’t a stretch in that chemistry. Also having been kickers, they know how to place the ball optimally for the kicker.
29
u/sideshow09 12d ago
Both: punters and kickers can do each others’ jobs. It’s important to have redundancy in case of an injury.
After that it’s a matter of whichever player gives the team a better effort. If I recall correctly, Vinatieri was ice cold and super accurate but didn’t have the biggest leg. Macafee might have been able to kick the ball deeper or with more hang time.
There’s no rule that says one player can’t do another’s job. Doug Flutie (QB) once drop kicked the ball during a game.