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Punter (football position)
Encyclopedia
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
or Canadian football
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
is a special teams player who receives the snapped ball directly from the line of scrimmage and then punts
Punt (football)
In some codes of football, a punt is a play in which a player drops the ball and kicks it before it touches the ground. A punt is in contrast to a drop kick, in which the ball touches the ground before being kicked....
(kicks) the football to the opposing team so as to limit any field position advantage. This generally happens on a fourth down in American football and a third down in the Canadian version. Punters may also occasionally take part in fake punts in those same situations, when they throw or run the football instead of punting.
Skills
A punter must be skilled in angling the football and/or kicking it as high as possible (called "hangtime") to maximize his teammates’ ability to eliminate a punt returner's forward progress. Also, the punter will try to make the ball spin in an unusual manner making it harder to catch, which could result in a muffMuffed punt
In American football, a muffed punt is defined as "touching of the ball prior to possessing the ball."A muffed punt occurs when there is an "uncontrolled touch" of the football by a player on the returning team after it is punted...
and potentially lead to the punter's team gaining possession.
Punters are rarely well known or recognized by fans, but play a major role in winning the field position battle. Today, punters have increasingly begun to pull double duty as the holder on field goal attempts and also being used on kickoffs. One of the main reasons why punters are starting to take over the holder position is that the backup quarterback is usually busy with the rest of the offense and has little time to devote to holding. Likewise the punter has certain training in throwing, due to the possibility of a faking a field goal and instead picking up a two-point conversion. The long snapper
Long snapper
In American football and Canadian football, the term long snapper refers to a player who is a specialized center during punts, field goals, and extra point attempts. His job is to snap the ball as quickly and accurately as possible....
for field goals is usually the punt snapper as well, so the punter already has developed a chemistry with the snapper and is used to catching a long-snapped ball.
Punters are also kickers and understand kicking mechanics better, such as knowing how far back to lean the ball and better judging whether to abort a field goal attempt. Punters are usually on their own during team practices, allowing them the time to work with the kicker, so the punter and placekicker
Placekicker
Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...
tend to develop a close rapport. Many punters also double duty as kickoff specialists as most punters have been at one point field goal kickers as well and some, such as Craig Hentrich
Craig Hentrich
Craig Hentrich is a former American football punter. He was drafted by the New York Jets in the eighth round of the 1993 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame.Hentrich has also played for the Green Bay Packers and Tennessee Titans....
, have filled in as worthy backup field goal kickers.
Coffin corner
A coffin corner refers to the corner of the playing field just in front of the end zone, usually from the 5-yard line to the goal line. A perfect coffin corner kick is one that goes out of bounds just before either orange pylon located in the front of the end zone. The punter tries to place the ball so that it lands out of bounds or is downed on the field by another member of the kicking team anywhere inside the 5-yard line without touching the goal line, thus forcing difficult field position for the receiving team on their next scrimmage.The name arises by extension from the coffin corner found in Victorian houses, for if the kick is slightly too far into the end zone or if a member of the kicking team touches the goal line while maintaining possession of the ball, a touchback
Touchback
In American football, a touchback is a ruling which is made and signaled by an official when the ball becomes dead behind or above a goal line and the team who is attacking that goal line is responsible for the ball being there. Responsibility is determined by which team gave the ball the impetus...
is awarded, losing the advantage that comes with a successful execution of the kick. If the ball goes out of bounds too far upfield, the receiving team will usually have more options on offense, such as being able to drop back for a pass without fear of possibly giving up a safety. More often than not, a kicker's attempt to land the ball accurately within the coffin corner fails, as the amount of skill required to angle a kick inside such a small area is extraordinary.
This type of kick can also be attempted in Canadian football
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
. The difference is that if the ball becomes dead in the endzone in Canadian football, a single point
Single (football)
In Canadian football, a single is awarded when the ball is kicked into the end zone by any legal means, other than a successful field goal, and the receiving team does not return, or kick, the ball out of its end zone...
is awarded to the kicking team and the conceding team scrimmages from their 35 yard line. In most cases however, the kicking team prefers the advantageous field position, not the point.
Career lengths
Although most punters have relatively short playing careers some can have exceptionally long careers, compared to other NFLNational Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
position players (there is a similar phenomenon with kickers). One reason for this is that their limited time on the field and heavy protection by penalties against defensive players for late hits makes them far less likely to be injured than other positions. Sean Landeta
Sean Landeta
Sean Edward Landeta is a former American football punter who played in both the United States Football League and the National Football League...
, for instance, played 19 NFL seasons and three USFL seasons for eight different teams. Jeff Feagles
Jeff Feagles
Jeffrey Allan Feagles is a retired American football punter. He was originally signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 1988. He played college football at the University of Miami, and most recently played for the New York Giants of the National Football League.Feagles is...
of the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
played 22 seasons as a punter.
Lately, teams have been turning to retired Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
players to punt for them, as the proper way to score in the sport is by punting the ball through the goal posts. Darren Bennett, who played for the San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
in his career, was one of the first successful AFL players to make the jump to America. Ben Graham, who entered the league with the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, became the first AFL player to play in a Super Bowl when he played in Super Bowl XLIII
Super Bowl XLIII
Super Bowl XLIII was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League champion for the 2008 season. The game was played on February 1, 2009,...
with his current team, the Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Graham, Mat McBriar
Mat McBriar
Mat McBriar is an Australian American football punter in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys.-Early years:McBriar began as an Australian rules football player, playing Australian rules for Brighton Grammar School...
of the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
, and Sav Rocca of the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
are currently the only (as of Week 3 of the 2010 season) Australians on NFL rosters as punters.
Career yards
Bob CameronBob Cameron (football player)
Robert "Bob" Cameron is a former Canadian football player who played 23 seasons with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League....
of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League . They play their home games at Canad Inns Stadium, and plan to move to a new stadium for the 2012 season.The Blue Bombers were founded...
(CFL
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
), in a 23-year career, has the most career punting yards, with 134,301 yards.
Jeff Feagles has the NFL all time career punting yards with 71,211 yards. He played from 1988-2009 for five different teams in the NFL.
Draft status
Former Oakland RaidersOakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
player Ray Guy
Ray Guy
William Ray Guy is a retired American football punter for the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders. Coming from the University of Southern Mississippi, he was the only pure punter ever to be drafted in the first round of the NFL draft when the Oakland Raiders selected him in 1973.Guy was a key member of...
is the only pure punter to be picked in the first round of the NFL Draft
NFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
. Russell Erxleben
Russell Erxleben
Russell Erxleben is a former American football player and currency investor. He shares the record for the longest field goal in NCAA history, originally set in 1977 while playing for the University of Texas. Erxleben was a three-time All-America punter...
was selected as the 11th pick in the first round of the 1979 draft by the New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
as a punter but performed kicking duties as well. Guy is credited with raising the status of punters in the NFL because he proved to be a major ingredient in the Raiders' success during the 1970s by preventing opponents from gaining field position advantage.