The Week 7 Ben Graham Report

Welcome Blighty!

All this attention... I dunno! I guess I will have to write next week's report as though it will get published. I've been more or less winging it till now, but I have done some professional writing and have been published quite a few times over the years on different topics, from measuring pulsed radar power to zone blocking in the NFL and how it affects draft picks. Time to get more detailed and get the editting pencil sharpened!

I'm surprised, and a wee bit humbled, that these reports have gotten around so much, especially amoung our Aussie friends. I have no problem at all with my writing getting circulated. I think it's great!

Yes, it's true, from the very first time I saw Graham punt a ball at the Jets' training camp back in July of 2005 I knew he could be something special not only on this team, but in the NFL. I was a fan of his immediately. I have always paid more attention to the kicking game in the NFL than most fans do, but I'm not calling myself an expert on punting. However I have become a student of the the "punt" since Graham's arrival, and the Aussie's who have posted here have helped me learn more about the drop punt in particular. The Jets' punt returners simply could not catch the "tumbler" when Graham arrived. He was making them look foolish at first.

LOL, as far as speaking, yeah, I'm intelligable! I've done a lot of public speaking in the past. This is really funny! If something comes of it, no one will be more surprised than I!

I'd be happy to write a primer on NFL punting with explanations of touchbacks, fair catches, blocked punts and muffs. I may do that in this thread, and paste it into the weekly BG reports. In the meantime, cheers mates!

 

A Primer on NFL Punting

Punting is all about field position, making the opposing team have to move the ball as far as possible to score. The offense has 4 downs, or plays to move the ball ten yards. If they are successful, they get a new set of 4 downs to work with to continue to advance the ball towards the other team's goal. Most often, if they fail to gain 10 yards on the first 3 downs, they will use the 4th down to punt the ball, giving possession of the ball to the opposing team much further away from the goal they are defending. (A team may also opt to try to make the necessary 10 yards by rushing or passing the ball on 4th down as well.)

The punter lines up about 14 yards behind the center, the player that snaps the ball back to the punter. Once the ball is snapped, the punting team is allowed to immediately send two players down the filed to "cover" the punt, which is to get into position to tackle the opposing team's punt returner. These two players are sometime called "gunners". The other players on the punting team must remain behind the LOS (line of scrimmage) where the ball was placed prior to the snap. Once the punter kicks the ball, they also run downfiled to "cover" the punt. These players are the punt coverage team, also called "Special Teams". If any player other than the gunners cross the LOS before the ball is kicked, it is a penalty. The recieving team can either accept or decline this penalty. If accepted, the team must repunt after a five yard penalty.

"Downing" the ball
If the punt recieving team does not catch or touch the punt, the punting team will "down" the ball. This simply means to stop the ball's movement by touching or catching it. That is the spot at which the recieving team will start their next possession. Punt coverage players will race towards the opposing end zone to try to prevent the ball from bouncing over the goal line for a touchback.


The Touchback
If a punter kicks the ball into the opponents end zone, it is a touchback, and the recieving team starts from their own 20 yard line with a 1st down. Punters will try to get the ball as close to the opponent's end zone without actually going into it. The field is 100 yards, and the further a team must go to score is often referred to as "good or bad field position". This is why there is a stat for how many times a punter manages to punt "inside the twenty". (An obscure rule is that any player on the punt coverage team that steps out of bounds may not be the first player to touch or "down" the ball, or it is a penalty, and must be rekicked. This is what happened to Graham's 70 yard punt two weeks ago, when he shanked the next one).

The "Fair Catch"
The punt returner on the recieving team may signal for a fair catch. This means he has the right to catch the ball without being impeded or touched by the punting team's players. By signalling for a fair catch, which is done by waving one arm in the air, the punt returner gives up the right to advance the ball after the catch. His team will begin possession at that spot.

The "Muff"
When a punt returner fails to catch the ball, but does touch it, whether he signals for a fair catch or not, it is a muff. Either team may recover the ball, and whichever team does will have possession at that spot. If the recieving team recovers the ball, and is able, they are allowed to advance the ball, however, if the punting team recovers the ball, they are not permitted to advance it. That is the difference between a fumble, a completely free ball which may be advanced and a muff. If the punt returner does catch the ball, and then drops it after having possession, it is a fumble.

The "Blocked Punt"
The recieving team will rush at the punter after the ball has been snapped to him. All teams have a "block" play in their playbook. They also have "return" plays as well. The block play means that certain players will make more of an effort to get to the punter before he has a chance to get the punt off. TV announcers will say "The rush is on" or something like that when the recieving team calls this. It isn't often successful, but when it is it can change the outcome of a game. Most often, the recieving team will "set up for the return", which means they will hold ground until the punt has been made, guarding against a "fake punt", but then retreat and attempt to block the punt coverage team, trying to help their punt returner get more yardage for better field position.

Usually when a punt is blocked, it' isn't the punter's fault. A breakdown in the blocking that is supposed to protect the punter or a bad snap from the center is usually at blame. Things like extremely high winds can cause a punt to go wrong as well however.

Once a punt is blocked BEHIND the line of scrimmage, only the recieving team can advance or even recover the ball for possession. Even if the punting team recovers the ball, they do not regain possession of it, the receiving team will take over at that spot. If the punt is blocked BEYOND the line of scrimmage (EXTREMELY rare) then it is a free ball and whichever team makes the recovery will have possession.

The "Fake Punt"
This is when the punting team gets into punt formation and instead either tries to advance the ball by running with it, or by passing the ball to an elligable reciever, often one of the "gunners" in an attempt to gain another first down.

Summary
So, when punting from deep in a team's own territory, distance and hang time are most important. This is where the torpedo punt is best. Maximum distance, maximum hang time. When punting closer to the opposing team's goal line, distance accuracy and hang time are more important in attempting to back the other team up as much as possible.

Long line drive punts with little hang time are dangerous. The punt coverage team doesn't have enough time to get downfield to tackle the punt returner. This type of punt is often referred to as "outkicking the coverage", which can allow for long returns and possible touchdown plays. Graham has not had any of his punts returned for touchdowns.