I love to watch football especially high school fb..but I'm still learning things I didn't know..but until recently I did not realize that most football teams have at least 2 if not 3 men that "kick" the ball. My question is why do you need 3 guys to kick the ball? I understand the punter, kicker, and a field goal kicker. And that is all that they do is "kick"? They don't play any offensive or defensive plays other than to "kick"?
2006-08-24 11:31:11 · 9 answers · asked by valjane42 2 in Sports ➔ Football (American)
For the same reason you need multiple players on a soccer team even though they all just kick a ball. It's a different technique to punt a ball or kick a ball off the ground. and in the NFL especially you want the best player you can find and if that means you have to have multiple people to do the job of what seemingly should be a one person job then so be it. Also what if one of the guys gets hurt mid game? this way you have a backup... Very good question.
ry guy
2006-08-24 11:36:31 · answer #1 · answered by ryan o 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Punting is a different 'art' or 'science' than placekicking. So a punter has to have good hands to catch an errant snap or cold/icy ball, and put that ball in a specific spot. It's a skill position.
The field goal/extra point kicker also is a specialized position, in that you're usually kicking from hash marks and have to split the uprights in all sorts of wind and weather conditions (note, the Patriots would not have won a darn thing without one guy: Adam Vinatieri.).
The third guy is the kickoff guy, and that's probably the least artistic or skilled kicking position. Your field goal/extra point kicker should be able to place kick on kickoffs. But some guys have no aim, but a lot of leg, and those guys are usually the ones who are strictly kick off kickers, because they can put the offense in a deep hole right from the get go (even if they can't punt or put the ball between the goal posts).
So there you have it. Note, some punters are or used to be quarterbacks, and so they are sometimes asked to throw the ball on fake or botched punts, things that other non-punting kickers likely can't do (see Yepremian in the Super Bowl against the Redskins in the 70's).
Hope this answers your question (and how in the heck can you watch high school football? It's unwatchable, in my humble opinion, unless it's Pac 10 or Big 10 or Pro, I can't do it.)
2006-08-24 18:38:03 · answer #2 · answered by rohannesian 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, to try to explain this simply, the punter, kicker, and field goal kicker all must practice to specify in their specific kind of kick. The punter is the one who kicks it very long distances down the field to the opposing team after his team cannot convert on their 3rd down. There is really only one other kicker and he also kicks the "extra point" after the touchdown and kicks the "field goals" (the 3 pointers). Football teams usually have multiple field goal and extra point kickers and they mix them up during the game. So you may see 1-4 different guys out there kicking those shorter ranged kicks, but you will usually see only one punter throughout the entire game. And NO. The kickers and punters do NOT play any other position. I hope I said all this clearly enough. Sorry if it was confusing.
2006-08-25 15:20:09 · answer #3 · answered by shewz27 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The kicks are different, the punter drop kicks it and is trying to get it as far from the defended goal as possible, field goal kicks are kicked off the ground where height and distance mesh with accuracy, kick off kickers run up to a steadied ball and kick for distance away from the defended goal as well. The 2 kinds of kickers are punters and place kickers.
In highschool football especially the kickers can have many jobs. Our QB is also DE and punter. If there are several kickers, they are specialized in a certain kick. I hope this helps.
2006-08-24 18:44:41 · answer #4 · answered by Nancy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A place kicker (kick-offs, extra points and field goals) is often the leading scorer and you don't want to get him hurt. And each team usually only has two kickers, a punter and a place kicker. With a place kicker, it's about scoring points. With a punter, it's about field position.
2006-08-24 18:38:42 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The kicker and the field goal kicker is usually the same guy. A punt and a place kick require different skills.
2006-08-24 18:38:23 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
As football becomes more highly specialized, you are now seeing several teams who have a:
1. Kicker for FG's and PAT's
2. Kicker who just kicks off
3. Punter
2006-08-24 22:00:10 · answer #7 · answered by The Flashman 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's for the same reason you have more than 1 QB on a team, or more than 1 RB on the team. It's for depth. Kicking field goals and punting are very different, and never hurts to have a backup for either position.
2006-08-24 18:50:03 · answer #8 · answered by Dun Dun 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's harder than it looks. It's also a very high pressure position, however simple it may seem. Hope that helps.
2006-08-24 18:36:44 · answer #9 · answered by MGoodrich 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋