Kicky McCrappo

I don't understand the problem with hash mark kicks anyway. Granted I'm not a kicker, but it seems to me that the kicker and holder are always lined up straight, not aimed directly at the center of the goal post. Seems to me you would get your aim straight, not even be looking at the posts after that, and kick every kick as it was a straight shot.
 
GoGATech said:
I don't understand the problem with hash mark kicks anyway. Granted I'm not a kicker, but it seems to me that the kicker and holder are always lined up straight, not aimed directly at the center of the goal post. Seems to me you would get your aim straight, not even be looking at the posts after that, and kick every kick as it was a straight shot.
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You are exactly right. That's what he *should* be doing. It's just a brain thing. However - part of it is his natural shot. Butker has a natural draw on his ball. Meaning, it tends to start out to the right a touch and then turn back left. Given that, a kick from straight ahead or to the left is just more naturally advantageous given his normal kick shape. When you put him over on the right hash, really, it shouldn't matter, but I can see why it messes with his brain.

Hopefully, he'll get coached up and get his mind right. Lol, the funny thing is when he's farther away, 40+ I have more confidence in his ability to make it. I guess in some ways it takes the angle away at longer range. The really close kicks are also easy because there's really not a lot of room for the ball to move in the air before it's already through. It's that funky range, 25-40 where the angle has the biggest influence on the appearance of the kick, as well as being far enough back that if the kick tails left a little it's easy to miss. So, he overcompensates and blocks it right.
 
Somewhat kicking related. On one of the kickoffs, the ball was downed in the endzone on the right side of the field. When the refs spotted the ball, they placed it on the left hash. Does anyone know why? The ball was kicked from that side??? I don't know the rules well enough to figure this out.
 
I'm trying to look up the rules to no avail but I want to say that the receiving team can have the ball placed anywhere on the 25 yard line up to the hash mark for the first offensive play after the kick.
 
While we're asking kicking questions, I have one too. I think it was one of our kickoffs, may have been another game I was watching, but I think it was ours--we kicked it into the endzone. The ball hit and checked up. The refs were blowing the whistle for touchback before the return man fielded it and kneeled. Is it an automatic touchback if a kickoff ball touches ground in the endzone? Or did the ref prematurely blow the whistle assuming the ball would bounce out of bounds? I always thought kickoffs were live balls unless out of bounds, downed, out of endzone, or fair caught.
 
WreckRod said:
I'm trying to look up the rules to no avail but I want to say that the receiving team can have the ball placed anywhere on the 25 yard line up to the hash mark for the first offensive play after the kick.
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I think so too. Like going for 2, you can spot the ball anywhere between the hashes.
 
I think it was part of the new kickoff rules in college that a kick that lands in the endzone is an automatic touchback.
 
GoGATech said:
While we're asking kicking questions, I have one too. I think it was one of our kickoffs, may have been another game I was watching, but I think it was ours--we kicked it into the endzone. The ball hit and checked up. The refs were blowing the whistle for touchback before the return man fielded it and kneeled. Is it an automatic touchback if a kickoff ball touches ground in the endzone? Or did the ref prematurely blow the whistle assuming the ball would bounce out of bounds? I always thought kickoffs were live balls unless out of bounds, downed, out of endzone, or fair caught.
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Yes, Rule 6 Article 7. If the ball touches the goal line or anywhere in the endzone it's a dead ball and automatically a touchback.
 
Ok, one more. On a FG attempt, they place the kick, what, 7 yards behind the line of scrimmage? Is this a rule that has to be followed? If you're kicking a short, potential game-winning FG, can your placekicker not set up, say, 10-12 yards back? Where its still an easily makeable FG but less chance of being blocked.
 
GoGATech said:
Ok, one more. On a FG attempt, they place the kick, what, 7 yards behind the line of scrimmage? Is this a rule that has to be followed? If you're kicking a short, potential game-winning FG, can your placekicker not set up, say, 10-12 yards back? Where its still an easily makeable FG but less chance of being blocked.
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You can place it as far back as you want. You can even snap it back to a guy standing, and he can drop-kick it in if he wants (ala Doug Flutie).
 
gespacho_the_slender said:
Somewhat kicking related. On one of the kickoffs, the ball was downed in the endzone on the right side of the field. When the refs spotted the ball, they placed it on the left hash. Does anyone know why? The ball was kicked from that side??? I don't know the rules well enough to figure this out.
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On touchbacks you get to pick where on the 25 you want it. We like it on a hash, to create more space on the field side of the play for the rocket toss.
 
BeerNutts said:
You can place it as far back as you want. You can even snap it back to a guy standing, and he can drop-kick it in if he wants (ala Doug Flutie).
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How come you never see this? Even on a regular field goal attempt, or sometimes a PAT to tie or take the lead, I know numerous times I can remember them being blocked. Why not give yourself a couple extra yards of cushion? Seems to me 2 yards would make a world of difference in whether a defender can get there to block. Plus if they've been practicing blocks and timing, you're essentially throwing the defenders natural angle off too.
 
GoGATech said:
How come you never see this? Even on a regular field goal attempt, or sometimes a PAT to tie or take the lead, I know numerous times I can remember them being blocked. Why not give yourself a couple extra yards of cushion? Seems to me 2 yards would make a world of difference in whether a defender can get there to block. Plus if they've been practicing blocks and timing, you're essentially throwing the defenders natural angle off too.
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Maybe they're worried that the risk of changing the snap distance is greater than the advantage of a larger block buffer. I don't know for sure, but that would be my best guess.
 
Yeah I thought that too... but I think with the speed of the snap, the distance difference would be far less noticeable for the kicking team than the actual physical distance that a defender has to travel. Who knows.
 
GoGATech said:
Yeah I thought that too... but I think with the speed of the snap, the distance difference would be far less noticeable for the kicking team than the actual physical distance that a defender has to travel. Who knows.
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Well I meant more in the regards of getting a clean snap rather than the time it would take (although i suppose that's a logical consideration as well). My impression is that special teams is largely about repetition and repeatablility. If you start changing up distances, I would think there would be a higher likelihood of botched snaps/holds and possibly even messing with the kicker's timing.
 
Is our FG and punt team longsnapper not the same guy? Serious question. I'm just throwing it out there. I believe you are right about the repetition thing. Hell, have one guy practice 7 yd long snaps and another practice 12. Use whichever the situation calls for...lol.
 
GoGATech said:
Ok, one more. On a FG attempt, they place the kick, what, 7 yards behind the line of scrimmage? Is this a rule that has to be followed? If you're kicking a short, potential game-winning FG, can your placekicker not set up, say, 10-12 yards back? Where its still an easily makeable FG but less chance of being blocked.
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You could, but the long snapper practices 7 yard snaps, not 10-12. Much bigger chance of bouncing it back and messing up the hold/kick.
 
GoGATech said:
How come you never see this? Even on a regular field goal attempt, or sometimes a PAT to tie or take the lead, I know numerous times I can remember them being blocked. Why not give yourself a couple extra yards of cushion? Seems to me 2 yards would make a world of difference in whether a defender can get there to block. Plus if they've been practicing blocks and timing, you're essentially throwing the defenders natural angle off too.
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At least for PATs, I think you are overestimating the number of blocks there are. I'm not sure of the college start, but in the NFL there were only five missed last year, period. Not sure how many of those were blocks, but no matter what it's not a big number at all.

It's probably just not a big enough risk for them to introduce variable length snaps.
 
WreckRod said:
Yes, Rule 6 Article 7. If the ball touches the goal line or anywhere in the endzone it's a dead ball and automatically a touchback.
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Worth noting that this rule is different in the NFL, which is where the confusion may stem from. Also, if an offensive player touches the ball first then I believe the rule no longer applies.
 
In regards to the kicking game, on Snoddy's almost disastrous kickoff return I was under the impression that if the touching of the kick did not change the impetuous of the kick the play because the ball went into the end zone would have been a touchback.
 
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