2613 replies to this topic

[PedroKsBambino]

I believe you have to kickoff after a TD. The free kick option is, I believe, limited to after a safety.

I concur with the poster who ripped Hansen...he sucked. I wouldn't be surprised if Miller or someone else is brought in for a try-out this week.

[steeplechase3k]

I was really just hoping that Gostkowski would put it through the uprights, it's not that oftern that a kickoff goes through the uprights...

I asked this upthread, but does anyone know the furthest down field that a team has ever kicked off? This HAS to be close to the record...

Edit: typo

Edited by steeplechase3k, 04 December 2007 - 06:21 PM.

[Oil Can Dan]

I couldn't believe it when the Pats kicked the ball through the end-zone on that last kick. In my mind that was the third best option, behind kicking it anywhere between the 20 & the end-zone then an onside kick. Although I realize the onside kick was too risky given the opportunity for a TD return there so maybe kicking through the EZ was 2nd, not 3rd.

But that 30 yards from the spot or wherever the ball went out is absolutely correct. When they didn't do that I thought that I had it wrong. Why not try it? Worst case scenario is that the ball goes out of bounds after crossing the pylon, but then they get it at the 20 anyway.

[Fleece-Lined Uni]

I asked this upthread, but does anyone know the furthest down field that a team has ever kicked off? This HAS to be close to the record...

According to Football Outsiders, the kickoff was the furthest down-field in at least the last 12 years (check the last bullet point).

[SplendidlySplitHer]

I believe you have to kickoff after a TD. The free kick option is, I believe, limited to after a safety.

I concur with the poster who ripped Hansen...he sucked. I wouldn't be surprised if Miller or someone else is brought in for a try-out this week.

No complaining about the punters last night from where I was standing. Yes, they each absolutely shanked one, but the rest were fine but completely blown adrift by the wind. Punts were literally a crapshoot. FGs on the endzone I was on were also a crapshoot. Nobody made one past 40 yards in warmups.

I couldn't believe it when the Pats kicked the ball through the end-zone on that last kick. In my mind that was the third best option, behind kicking it anywhere between the 20 & the end-zone then an onside kick. Although I realize the onside kick was too risky given the opportunity for a TD return there so maybe kicking through the EZ was 2nd, not 3rd.

But that 30 yards from the spot or wherever the ball went out is absolutely correct. When they didn't do that I thought that I had it wrong. Why not try it? Worst case scenario is that the ball goes out of bounds after crossing the pylon, but then they get it at the 20 anyway.

If the 30 yards rule is indeed true, and people are saying that it is, then the best bet is to just boot the ball and angle it out of bounds. That way there's no risk of a return and the worst that happens is he misses his angle and it's a touchback anyways. Can't blame Belichick for not knowing that rule, though.

Edited by SplendidlySplitHer, 04 December 2007 - 08:12 PM.

[ObstructedView]

No complaining about the punters last night from where I was standing. Yes, they each absolutely shanked one, but the rest were fine but completely blown adrift by the wind. Punts were literally a crapshoot. FGs on the endzone I was on were also a crapshoot. Nobody made one past 40 yards in warmups.
If the 30 yards rule is indeed true, and people are saying that it is, then the best bet is to just boot the ball and angle it out of bounds. That way there's no risk of a return and the worst that happens is he misses his angle and it's a touchback anyways. Can't blame Belichick for not knowing that rule, though.

As soon as you start talking about angling things, you open yourself up to shanks, crazy bounces and other weird happenings. Gostkowski isn't accustomed to that type of tomfoolery, so in my view you just keep it simple and go with the guaranteed touchback -- then make Boller try to beat you.

[SplendidlySplitHer]

As soon as you start talking about angling things, you open yourself up to shanks, crazy bounces and other weird happenings. Gostkowski isn't accustomed to that type of tomfoolery, so in my view you just keep it simple and go with the guaranteed touchback -- then make Boller try to beat you.

Well, they were on the 30 so the absolute abomination of all shanks would have ended up on the 25. I don't think it would have been hard for Gostowski to run straight at the ball from an angle and boot it out of bounds. He also had the wind at his back. It's not really a huge deal, but it's something I would have tried. It would have been great for me, if only to excite the Ravens fans next to me even more before the rule was explained and they started claiming conspiracy again.

Edited by SplendidlySplitHer, 04 December 2007 - 08:54 PM.

[Deathofthebambino]

I don't care what down it is, lower your head and get the first down. Flagrant fuckup for Faulk.

It was a flagrant fuck-up, no doubt about it, but the "lower your head and get the first down" statement is not true in all instances. When time is running out, as it was on that last drive, getting out of bounds can be more important than getting a first down. If that was a first or second down play, it could have been excused, but on third down, he has to move the chains there.

[missinpedro]

It was a flagrant fuck-up, no doubt about it, but the "lower your head and get the first down" statement is not true in all instances. When time is running out, as it was on that last drive, getting out of bounds can be more important than getting a first down. If that was a first or second down play, it could have been excused, but on third down, he has to move the chains there.

There was still 1:53 left at that point (plenty of time IMO,) the Pats had 2 timeouts, and only 30 yards to go. The Pats got those 30 yards in barely over a minute and weren't even rushed to do so. I don't think the situation was one in which you try to stop the clock rather than move the chains. If there had been around a minute left, or if the Pats didn't have any timeouts then I could see that, but in these circumstances the Pats didn't have any need to rush.

[dcmissle]

On his CC this afternoon, BB said that if Gos had kicked it out of bounds instead of through the goal posts, Ravens would have taken the ball where it went out of bounds instead of the 20. "It doesn't come up very much", acknowledging his unfamiliarity with the rule.

[nomarshaus]

for those with NFL network, the pats-ravens game is on at 8pm eastern time

[Mr. Wednesday]

On his CC this afternoon, BB said that if Gos had kicked it out of bounds instead of through the goal posts, Ravens would have taken the ball where it went out of bounds instead of the 20. "It doesn't come up very much", acknowledging his unfamiliarity with the rule.

If it weren't that it's almost unheard of to kick off past the 50, I'd think there would be another clause adding taking the ball at the 20 as an option on a kick-off out of bounds. It's needed so rarely, though, that I'm not really surprised that such a clause doesn't exist.

[Sille Skrub]

for those with NFL network, the pats-ravens game is on at 8pm eastern time

Awesome. Thanks for the heads up!

[JohnnyTheBone]

It was a flagrant fuck-up, no doubt about it, but the "lower your head and get the first down" statement is not true in all instances. When time is running out, as it was on that last drive, getting out of bounds can be more important than getting a first down. If that was a first or second down play, it could have been excused, but on third down, he has to move the chains there.

No doubt, with less time on the clock and less timeouts, there are circumstances when the out-of-bounds play is the correct one. I wrote that post with the facts that Missin so eloquently stated above in mind.

If it weren't for the ill-advised timeout by Ryan and the lucky false start on Hochstein, Faulk's wearing an extra-large pair of goat horns right now. With all the madness that followed, Faulk's faux pas went largely unnoticed.