With the increased use of the rugby style punter, the main advantage seems to be that it allows for fake punts. My question is, when are you allowed to tackle the guy with the ball? If you see him sprinting across the field, is it roughing the passer if you take him out? At what point does he become a runner (or passer) and therefore, fair game?
If I should already know this, then....well gosh....I'm old!
Thanks for educating me.
might sound crazy but it might be nice for us to incorporate the style to stop getting our damn punts blocked. I don't remember this happening on such a high frequency.
"Winter is coming" - Urban Meyer
I guess I'm confused by your question.
If somebody, anybody, has the ball, they can be tackled. It doesn't matter if they are a QB, RB, or punter. Roughing the passer/punter would not apply if they have the ball. If they have gotten rid of the ball and are then tackled, then yes it would be roughing...
"What we do in life echoes in eternity"
As long as he has the ball then he's fair game. The only time you would get a roughing call is if he kicks/passes the ball and you hit him late. My understanding at least.
Browny, there was a very clear missed blocking assignment on that blocked punt. The blocker wasn't touched, and there was a guy on the line who apparently helped double block somebody else and let that guy right through. At the same time, I think Buchanan's release is a bit slow. It's like he hesitates once he gets the snap. Am I crazy?
Also in regard to using the rugby style more often - I personally don't like it. The only positive to me is it limits returns because the ball is on the ground and rolling more quickly, so it doesn't give the returner much of a chance.
The negatives far outweight the positive, to me. One, with the punter on the move there is a greater chance of a shank. Two, if the punt block unit happens to overload the side were the punter is rolling to, there is a greater chance of a block. Three, by relying on a good bounce off the punt, you are taking a risk of a bad bounce (backwards).
Just my two cents.
"What we do in life echoes in eternity"
No...osujak9 has been complaing for a few seasons that its a slow release. All these creative punt formations and stuff are fun...but not when we keep letting them get blocked!
"Anything less than flagrant is just playing grab ass!"
@oldcolumbustown...I suppose that my confusion arises from some of the roughing-the-passer calls I have seen, where it seemed to me that the punter still had his hands on the ball when he was hit. I do not have a specific reference play for that right now, but just assumed they were the correct call, because the punter was vulnerable. If you say that is the rule, then I am okay with it. As I said, it was just a question
“...indomitable in victory, insufferable in defeat.” Woody Hayes
@pompano unless there has been a rule change that I haven't seen, if you hit the kicker once in motion of kicking without touching a piece of the ball it is roughing the kicker or could be called running into the kicker depending on the severity. I've seen a few punters that are taking dives and acting hurt to get a penalty called, although it doesn't happen often.
The advantage in a rugby style punt is eliminating the return by giving your coverage team more time to get downfield. The downside would be, when you don't execute, and it gets blocked, its going back for 6pts. I really don't care for it myself. Purdue burnt us with it on a fake. I think in most cases, the refs won't flag for roughing when it's a rugby style kick, because the defender doesn't know if its a fake or not. Fair game I suppose.
Dustin Fox was our leading tackler as a corner.... because his guy always caught the ball.
My freshman year at Montana State our football team used a roll punt. It reduced return yardage a lot, but it was just as close to getting blocked many, many times, and even with the ball taking a good roll in our favor, the other team started a lot of drives with pretty good field position. We all actually breathed a sigh of relief when the new coach came in and we went back to traditional punts.
As long as the punter has the ball he's dead meat, if the punter does kick the ball and a defender gets at least a finger on the ball then the punter is dead meat and no penalty
O H I O is the Buckeye State
@Buckeyebrowny
I would prefer we didn't incorporate the rugby style punt as we were trying to do a rugby punt in the PSU game. It was the one blocked, and I remember seeing the punter run directly at the defender coming off the edge.
You can kill a fly with your slipper or a cannon. Either way, the fly dies. -Ramzy
It seems that Buchanon's noodle leg has gotten a little more out of punts using rugby style, hopefully we can get the blocking worked out
"You're pissed because we went after a committed guy? Guess what, we got 9 guys who better go do it again," said Meyer. "Do it a little harder next time."