FIELD POSITION WINS and loses football games. If you consistently allow your opponent to start their drives with better field position than your team — you will lose.
That’s what makes the punt the most important play in football. No other play can gain or lose more yards for your team, which is why it should be treated as a priority in practice rather than as an afterthought.
Proper Alignment
The first step to protecting your punter is to have the blockers and backs in perfect position to block all the gaps. For your punt team, it’s best to use your defensive ends, backs and linebackers and line them up this way:
Î Keep a 2-foot split between the center and the two offensive guards. The OGs should be set back a little with their toes lined up with the center’s heels.
Î Keep a 3-foot split between the OGs and offensive tackles, as well as the OTs and ends.
Î Have the up-backs line up 1 yard off the front line with their inside foot slightly outside the center’s foot.
Î The fullback should be 5 yards deep with the punter 13 yards deep.
Blocking Assignments
After the players are properly aligned, they need to know who to block and how to block them. Prior to the snap, all players should call out the number of the player they will be blocking. On the snap, your lineman will bucket step and block their man as he approaches the neutral zone.
The block will consist of a solid hit, not a brush. Brush blocking allows punts to be blocked. After completing the block, lineman should release to the outside, into their proper lanes for coverage.
While the general rules apply to everyone on the punt team, each member has his own responsibilities.
- Center. The ball should be snapped back to the punter in 7/10ths of a second. Following the snap, he will keep his balance up and fill his space. If there is no one to block, he should sprint to cover the kick.
- Guards. Their inside foot should stay in place as they take a bucket step and block the first man to the outside.
- Tackles. If there are two defenders between the OTs and the OG, the OT should call “Inside.” When making this call, your OT should keep his outside foot in place while blocking inside.
If there is just a single defender or no defender at all, the OT should keep his inside foot planted, bucket step and block to the outside.
- Up-Backs. They should block the area between the OGs and the center. If no one comes into the area, then your up-backs should fill space, release and cover the kick.
- Fullback. He calls out “ready” when the punter and team are set. After the call, your center is free to snap the ball whenever he is ready. The FB should block the most dangerous rusher, especially if a defender breaks free through the middle. He should always block the rusher forward making sure not to step into the kicker’s path.
- Critical Punter Keys
With the lineman and backs in blocking position, the only job left is for the punter to get off an ideal punt, which is considered 40 yards high and 40 yards deep.
To boot his best punt, your punter must start in the ideal stance, get his hands properly on the ball, execute the perfect drop, take the correct number of steps and follow through.
1. Stance.
- Feet should be as wide as the hips with punting foot 3 to 4 inches forward and in line with the ball.
- Lean forward from the waist and be ready to jump in case of a high snap. Two-thirds of the weight should be on the back foot.
- Arms extended, a slight bend in his elbows, hands waist high about 6-inches apart, fingers spread and thumbs up.
- The ball should not come into the body. It should be caught with the hands and brought in much like a baseball infielder getting ready to make a throw.
- Eyes kept on the ball at all times.
- Mentally block out the rushers and just worry about kicking.
2. Proper Hand Position, Drop.
- Have your punter keep the ball cradled with the right hand along the backside of the ball on the right side. The middle finger of the right hand should be under the ball on the seam. Keep the left hand anywhere that is comfortable. Make sure that both palms are up.
- The ball should be positioned in the hands as quickly as possible with the laces up and outside. The air valve should be on top and to the left of the seam.
- With arms extended, your punter should push the ball forward over his right knee just before dropping it. The drop should occur 30 to 36 inches off the ground.
- The nose of the ball should be pointed slightly down and inward. The ball should be angled across your punter’s body. This is the position the ball must be in when your punter hits it on the instep.
- For the drop, remove the left hand first and keep the right hand on the ball as long as possible. It should be dropped from the shortest distance possible. A longer drop will increase the chances of a poor punt.
3. Steps.
- Your kicker should stay with the 1 1/2-step method because the 2 1/2-step approach takes too long.
- The first step is a half-step, which is more like a 12- to 18-inch jab step with the right foot (if a right-footed punter).
This is when your punter can adjust the laces.
- The second step will be a natural one that covers 36 to 40 inches. As the left foot takes this step, it should be parallel to the right foot. If the right foot stepped slightly to the right (to angle the kick), then the left foot should go in the same direction. Following the second step, the ball must be in a position to be kicked.
- As the left foot touches the ground, the right foot should be cocked back.
- After the second step, the ball will be dropped and your punter will hit the belly of the ball with the instep of his right foot.
4. Contact, Follow Through.
- Your punter should drive his leg through the ball and not across it. At the same time, there should be a natural forward movement with his left arm.
- Hit the ball with the outside of the shoelace. Toes should be pointed inward and pressed down with the knee locked at the moment of impact.
- The best point of contact would be just a shade above knee high or about 2 feet from the ground.
- The plant foot is to remain planted in the ground during follow through (unless the punter is highly successful when leaving the ground).
- At the pinnacle of the follow through, the body should be at a 45-degree angle over the punting leg.
- After the punt is completed, the punter should be ready to protect himself and get into coverage.
Know The Situation
While it’s hard enough to punt under ideal conditions, there are several times during a game when a punter will have to concentrate on the situation at hand.
Kicking Out Of End Zone. Your punter should line up at least one foot inside the end line. If he receives a bad snap, make sure he gets the kick away rather than going through all the proper mechanics. At the same time, he should know the situation because sometimes taking a safety is better than taking a chance.
Bad Snap. The first rule is to not reach for a bad snap. Your punter must get in front of the ball while at the same time not kneeling down to reach a low snap. If the knee is on the ground, the play is blown dead in high school and college.
Bad snaps are one of the most common causes for miscues or blocked punts.
Wind. Have your punter kick the ball low if the kick is going into the wind. To do this, curl the toes and foot down while holding the nose of the ball lower. The drop should occur below knee level rather than above it.
With the wind at your punter’s back, instruct him to punt the ball high into the air. Have him hold the ball higher with the nose slightly up.