DIAGRAM: There comes a time in a game when you need to take a safety. Maybe the weather is bad or you just need to run some time off the clock to preserve a win (and don’t mind giving up two points). When the punt team gets to the line everyone identifies the responsibilities. When the ball is snapped, everyone tackles or holds their man until the play is blown dead (almost like wrestling in the WWE). The holding and tackling allows more time to run off the clock. The punter goes into the end zone and avoids all defenders until one is close enough to tackle him. At that point, he steps out the back of the end zone. With the WWE style, no one gets to the punter quickly, so time ticks away. Of course, the officials will call holding but if the defense takes the penalty, you just line up and do it again.
—Phil Hayford, Head Coach, Shorecrest Prep School, St. Petersburg, Fla.