punters
 

i'm sure everyone has seen the hit on the bengals punter by now. done for the year, with a broken jaw and cracked vertebra in his neck (ouch).

now...i'll always laugh when i see punters and kickers who half-assed and half-heartedly attempt a tackle.
now, supposedly punters are defenseless throughout a play. if so, perhaps they should put them in a different jersey? do we expect players to verify who they're blocking before a block? now, i thought this particular hit by the steeler was a bad hit anyway, because of where he placed his helmet. i don't think it was made worse because he did it to a punter.
should punters have a designated tackler? they kick and leave the field? hell, i've seen kickers leave the field rather than engage, which cracks me up. but it keeps them from getting injured too.

thoughts?

My thought is that is isn't that hard to identify the punter. Anyone that has played football beyond pee wee league knows this. It isn't like the punter is down the field mixed in with everyone else. Also, nobody has said you can't block the punter. You just can't crush the punter, especially with a cheap shot. The chances the Steeler know that was the punter 100%.

The NFL limits roster size and teams do not want to carry an extra punter and an extra kicker. Therefore, they are protected. What is the big deal?

Ask Trindon Holiday about punters...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnyxI6KDFHc

It definitely needs to go both ways. Look, unless we want to be subjected to a steady diet tof 25yd. punts, these guys are going to wear much less protection, for mobility sakes, than every-down guys. There has got to be more serious consequences for a hit like this. Dude could have been crippled by this jagoff.
Conversely, they can't be allowed to inject themselves into a play, even to block or impede. Kick the ball, get out of the way. Or make them wear the same protection as everyone else on the field.

yeah, they aren't-for the most part, trindon hollidays tackle very, very much the exception-'real' football players. they are typically small, slight, and wear less protection even than a qb.

aside from that, the hit most likely was illegal regardless of who he hit, and is the type of hit they are trying to get rid of in football. people like to glorify the old days, but football players are in no way similar to those of old. they are faster, bigger, stronger. football almost went the way of the dodo once before, because it was deemed too unsafe. surely no one wants it to go away because they think it's just fine that people are getting injuries that affect them the rest of their life?

If you are trying to make the tackle you should be treated like every other player. If you don't want to play football punt the ball and run to the sideline. The hit was about six inches to high but other than that it was fine.

so, once the qb delivers the ball to someone, should he also exit the field?

and how can the hit be too high but be fine other than that? the whole point about the hit being bad was due to where it was delivered, how the player inserted his helmet where he did. in what way was the hit 'fine'?
the punter wasn't trying to make a tackle, he was trying to plug a hole as he put it.

Most punters are tall and have long legs - it is a decided mechanical advantage over a small, slight-framed kicker. They typically are not "slight" either, they just have exceedingly limited protection compared to the padding you see them surrounded by..

But that isn't the point. they need to be able to extend their kicking leg over their head, and also need the mobility to react to long snaps. They can't possibly do this successfully with any real degree of bulky padding.

To Tom's point, under the current rules, if you are on the field of play, either blocking or attempting to make a tackle, they can and should be treated like any other player.

Yes, this was a bad hit under the new rules, but even if he doesn't lead with his head, you've essentially got a guy 6'2" 195 lbs with no padding being blindsided and steamrolled by an NFL linebacker. It's a recipe for disaster.

I'd like to see this rule changed where they kick the ball and then get the hell off the field. I personally don't need to see that crap.

If anyone thinks that is just "good ole football" and "an important part of the game" then they really ought to consider buying an Affliction shirt and a neck tattoo and then heading down to the local MMA gym. A hit like that isn't football.

i'm saying slight as in they are generally trim, not bulky, muscular behemoths. and lack of padding certainly is an issue.

Reggie Roby ? Kickers and punters are fair game, but payback is a bitch. You mess with kickers, they get even. Remember P Manning talking smack about Mike Vanderjack ? I can still read his lips as he was missing the kick which put the colts out of the playoffs......"stupid f'n kicker huh? we'll see who's stupid now....wide right. "

David Akers almost getting beaten up on the Giants sideline after taking on some coaches during a runback.

worst I ever saw was at Harvard Staduim. Boston Patriots vs. the Chargers. Some big guy with a big afro, hit Gary Garrison and knocked him cold, when he came to, he wanted to kill him, literally.
you see it on occasion after a kickoff when the kicker has gotton someone mad, a number 59 type player will have a running start and bundle the kicker like he has the ball. Of course your own kicker will be next ....

Steve Weatherford of the Giants (just sayin...)

ok...point is, the nfl has made the rule. but i guess you missed that part, right....honey?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMV6KH0xyyA

When it was the best sport on earth.

an excerpt from Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson's book "Out of Control" from wikipedia site

"Bears coach Mike Ditka was the Cowboys` special teams coach from 1973-1981, and he is portrayed as a ruthless competitor. Before a 1975 game against the Rams, Henderson says Ditka told him to go after Los Angeles kicker Tom Dempsey, who had a deformed foot and only one hand. He did, leveling Dempsey with a vicious hit on the opening kickoff."

'wood" said that Ditka was pissed after seeing Dempsey run down the field on kickoffs like he was going to "hit someone" or make a tackle. Im sure Mike had other issues fueling his emotions :rolleyes:

If they kick and get off the field, the other team should have one less blocker.

agreed. it's a conundrum...he's 'defenceless', but can still be in the play, can block, can tackle, can have an effect. that's having your cake and eating it, too.

I was being facetious. I know you watch a lot of football, many punters stay out of the way without running off the field. They run near the play without any intention of getting involved. That is the choice all punters have. I don't condone the shot to the head but the blocker has every right to hit the punter as hard as he can if he interjects himself into the play.

The guy who made the play is probably the 53rd man on the roster and hasn't played many(if any) snaps on defense. If he lets the punter make the tackle there is a decent chance he is looking for another job today.

except that he doesn't according to the rule regarding a punter being defenseless throughout the play. again, you can't have it both ways...can you?