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Drop-Kick Field Goal?

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The word I heard about this was that once upon a time, a player was considered "down" if he held the ball for the kicker. This makes sense, since the holder is on his knee. I didn't ask the question "what if he's not on a knee, and holding the ball on the ground?" But that was the explanation I heard. Therefore, the drop-kick was the way to kick field goals and extra points, once upon a time.

Today, since it's legal to hold the ball for the kicker, and much more accurate, that's the style of choice. I can't think of a time that a drop-kick would be used, unless a team wants to fake the 4th-down conversion and instead kick the field goal. But that doesn't make any sense, since the field goal kicker is a ton more accurate than anyone drop-kicking. It would be as useless as Bart Starr's behind-the-back pass.

These rule changes may or may not have been because of the changes to the ball shape/size. In fact, now that I think of it, I don't even remember where I heard all this stuff. It may have been the jerk whose voice I hear in my head every now and then. He makes stuff up and makes me look dumber than I already am. But maybe someone can confirm my facts.

tedginn05 said:
As long as we are talking about kickers, how 'bout this one. Bare-Foot Kickers? Why would you ever want to kick bare-foot?
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Well, I'm not a kicker. I've kicked footballs before, but they rarely go far or in any specific direction. (That's right - the football tends to change directions randomly mid-flight.) But, obviously, some people think they can kick better (straighter, farther, or both) without a shoe. Haven't you ever tried kicking barefoot? It's not like it hurts, or anything. In fact, I found that when I kick barefoot, the ball flies just as crappy and randomly as when I have a shoe on.
 
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kicking a soccer ball barefoot doesn't hurt that badly unless you do it wrong. I have kicked FGs (for fun, from rivas' range) with just a thin sock on before and it didn't hurt, so I can't imagine barefoot is that bad.

I would agree its probably about control.
 
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Zurp said:
The word I heard about this was that once upon a time, a player was considered "down" if he held the ball for the kicker. This makes sense, since the holder is on his knee. I didn't ask the question "what if he's not on a knee, and holding the ball on the ground?" But that was the explanation I heard. Therefore, the drop-kick was the way to kick field goals and extra points, once upon a time.

Today, since it's legal to hold the ball for the kicker, and much more accurate, that's the style of choice. I can't think of a time that a drop-kick would be used, unless a team wants to fake the 4th-down conversion and instead kick the field goal. But that doesn't make any sense, since the field goal kicker is a ton more accurate than anyone drop-kicking. It would be as useless as Bart Starr's behind-the-back pass.

These rule changes may or may not have been because of the changes to the ball shape/size. In fact, now that I think of it, I don't even remember where I heard all this stuff. It may have been the jerk whose voice I hear in my head every now and then. He makes stuff up and makes me look dumber than I already am. But maybe someone can confirm my facts.



Well, I'm not a kicker. I've kicked footballs before, but they rarely go far or in any specific direction. (That's right - the football tends to change directions randomly mid-flight.) But, obviously, some people think they can kick better (straighter, farther, or both) without a shoe. Haven't you ever tried kicking barefoot? It's not like it hurts, or anything. In fact, I found that when I kick barefoot, the ball flies just as crappy and randomly as when I have a shoe on.
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I played kicker in a JV game last year. It was the only game I started, it was on a kickoff, the other games i played CB. I have tried kicking with a tennis shoe on and its not bad, but when i kick with a cleat, it feels alot better. But i can't imagine trying to kick bare-foot. I would think you would be more prone to breaking a toe when kicking bare foot than with shoe on.
 
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doesn't sound like you've done much kicking in your day. Most soccer players (which often describes the background of most kickers) have kicked barefoot before.

Kicking in sneakers isn't going to work well, b/c its designed for running. Unless I happen to be wearing sambas, if I want to kick a soccer ball or football (like walking back from class and someone is kicking back and forth), I usually just slip my shoe off to kick it back.
 
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Flutie converts first drop kick since 1941 championship

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<!-- begin text11 div --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top><!-- begin leftcol --><!-- template inline -->FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Doug Flutie added another oddity to his football resume on Sunday when he converted a drop kick in the fourth quarter of the New England Patriots' 28-26 loss to the Miami Dolphins.

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Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images
Flutie converted this drop kick -- the first since 1941 -- for the extra point after a Patriots' TD in the fourth quarter.


It was the league's first drop kick since the 1941 NFL championship game, according to the Web site for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
With starting quarterback Tom Brady sitting out most of the season-ending game, backup Matt Cassel threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Tim Dwight to cut Miami's lead to 25-19 with 6:10 left in the game. Flutie, who was listed as the No. 3 QB, came in for the extra point and lined up at quarterback.
After a timeout, Flutie took the snap, dropped the ball and kicked it off a short hop through the uprights for one point. He ran off the field and embraced coach Bill Belichick.
According to the Hall of Fame site, Chicago's Ray "Scooter" McLean converted the last drop kick for an extra point in the Bears' 37-9 victory over the New York Giants on Dec. 21, 1941.
<!-- non-AP -->The dropkick remains in the NFL's official rule book, even though it hadn't been successfully converted in decades. Rule 3, Section 8 defines the drop kick as "a kick by a kicker who drops the ball and kicks it as, or immediately after, it touches the ground."
According to the Hall of Fame site, ex-Bears quarterback Jim McMahon, begged his coach for a chance to attempt a dropkick in a game. But his coach, Mike Ditka, denied the request.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2277308

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hundred years ago.. I used to goof around and was actually pretty good with a drop kick... but that was using the straight on... Lou Groza style... anyone do this with the soccer sidewinder style? tougher? easier?
 
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NJ-Buckeye said:
hundred years ago.. I used to goof around and was actually pretty good with a drop kick... but that was using the straight on... Lou Groza style... anyone do this with the soccer sidewinder style? tougher? easier?
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Used to screw around with it during soccer two-a-days years ago (someone always had a football in their car). It was hard to do because of dropping the ball and coming from an angle. I could never get the right hop. Straight-on, no problem.
 
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RugbyBuck said:
England beat Australia to win the last Rugby World Cup on a bad-ass long distance drop kick. There just really isn't a way to incorporate it as an offensive weapon into modern American football.
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There is the situation in which a team wishes to try for a 2 point conversion. If the play isn't there, instead of throwing the ball away, the quarterback could convert a drop kick and still get one point. It's a small niche, but it is a niche.
 
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