I don't know if this is a bug, but it is odd to me that our league, in its seventh season, has seen an incredible run this season of punts being downed inside the 20. This with one week remaining in the 1980 regular season.

i noticed the number was not right a few seasons ago and told jdb and i think he actually fixed the stat to record properly. I think it wasn't counting them if they were fair caught or if they roled to a dead stop, i can't remember. Anyways, i think what you're seeing is that the stat is actually reflecting more accurately and the numbers have practically doubled :)

A while ago I complained :) punts were made just over the MIDDLE line, which is unrealistic grown up profesionals don't manage to punt longer than that.

Now when you are saying it, I don't remember any such to short punts from RECENT games, so perhaps my complain is solved :) Although perhaps you have noticed a "to good" solved, but better to many inside 20 than as it was before with many around 40 yard line, which gave the opponent field goal positions "for free" almost.

not really sure exactly what you mean. Punts usually average between 42-50 yards give or take so if you are punting it only to midfield i'd assume your were punting from your own endzone area. The only time i see really short punts is if you have a positional player that is not a punter set to punt it. THen you may see some shanks or really short punts. I think the number of inside the 20 punts have gone up on new code due to the fact that it is recorded more accurately than in the past. Punting in general looks the same to me

I have never kicked an American football, so I don't know how hard it is to make it go far, but allready as 13-14yo boy IRL I kicked a socker ball, which is much heavier, still OVER jumping defenders 60-70 yards away. And I DIDN'T have harder shooting than average. And that's when the ball was on the ground. Soccer goalkeepers holding and kicking the ball similar as punters do, can kick LONGER than when the ball is on the ground. (I have seen some silly IRL soccer games where goalkeepers kicked to far kicking to each other, which is aroound 90-100 yards.)

So I find it odd if grown up profesional punters can't punt longer than to just over the middle line even if punting from the end zone...

anytime you punt that far you outpunt your coverage and you basically give your opponent a huge amount of space to run the kick back a long ways. So while i'm sure they can punt it much further than the average length, there's a lot more to it. Hangtime is crucial, direction and height all play a huge part. Many punters come from australia where rugby is their background. My advice would be to watch some nfl or college football for awhile and you will understand a lot more than from mfn since it's hard to really understand the game from the dots on the screen

But if punting only just over the middle line, then the opponent get there WITHOUT need to run, just make a Fair catch. So that's WORSE than kicking over the 20 yard line so the opponent can run to 25-30th... :) Or kick it into the end zone so the opponent get to 20th...

"Almost any average athlete can learn to throw a decent spiral
pass. However, kicking a spiral is another matter. Punters attempt
to give a ball a spin by hitting the underside of the ball with the top
of their foot, while angling their leg from right to left (for a right-
footed kicker). Under the game conditions, they are successful in
spiralling a punt roughly 60% of the time."

Besides the different kicking technique used in a punt, a soccer ***** aerodynamics is different aerodynamics than a football, and because of the return "hangtime"is essential . When punting, generally a low launching angle of over 60° is generally considered optimal . 90° is used in special situations .

A goalie , of any age , would boot that ball at a 45° angle to maximize trajectory . A soccer ball being heavier and requiring less technique when kicked would travEl farther just based on physics.

"In other words, the drag force on a football varies by a factor of 10
over the range of all possible orientations. "

Off a tee, or a kick off, a 45° angle is used, and the drag force is using an end over end style kick (not a punted spiral) an American football will still go shorter than a soccer ball, because of the drag force. 85 yards is not uncommon , but with newer rules hangtime"is is playing a part there sometimes .

These quotes are from a study back in 85'. Not much has changed since then. I seen punters kick it 90 yards uncontested and not in a game. But that's not football. Once a kicked ball is touched by the defense the punter/kicker is live. Meaning they can take a severe hit from a defensive player. I think that makes it a bit harder.

Some real nfl Punters make 4 mil a year, if he can hold kicks his salary just went up too! Underestimating the value of special teams will lose you games.

Very informate :thums up:
Although I still think it's bad tactic to punt just to the middle line :) because then the opponent get there with NO WORK more than just a Fair catch...
Perhaps an IDEA to add in the game?
=Let the coaches get chance to chose where he want punters to aim.
As it is now can be default.

(("Odd" spins were my speciality IRL in both soccer and basketball to get around and fool the opponents. In one of my specialities I kicked with the TOES so the opponents couldn't see by the hit which spin the ball will get, which made the opponent defenders run towards wrong penalty area corner many times :)