Originally Posted by Detoxing:
I'm calling a fair catch no matter what, so i wouldn't even bother looking at the oncoming rush. My focus would 100% be on the ball and making sure i complete the change of possession.
The only question i really have here is whether or not i have the speed and range to get under the ball.
So long as i can get myself into position to get under the ball, i'm pretty confident i can make the catch.
Y'all ever mess around with WR gloves?
I have a pair signed by Sean Smith that I got in some charity auction. I'll go play catch with them just for grins on occasion.
It's hard NOT to catch the football with those things on. Those would make a difference as well. [Reply]
Many years ago, might have been when the NFL show was on HBO, they did a great segment on punt returns and what the returner faces during practice. Might have been Donx Steve Watson.
They set a camera behind him and had the punt coverage and return team do their thing. As the 21 other players came down the field, closing within 20 yards or so, you could see the camera shake. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
Y'all ever mess around with WR gloves?
I have a pair signed by Sean Smith that I got in some charity auction. I'll go play catch with them just for grins on occasion.
It's hard NOT to catch the football with those things on. Those would make a difference as well.
I just bought a new pair a month or so ago. They make a huge difference. Got some for my kid too. I've been hitting the field or the courts seemingly every weekend for the past year+ at least.
We're just a bunch of "old guys" of course fucking off and just getting our workout on, but every weekend we tackle each other on simulated kick returns, we do 1v1 routes till we can't run anymore, practice sideline catches, diving to the ground, different drills etc.
All the goofy amature stuff a guy can do on the field, but at least i know where i am right now, physically. I catch footballs every weekend for a few hours, so it's not like i haven't picked up a ball in months/years.
I fuck around enough to have confidence that i can at least have a shot at fielding a punt so long as i can get under it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Detoxing:
Like i said, if it's not wildly out of range to where i need an NFL athlete's speed to run it down, i'm pretty confident i could field it. Which happens plenty in the league. It's not like returners are sprinting 20-30 yards to get under the ball every punt.
It's entirely situational.
Could i field a DIFFICULT punt, where the wind is making the ball do weird shit and i have to sprint to get under it and then return it? Most likely not.
Could i get under a ball that's within 15 yards or so of my current position and call a fair catch? I'm confident that i could.
Both are scenarios that happen in the league.
So from what I can see a 'representative' punt is about a 50 yard gross. Moreover, NFL fields have numbers that end 12 yards from the boundary. Watch punt returns - the overwhelming majority of them are caught inside the numbers (most within the hashes, no less) and virtually all between 45 and 55 yards away from the LOS.
So now you're talking about an area you have to realistically cover that's roughly 39 yards wide by 10 yards deep. And if you're in the middle of that space, you cut it in half so now you're talking about forward/backwards/left/right of roughly 20 yards by 5 yards. Start drawing straight lines into that space and you're talking about a 20-21 yard run towards the back corner of it.
We really gonna pretend like you need to run a 4.3 40 to be able to cover that space on a ball with 4-5 seconds of hang time? That's an 8 second 40 time, fellas. Yeah, most of us can manage that one. [Reply]
4th and 16 at their own 19, so no chance of a fake.
1st quarter, so a basic punt return coverage.
Moore was hurt in warm-up and you've been chosen from a random drawing, so no time to prepare; just a few minutes to suit up and then a few minutes on the sidelines to do any basic warm ups that doesn't include fielding punts.
You got plenty of sleep the night before and had a hearty breakfast 3 hours ago, including a cup of coffee, then 20oz of Dr Pepper that you finished 5 minutes before kickoff. If you were heading to Costco, you might pee out of the convenience of doing so, but it's not something that's on your mind.
Along with a uniform, helmet, etc; you get your choice of gloves, or to go without. You are provided standard cleats for turf that fit snugly, but not too tight.
You are currently as healthy as you can be, with no temporary issues (no non-chronic soreness or illness). You are otherwise at your current level of fitness, including any chronic/permanent issues, such as only having one arm or tennis elbow that won't ****ing go away.
It is currently sunny and 45⁰ outside, and a comfortable 72⁰ inside the dome.
*edit... you are given instruction on where to stand on the field with a high probability the punt would land in front of you if you didn't move (in other words, you'll most likely not have to backpedal to make the catch, but will probably have to move laterally and/or forward). You're given no other information on punter tendencies. It is of course highly recommend to call a fair catch, but that's completely up to you.
Visitors' jerseys? White over white or white over red? Or maybe retro? [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
So now you're talking about an area you have to realistically cover that's roughly 39 yards wide by 10 yards deep. And if you're in the middle of that space, you cut it in half so now you're talking about forward/backwards/left/right of roughly 20 yards by 5 yards. Start drawing straight lines into that space and you're talking about a 20-21 yard run towards the back corner of it.
We really gonna pretend like you need to run a 4.3 40 to be able to cover that space on a ball with 4-5 seconds of hang time? That's an 8 second 40 time, fellas. Yeah, most of us can manage that one.
Back to that degree of difficulty thing: It's a shit ton easier to have to run UP to field the punt than having to run BACK. If i have to flip around and start running BACK while tracking the ball, that's a lot harder than trying to field a short punt by running up under it.
Give me the easiest scenario and i think i could do it. Give me the hardest scenario and i probably become an internet meme. [Reply]
I don’t have access to a jugs machine but I think this could be a great experiment.
10 footballs. Set it up for 90 feet at apex, have a large cache of cold ones, and the fun begins. Have the ENT on site for the smashed nasal bones. Probably need a urologist for when one slips through the hands and destroys a scrotum. [Reply]
I actual had a graphic in mind, but dj basically beat me to it... I was thinking of 10 yards deep and maybe to the numbers, and would say maybe standing ~7-8 yards back in that box, so you'd more than likely have to step forward and not backwards. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Megatron96:
Lol, I did it in HS.
Could I do it now? Consistently, I mean, not just once?
No, absolutely not. And don't kid yourselves, CP. Less than 1% of you could do it either. Certainly, none could do it in an actual NFL season. Skipping the part where probably less than 1% of CP are real athletes by any measure, of the 'CP athletes' remaining, well if you could do anything like that, considering how much those guys are paid, you'd be doing it, not playing couch QB on CP.
Same. I want no part in that. I liked to hit and get hit in HS. Now, no thank you. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Bearcat:
I actual had a graphic in mind, but dj basically beat me to it... I was thinking of 10 yards deep and maybe to the numbers, and would say maybe standing ~7-8 yards back in that box, so you'd more than likely have to step forward and not backwards.
I've always been pretty comfortable going back on balls so yeah, I think splitting that back half and being at, say, 52.5 yards from the LOS at the kick would be a pretty reasonable spot to put yourself.
A real boomer of a kick is going to go 60 yards past the LOS, but it's going to be razor straight to maintain that kind of distance and you're gonna have a ton of time at that point to drift back about 8 yards and settle. That feels pretty damn doable to me.
Honestly, it would be the 40 yarder in that situation that makes me nervous. You'd have to haul some ass to get there and he has so much 'surplus' distance to get it 40 yards downfield that he could get it 15 yards off center pretty easily. Now you're looking at needing to go up 12 yards and sideways 15 - that's not quite a 20 yard burst - you're gonna need to be on your horse, but you have the play in front of you so I think tracking it down is pretty manageable.
The mistake folks are making, IMO, is assuming that the mistakes these guys make are a result of the catch - it's not. It's a result of watching and trying to do MORE than merely catch it. They're watching the coverage and taking their eyes off the ball to set up for a return. It's akin to a major league pitcher throwing a strike - most of them don't struggle to throw a strike - they struggle to throw a strike that's hard to hit. A GOOD strike. And in that struggle they throw a cement mixer that gets hit to the moon.
Punt returners aren't really struggling to field the punt - they're struggling to field the punt and return it. In so doing, their concentration is split and they muff it.
I'm not doing ANY of that. I have one focus in this scenario - waive my hand over my head as soon as it's kicked and go catch the damn thing. That's it.
It ain't a John Wick impossible task here, folks. [Reply]