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Sports   Mogul   blog

What's Up With Punt Distances?

9/22/2023

2 Comments

 
As part of an effort to improve the realism of historical replays in Football Mogul, I recently calculated the average punt distance for the last 72 seasons:
Picture
There is a general upward trend, which I think can be explained by improvements in technique and training (similar to the improvements we've seen by field goal kickers). But there are a couple things that I can't explain:
  1. A sharp but temporary increase from 1959-1965. The average punt during these 7 seasons was 42.6 yards, about two yards per punt higher than the previous 7 seasons. It then dropped sharply in 1966, dipping below 40 for most of the 1970s.
  2. A drop from 43.4 to 41.9 between the 1998 and 1999 seasons. It took almost a decade for the average punt length to get back to the level it was at in 1998.​
I can't think of any rules changes or shifts in strategy that would cause these changes. If you have any theories, let me know on Facebook or by commenting here.
2 Comments
Spencer
9/23/2023 09:08:11 pm

Wasn't there an expansion that year? Worse average punter with expansion maybe? The other thought would be caused by overall league personnel turnover, maybe a couple good punters retire and a couple rookies struggle.

Reply
James Picardat
10/6/2023 06:55:12 pm

I can only speculate about the late 60's to the late 70's but growing up during that time punting really seemed to be all about
two things:

a) Hang Time. They'd literally have a clock superimposed on the screen during TV broadcasts showing you the hang time. The league and the media were obsessed with it - sometimes to the point it seemed to mean more than punting yards.

b) Coffin Corner. That was the other element of the punt game in that era. Sacrifice distance to pin a team in deep. There was no penalty for not trying, since even if you kicked a touchback is still only came back to the 20 anyway.

As for 1965? Well, the Lions alone lost on average between 5-7 yards per punt each year after Yale Lary retired (1964). As Joe Schimidt once said after a bitter loss to GB (after Milt Plum threw a pick in Detroit territory late in the game). Should have just let Yale punt, he'd have kicked it all the way to Milwaukee.

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