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Free Kick rule

Astcloud11

Astcloud11

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Is the "free kick" rule a thing in College? If so, is there any chance Diaz attempts to abuse it this year in situations where it may be suitable?

For those who aren't aware of the free kick rule;

You can only attempt it after fair catching a punt/kick-off. After, its basically a field goal, but the defense has to line up 10 yards off the the ball and can not make an attempt to block it.

The only scenario I can think of that wouldn't be completely retarded to utilize this rule, is at the end of the first half when there is only time for 1 play after a turnover on downs. If our defense pins an offense to their own goal line, and they punt from the end zone...we'd be looking at a free kick of somewhere around 62 yards (from the 45). Think of it as the Kicker's version of a hail mary.
 
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A team in the NFL did this a few years ago... want to say it was the raiders but could be wrong. I was dumbfounded by it
 
I am very curious why you thought of this though, nobody ever brings this up and I would venture to say less than 10% of football fans know this even exists 😂
 
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Astcloud11 said:
Is the "free kick" rule a thing in College? If so, is there any chance Diaz attempts to abuse it this year in situations where it may be suitable?

For those who aren't aware of the free kick rule;

You can only attempt it after fair catching a punt/kick-off. After, its basically a field goal, but the defense has to line up 10 yards off the the ball and can not make an attempt to block it.

The only scenario I can think of that wouldn't be completely retarded to utilize this rule, is at the end of the first half when there is only time for 1 play after a turnover on downs. If our defense pins an offense to their own goal line, and they punt from the end zone...we'd be looking at a free kick of somewhere around 62 yards (from the 45). Think of it as the Kicker's version of a hail mary.
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Good post, I was not aware of this rule.
 
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I'm not entirely sure of the OP's point. It's more comparable to a "kick off" rather than a "field goal." ie. If a kicker splits the uprights during a kick off, no points are awarded. It's a touchback. A "free kick" is giving back possession of the ball.
 
TheEye said:
I'm not entirely sure of the OP's point. It's more comparable to a "kick off" rather than a "field goal." ie. If a kicker splits the uprights during a kick off, no points are awarded. It's a touchback. A "free kick" is giving back possession of the ball.
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You get points from a free kick in the NFL. Just very rare for teams to actually make it.
 
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Another rarer occurrence is the drop kick extra point. The Patriots let Flutie do it in one of his final games with the team.
 
TheEye said:
I'm not entirely sure of the OP's point. It's more comparable to a "kick off" rather than a "field goal." ie. If a kicker splits the uprights during a kick off, no points are awarded. It's a touchback. A "free kick" is giving back possession of the ball.
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Wrong.

In HS and the NFL, you can fair catch a punt, and attempt what is essentially a field goal from that spot, but the defense has to line up 10 yards from the LOS, and there's no snap

If you make it, you get 3 points. If you miss, the kick can be returned (provided it doesn't go out of bounds) just like a normal field goal, or the defense gets the ball at the spot of the kick.

It's very rarely used, obviously. As OP mentioned, the only real time you'd attempt this is at the very end of a half or game, and your opponent is punting from very deep in his territory. If the punt is short, you can fair catch it, and you can attempt a kick with no rush from that spot.

The Panthers did it in the NFL a few years ago, but their guy missed from 60. Google it. Kind of a moot discussion though because as I mentioned I am fairly sure the rule doesn't exist in the NCAA book. Only HS and NFL.
 
blushrts said:
Hedley could probably do these as he's played rugby, and they are fairly common there.
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It was also more common when players were still wearing leather helmets. The ball was rounder back then and it was easier to do.

I remember when John Madden was still doing broadcasts, he often mentioned some obscure rule that he was always looking for an opportunity to use during a game but never found it. This may have been the one.
 
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