Create Field Position With a Field Goal Pooch Punt
Writing a blog about creating field position with a field goal pooch punt is probably not the flashiest of topics you can think of. Playing for field position in general seems to be a unsmiled upon thought these days. Just listen to the TV announcers who bristle at the notion of kicking the ball as opposed to going for it on fourth down. These same announcers who are nowhere to be found when the team who goes for it on fourth loses by 2 points at the end of the game.
However; as we watch the games unfold during this 2024 football season, it is clear to us. There is still a place for using your kicking game to establish field position.
Todays example is one that you see a lot in college and professional football and even sometimes in high school. It’s 4th and long at the opponents 30 yard line or so. Your odds of converting that fourth down and keeping the drive alive are minimum at best
Kicking a field goal is a possibility but nobody on your staff is willing to bet the farm on that either. Punting is an option. However, if the ball goes into the end zone it’s a net ten yard gain. You’re in a close game and your defense is playing well, so what do you do?
Playing For Field Position Still Makes Sense In 2024
There is another option. If executed properly it can result in a big play and make their offensive coordinator’s life miserable. If executed properly it can force him to call plays with his heels on his own goal line. We call it a field goal pooch punt. It gives you the chance to create great field position by using a little deception in the kicking game.
By lining up in a field goal formation your opponent is going to assume that you are kicking the field goal. Odds are they may try to mount a rush, expecting a low drive kick. They also may be looking for a fake because they understand the field goal is a long shot.
What they probably won’t be expecting is a direct snap to your place kicker. A kicker who has worked daily on a soft pooch punt to the corner, inside the ten yard line. The defense probably won’t have anyone back there allowing you a chance to pin their offense inside of their own 10 yard line to start their next series.
For some of you coaching in high school this makes even more sense because your punter and kicker might just be the same person. The video below is from a few years back but the idea is still as relevant as it was then. This play field goal pooch punt can create great football field position that can win you a game.
