Footy Player to NFL

Discussion in 'Rugby & Aussie Rules' started by BhoysFC1995, Mar 30, 2004.

  1. BhoysFC1995

    BhoysFC1995 New Member

    Nov 30, 1999
    NYC
    Chapman Kicks 'self to NFL

    FORMER Brisbane and Hawthorn player Nathan Chapman is poised to become one of a handful of Australians to play top-level American football after signing with the Green Bay Packers yesterday

    he signed a 14 week deal, and is one of 3 people going for the spot.
     
  2. Spartacus

    Spartacus Member

    May 20, 2001
    The NO SOCCER Zone
    Sounds like he's taken the right approach...having been mentored to some degree by Darren Bennett.

    There have also been some Aussie punters to play at the University level in the US...Mat McBriar at the University of Hawaii comes to mind...plus there was another at Arizona State University (whose name I don't recall) back about 1991-92 IIRC...he made one of the greatest recoveries from a poor snap -- one that only a kicker with Footy experience could make. After a punt snap went sailing over his head, he chased the ball down and with 2 San Jose State defenders chasing him, circled toward the right sideline and kicked around the body on the dead run 70 yards downfield. I've never seen anyone make a kick like that before or since.

    Which brings me to my next question -- with kickers like these that display such distance and accuracy, why aren't more of them pushing to score using drop punts? The rule is still in effect in American gridiron...it just hasn't been used in some 50 years. I've always thought that Aussie kickers could be dangerous scoring weapons from a drop punt situation...
     
  3. zverskiy yobar

    zverskiy yobar BigSoccer Yellow Card

    Mar 10, 2002
    Because as soon as your kicker is out there they know its a drop punt and will everything to block it.

    The drop punt sounds like a great idea , but the dimensions and space of the two sports are very different.In gridiron there really isnt the room to execute these type of plays.The lines and opposing players are just a hell of alot closer at all times.Heck even with a standard punt it seems like at least one a week gets blocked in the NFL.
     
  4. Craig the Aussie

    Craig the Aussie New Member

    May 21, 2002
    Sydney, Australia
  5. BhoysFC1995

    BhoysFC1995 New Member

    Nov 30, 1999
    NYC
    Re: Another ex-AFL guy has a shot at NFL

    threads merged.
     
  6. Craig the Aussie

    Craig the Aussie New Member

    May 21, 2002
    Sydney, Australia

    You need to undestand the difference between a 'drop kick', and 'drop punt'.

    The drop kick, as used in rugby to kickoff and score drop goals, is where the ball is kicked as it rebounds off the ground. This kick used to be used in Aussie Rules, but was abandoned in teh late-60's/early 70's as too unreliable for long distance kicking.

    The drop punt is the main kick used in Aussie Rules. It is where the ball is dropped vertically and kicked just before it hits the ground. It then travels in an 'end over end' motion. This is unlike the usual kick used in American football where the ball is kicked on the flat relatively high so as to spiral. This kick (called the torpedo punt here) also pretty much disappeared from Aussie Rules by the end of the 70's.

    The problem with either the drop kick or drop punt with an American ball is the pointed ends on the ball.
     
  7. Spartacus

    Spartacus Member

    May 20, 2001
    The NO SOCCER Zone
    Thanks for the clarification...I'd been taking for granted that the drop punt and drop kick were interchangeable, but hadn't seen that the drop kick had basically disappeared.
     
  8. Shearer9

    Shearer9 Member

    Apr 4, 2004
    Greenville, SC
    Is a drop punt/kick legal downfield, or do you have to be behind the line of scrimmage to do it?
     
  9. OldFanatic

    OldFanatic Member

    Jan 12, 2004
    Bay Area
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Line of scrimmage??? Are you asking this question for Australian football or American football? There is no such thing as a line of scrimmage in Australian football.
     
  10. babytiger2001

    babytiger2001 New Member

    Dec 29, 2000
    Melbourne
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think in gridiron, he means.

    And isn't there some sort of obscure rule, yet still legal and on the books, that you can drop kick the ball from anywhere on the field, and as long as it sails between the posts, it's three points?

    I believe I read something like that ages ago... anyone know where we can download an NFL rulebook, or something of the sort?
     
  11. Spartacus

    Spartacus Member

    May 20, 2001
    The NO SOCCER Zone
    There are a number of arcane rules that are still within the rules of football that generally are no longer used. The drop-kick is one of them. I'm not old enough to remember how it was used, but I believe it could be taken from anywhere on the field and if successful it counts 3 points.

    I remember in the Burt Reynolds film "The Longest Yard" they used a drop-kick for a field goal and there was considerable argument over its legality. But I believe it's one of those situations where the action fell out of favor (the place-kick was a more accurate attempt at a field goal) but hasn't been ruled out.
     
  12. ThreeApples

    ThreeApples Member+

    Jul 28, 1999
    Smurf Village
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    A drop kick has to be behind the line of scrimmage. The team would line up similar to a punt formation, though with the kicker not as far back as a punter stands, and the kicker would take a snap and make the kick. Also sometimes it was done as a trick play--the ball would get snapped or lateraled to a fullback who would fake a run and then do a drop kick. The biggest reason it went out of favor was because the ball was made more oblong to encourage passing, thus making it more difficult to get an accurate bounce for a drop kick.

    According to [url="http://www.xefer.com/archive/2003/07/dropkick]this site[/url], the NFL's last drop kick field goal was in 1937, and the last drop kick PAT was in the 1941 NFL championship game.
     
  13. KirkSaw

    KirkSaw New Member

    Jan 5, 2005
    Toronto
    A Drop Kick in U.S Football can actually be tried in two manners. (1) From behind the line of scrimmage during an offensive play and (2) As a free kick from the spot a "Fair Catch" was made on a punt or kick-off change of possesion. In Canadian Football (simular but not exact to American Football), a Drop Kick can be attempted from anywhere on the field and at any time, during any play. I'm certain that this clears things up and confuses them at the same time... lol
     
  14. KirkSaw

    KirkSaw New Member

    Jan 5, 2005
    Toronto
    And... actually there is a third manner in which a Drop Kick can be tried (American Football) but it would take many penalty yards against the team without the ball prior to it being even remotely possible. When a team gives up a "Safety Touch" (2-points for the team that tackled a player with the ball, in his own endzone), the team giving up the points is awarded a free kick. This kick is a punt to the other team from the 20-yard line (90 yards from the goal posts). However, it doesn't necessarily have to be a punt, it may also be a Drop Kick. If the receiving team took several consecutive pentalies and this attempt to kick had to keep being re-tried enough times that they kept moving up the field, a reasonable Drop kick attempt could be made. It is legal.

    One more thing, the free kick Drop Kick after a fair catch is currently being practised by many NFL teams. It is a good option in a last play of the game situation and I'd wager that it will be tried within the next year or two.
     
  15. Bluto11

    Bluto11 The sky is falling!

    May 16, 2003
    Chicago, IL
    i think Jim McMahon used to drop kick the ball before games from like 60 yards through the uprights
     

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