Let's talk drunk strategy: purposely duff a punt?
3 beers in and I gotta get this off my mind. I've thought about it before, but do teams ever purposely duff a punt?
I'm watching the MSU-ND circus and I see how much chaos a ~30 yard wobbly punt can cause. I have seen them more often on rugby punts, but I feel like it could be a good trick play to try this on purpose.
Scenario: 4th and 5 on your own 40. Don't want to try a fake punt, so how about take a little less risk and punt the ball very short and quick right into the coverage?
I'm sure it's harder to execute on purpose than it is to actually mess up a punt, but I feel like these "chaos punts" can give the punting team a decent chance at a turnover without risking all of the field position. Sure, you may only net 20 yards, but hell that's a small price to pay for a chance at a turnover.
Just my thoughts. What do you guys think? I'm goin back to the Dirty Bastard bottles.
EDIT: To clarify, I'm attempting to have the punter hit somebody on the return team with the ball, causing a muffed punt. I'm not talking a pooch punt. I'm talking about a situation where the other team is expecting a normal punt, only to have the ball land 30 yards downfield in the middle of retreating punt team blockers.
September 21st, 2013 at 5:33 PM ^
I believe it's called a pooch punt. And it is a very common strategy between the opponents 50 and 30 yard line
September 21st, 2013 at 5:38 PM ^
September 21st, 2013 at 5:45 PM ^
September 21st, 2013 at 6:15 PM ^
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September 21st, 2013 at 6:22 PM ^
September 21st, 2013 at 6:39 PM ^
I don't know what's been going on with me lately, but it seems like if I have 2 or more micros during the day, I'm just tired for the rest of the day. If I'm out at night having fun, then I can drink and stay energized, but for some reason it just saps my strength if I'm sitting around. Maybe I'm just getting old. Anyway, point is I totally understand a 3 beer haze.
September 21st, 2013 at 5:38 PM ^
Pooch punts are more for accurate placement, not turnovers, no?
September 21st, 2013 at 5:42 PM ^
With a pooch punt, you intentionally kick it short to mitigate the possibility of a long return. The whole idea of coverage, as I understand it, would be to simply swarm the unlucky person who gets to attempt the return.
September 21st, 2013 at 5:46 PM ^
not really sure what you mean by a "chaos punt" then. Do you mean just shanking it?
Because no, I don't believe that would work
September 21st, 2013 at 5:46 PM ^
It would be more about getting the ball into the return team's blockiing area, not to the actual return man in hopes of causing a muffed punt. The pooch punt, at least in my eyes, has always been when you're in that area just too far for a field goal and you want excellent placement/chance to down the punt close to the goal line.
September 21st, 2013 at 5:37 PM ^
I believed Matt Wile has done it a couple times....doesn't work.
September 21st, 2013 at 5:39 PM ^
Any confirmation it was planned?
September 21st, 2013 at 5:40 PM ^
limited to 4th down. It is typically more effective on 3rd down although rarely called at the D1 level. Thats right, I said D1.
September 21st, 2013 at 6:27 PM ^
Wouldn't work on 3rd down, it requires everyone on the return team running towards the returner with their back to the ball not realizing its about to hit them in the back.
September 21st, 2013 at 7:13 PM ^
That is the purpose of a 3rd down punt; the "return team" does not expect it. They would be in their 3rd and long defense. This play is executed fairly often at the High School level.
September 21st, 2013 at 7:19 PM ^
you don't do it 3rd and long. 3rd and 2 or less to really suprise them.
September 21st, 2013 at 11:47 PM ^
the whole point is to have the ball hit the defenders in the back as theyre running towards the return man trying to block, there are no such people on a 3rd down punt
September 21st, 2013 at 5:43 PM ^
"Chaos punt?"
September 21st, 2013 at 6:52 PM ^
September 21st, 2013 at 5:54 PM ^
September 21st, 2013 at 6:02 PM ^
I'm trying to force the coverage team to muff the punt. I guess I didn't make that clear. WIth the shorter punts the ball tends to land in the middle of the coverage team when they're expecting a longer punt.
It's not a pooch punt that I'm talking about. It's about surprising the return team with a shorter, quicker punt when they were expecting a booming punt.
So UM is on their own 40, WIle is out their looking to boom one. Instead he "duffs" one 25 yards to the opposing 35 yard line, right in the middle of the blockers for the return team who are expecting the ball to be punted to the 10 yard line. The ball has a chance of bouncing off of one of the blockers for the return team.
I feel like this is less risky than going for it on your own 40 or a fake punt. But I guess it would be harder to execute. I just feel the major risk is only shanking the punt 20 yards but the reward is getting the ball back in enemy territory. A failed fake punt or 4th down conversion nets no yards.
Am I making sense yet? I'm on my fourth so maybe I'm getting clearer...or less clear.
September 21st, 2013 at 5:55 PM ^
September 21st, 2013 at 5:58 PM ^
September 21st, 2013 at 6:03 PM ^
I'm just talkative, not drunk. Mean guy.
September 21st, 2013 at 6:19 PM ^
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September 21st, 2013 at 6:50 PM ^
September 21st, 2013 at 6:53 PM ^
September 21st, 2013 at 6:01 PM ^
September 21st, 2013 at 6:06 PM ^
This is a good question and I've thought about it too, but from a slightly different angle. Rather than punt for 20 or 30 yards, would it be possible to line drive a punt right at a near-enough defender who cannot get out of the way or catch it cleanly. The hope would be to bounce it off one of them in order to make the ball live and unrecovered. The problem is that a punt must go five yards beyond the neutral zone (I think NCAA Approved Ruling 6-3-1, but I could be wrong). I think it would be too tough to get a punter to bounce it off a defender five yards beyond the neutral zone. If someone were to try it, I'd suggest kicking the far end of the football so that it kind of helicopters wildly into the defender, and have your best hands guys descending on the spot.
September 21st, 2013 at 6:14 PM ^
September 21st, 2013 at 6:14 PM ^
This is a really interesting idea. On the flip side though, if one of those guys on the return team is paying attention and fields the short punt, he might only have to beat the punter to take it back to the house.
September 21st, 2013 at 6:18 PM ^
September 21st, 2013 at 6:15 PM ^
Against MSU, throw the bomb on every play and pray for a pass interference. It's working for ND, sort of.
September 21st, 2013 at 6:19 PM ^
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September 21st, 2013 at 6:46 PM ^
September 21st, 2013 at 6:55 PM ^
September 21st, 2013 at 7:09 PM ^
Drunk strategy? How about a 2-2-7 defense?
Have the two DLs shoot the B gaps and use one LB on a delayed blitz where the pocket opens up with the other LB playing man on the RB. If there is no RB and a mobile QB, use the 2nd LB to spy the QB, else cover the short middle.
September 21st, 2013 at 7:25 PM ^
I feel like MGoBlog should have it's own flag football league 11v11 with actual play calls. I would so get drunk and make up stupid shit.
September 21st, 2013 at 7:49 PM ^
September 21st, 2013 at 7:33 PM ^
How about the 6-2-3? Think of the pass rush!!
September 21st, 2013 at 9:35 PM ^
September 21st, 2013 at 9:35 PM ^
September 21st, 2013 at 9:53 PM ^
You just had to bring this up, didn't you?