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In American football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist and occasionally in youth football, also acts as the punter.
The kicker initially was not a specialized role. Before the 1934 standardization of the prolate spheroid shape of the ball, drop kicking was the prevalent method of kicking field goals and conversions, but even after its replacement by place kicking, until the 1960s the kicker almost always doubled at another position on the roster. George Blanda, Lou Groza, Frank Gifford and Paul Hornung are prominent examples of players who were stars at other positions as well as being known for their kicking abilities. When the one-platoon system was abolished in the 1940s, the era of "two-way" players gave way to increased specialization, teams would employ a specialist at the punter or kicker position. Ben Agajanian, who started his professional career in 1945, was the first confirmed place-kicking specialist in the NFL, kicking for ten teams. [1] However, there is some evidence that Ken Strong and Phil Martinovich, both in 1939, and Mose Kelsch, in 1933 and 1934, may have preceded Agajanian as players who spent their seasons doing nothing but kicking. [2]
Because of the difference in techniques needed, to avoid leg fatigue, and to reduce the risk of injury, on the professional level most teams employ separate players to handle the jobs. The placekicker usually will only punt when the punter is injured, and vice versa (one player often handles both jobs in the Canadian Football League, which has smaller active rosters than in the NFL). A professional team will occasionally even have a kickoff specialist who handles only the kickoffs and serves as a backup to the kicker who handles field goals and extra points. This is typically done to further protect a premier point-scoring kicker from injury or if he, while accurate, does not have sufficient distance on kickoffs.
Amateur teams (e.g., college or high school) often do not differentiate between placekickers and punters, have different players assume different placekicking duties (for example, one person handles kicking off, another kicks long field goals, and another kicks from shorter distances), or have regular position players handle kicking duties. The last option is quite common on high school teams, when the best athletes are often the best kickers. Before the modern era of pro football, this was also the case for professional teams, particularly when most placekicks were still made in the "straight on" style outlined below.
Although kickers are protected from direct physical contact on field goal attempts, this is not generally true on kickoffs, and a kicker can see significant contact during a kick return. Kicker Björn Nittmo notably suffered severe brain damage from a hit he sustained on a kickoff in 1997. [3]
Still, due to their lack of plays in games and lack of contact compared to other positions, the top kickers in the NFL have often had extremely long careers, far beyond that of a typical NFL player. Of the eight players in NFL history who have played beyond the age of 45, six of them are kickers: Morten Andersen, Gary Anderson, John Carney, Ben Agajanian, Adam Vinatieri, and George Blanda (Blanda was the oldest player in NFL history, playing until the age of 48). [4]
It is not uncommon for placekickers to be some of the smallest members of their team. However, The New York Times in 2011 wrote that NFL kickers had adopted year-round weight training and strict diets. [5] Sebastian Janikowski that year was a 6-foot-2-inch (1.88 m) and 250-pound (110 kg) kicker. Kicker Rob Bironas, who was 6 feet (1.8 m) and 205 pounds (93 kg), noted, "I might be bigger than some wide receivers and cornerbacks." [5]
The presence of foreign born-and-raised players in the highest levels of gridiron football has largely been limited to placekickers, and more recently to punters from Australia as well. Occasionally, these players come from outside the traditional American high school or college football systems—and most of the women to have played men's American football at the college level were placekickers. Notably Tom Landry recruited several soccer players from Latin America, such as Efren Herrera and Raphael Septien, to compete for the job of placekicker for the Dallas Cowboys. Cypriot Garo Yepremian was renowned as much for his kicking proficiency as he was for his complete lack of awareness of the sport early in his career. British-born kicker Mick Luckhurst was one of the first British players in the NFL to have a long career, playing 7 seasons for the Atlanta Falcons during the 1980s and retiring as Atlanta's all-time leading scorer. Mexican kicker Raul Allegre played 9 seasons in the NFL and won a Super Bowl in 1986. Austrian kicker Toni Fritsch played 12 seasons in the NFL and won a Super Bowl in 1972, becoming the only player in NFL history to have won a Super Bowl along with a top-flight association football title. These anecdotes increase the perception of the placekicker as an outsider.
As of 2017, only four kickers have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame: George Blanda, Lou Groza, Jan Stenerud and Morten Andersen, and among them, Stenerud and Andersen are the only ones who did not also play another position. There is only one special teams player (including punters, return specialists and long snappers) to ever win the NFL's MVP – Mark Moseley in 1982.
Nevertheless, due to their duties in kicking both field goals and extra points placekickers are usually responsible for scoring more points than any other player on a team, and very often entire football games may come down to a single kick. [6] The top 40 players in NFL history in career scoring are all placekickers, with receiver Jerry Rice at number 41. [7]
In the NFL, placekickers, along with punters and quarterbacks, used to be among the only players allowed to wear single-digit uniform numbers; kickers can also wear numbers between 10 and 19.
In college and high school football, kickers can wear any number and usually wear one of an eligible receiver (1 to 49 or 80 to 99). Because kickers are generally less prominent on team rosters, and low uniform numbers are much more widely used among other positions at those levels, kickers are often given high jersey numbers that go unused by other players (such as numbers in the 40s or 90s). The two players in documented football history to have worn the uniform number 100, Chuck Kinder and Bill Bell, were both placekickers.
Despite a higher share of kickers in the NFL being foreign nationals than on any other position (except Punter), the kicking game is not always the strong suit of teams outside North America. The NFL Europe was notable for employing former professional association football players as placekickers, some of them becoming fan favorites, like Manni Burgsmüller. The European League of Football in its inaugural 2021 season had a relatively high share of Point after Touchdown attempts miss or be blocked and had a notably higher share of Two Point Conversion attempts even than the contemporary 2021 German Football League. The Cologne Centurions (ELF) and the Leipzig Kings even had all their Field Goal attempts that season fail (0-1 and 0-3 respectively in a ten-game season). The Barcelona Dragons (ELF) hired NFL alumnus Giorgio Tavecchio late in the season to improve their kicking game while the Hamburg Sea Devils (ELF) got lucky with journeyman placekicker de:Phillip Friis Andersen making 17 out of 18 attempts during the regular season, including a game winning one in the league opener against Frankfurt Galaxy (ELF).
Placekickers today are predominantly "soccer-style" kickers, approaching the ball from several steps to the left of it [for a right-footed kicker, or vice versa] and several steps behind, striking the ball with the instep of the foot; all current National Football League kickers use this style. This method of kicking was introduced in 1957 by Fred Bednarski [8] [9] and popularized in the 1960s by kickers like Pete Gogolak and his younger brother Charlie, the first placekicker to be drafted in the first round. [10]
Previously, most placekickers used a "straight on" style, which required the use of a special shoe that is extremely rigid and has a flattened and slightly upturned toe. [11] In the straight on style, also known as "straight-toe" style, the kicker approaches the ball from directly behind, rather than from the side, and strikes the ball with the toe.
The last full-time straight on placekicker in the NFL was Mark Moseley who retired from the Cleveland Browns after the 1986 season, and the last straight-on kicker drafted into the NFL was Manny Matsakis from Capital University by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1984, who went on to have a successful college and coaching career. The Minnesota Vikings were the last NFL team to begin employing a soccer-style kicker, bringing in Benny Ricardo in 1983.
Straight on kickers are relatively uncommon in major college football due to the control and power disadvantages, but straight-on kickers are still seen on high school, small-college, semi-pro and amateur teams. Both of the top awards for kickers in college football are named after former straight-on kickers Fred Mitchell and Lou Groza but are now won by soccer-style players.
There are variations between soccer-style kicking: many of the early soccer-style NFL kickers had an action somewhat different from today's soccer-style kickers. There are also differences between college / preps[ clarification needed ] vs most of the preps taught between kicking schools. Kicking Coach Paul Assad started teaching in the early 2000s what is termed "The Power X System" method used by most all of his over 51 NFL starting specialist students such as noteworthy, NFL greats like (Mason Crosby, Sebastian Janikowski, Matt Bryant among others) where there is a notable, differentials of leg alignment, foot position at impact, upper body positioning and sequence as well as "Plant Foot" positioning.
Placekickers in the modern game usually wear specialized shoes (soccer cleats). The reason for this is that, as compared to regular football cleats which use tougher and stiffer plastic, soccer cleats are primarily made out of leather. Kickers will also, in certain situations, wear two different cleats. One is their kicking cleat and the other is referred to as their plant foot. The reason that kickers will wear a football cleat on their plant foot as opposed to a soccer cleat is because the stiffer material will help the plant foot have a firm grip in the ground and hold the kicker's ankle in a tight position. [12] In very rare circumstances, though, some prefer to kick barefoot. Tony Franklin was one such barefoot kicker, who played in Super Bowls for the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots. Another was Rich Karlis, who once shared two kicking records - the record for longest field goal in Super Bowl history, kicking a 48-yard field goal in Super Bowl XXI to tie Jan Stenerud and also for the most field goals in a game, seven for Minnesota in 1989, tying Jim Bakken's record of the time, a record since broken by Rob Bironas. [13] [14] [15] Englishman Rob Hart kicked barefoot during his 7-year NFL Europe career. John Baker also used the style in the 1990s in the Canadian Football League, as did José Cortéz in the XFL. The last person to kick barefoot in an NFL game was Jeff Wilkins in 2002.
A unique shoe was worn by New Orleans Saints kicker Tom Dempsey; Dempsey had a deformed kicking foot that left him with a flat kicking surface at the front of his foot, and he wore a shoe that accommodated it. After Dempsey kicked a record-setting 63-yard field goal using the special shoe in 1970, the league instituted a rule change establishing standards for kicking shoes in 1977, informally known as the "Tom Dempsey Rule", that "any shoe that is worn by a player with an artificial limb on his kicking leg must have a kicking surface that conforms to that of a normal kicking shoe." [16] [17] Dempsey played for two more years after the rule's institution, retiring in 1979.
Barefoot kickers are banned in the vast majority of high school games, due to a rule by the National Federation of State High School Associations, which requires all players to wear shoes. Texas plays by NCAA rules, [18] and therefore barefoot kickers are legal in Texas.[ citation needed ]
Thomas John Dempsey was an American professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for the New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams, Houston Oilers and Buffalo Bills. Unlike the "soccer style" approach which was becoming more and more widely used during his career, Dempsey's kicking style was the then-standard straight-toe style. With the Saints in 1970, he made a 63-yard field goal, setting an NFL record which stood for over 40 years.
George Frederick Blanda was an American professional football quarterback and placekicker who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). Blanda played 26 seasons of professional football, the most in the sport's history, and had scored more points than anyone in history at the time of his retirement.
Morten Andersen, nicknamed "the Great Dane", is a Danish-American former professional football kicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 25 seasons, most notably with the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons. Following a career from 1982 to 2007, Andersen holds the NFL record for regular season games played at 382. He also ranks second in field goals (565) and points scored (2,544). In addition to his league accomplishments, he is the Saints all-time leading scorer at 1,318 points. Andersen was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017. Along with Jan Stenerud, he is one of only two exclusive kickers to receive the honor.
A punter (P) in gridiron football is a special teams player who receives the snapped ball directly from the line of scrimmage and then punts (kicks) the football to the opposing team so as to limit any field position advantage. This generally happens on a fourth down in American football and a third down in Canadian football. Punters may also occasionally take part in fake punts in those same situations, when they throw or run the football to get a first down instead of punting.
John Michael Carney is an American former professional football player who was a kicker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 1987.
Russell Erxleben is an American former professional football player and investor. A highly decorated college kicker for the University of Texas, Erxleben was a three-time All-American punter and set the record for the longest successful field goal in NCAA history at 67 yards, which is still tied today. He was unexpectedly selected by the New Orleans Saints in the first round of the 1979 NFL draft as a combination kicker and punter, where he remains the highest drafted punter and the second highest kicker in NFL history. Erxleben only spent six years in the NFL and was widely described as one of the Saints' biggest draft busts. He later became a currency investor, and was convicted of securities fraud in 1999. Although he was released in 2005, he was once again convicted of investment fraud in 2014 and sentenced to 90 months in federal prison.
In gridiron football, the holder is the player who receives the snap from the long snapper during field goal or extra point attempts made by the placekicker. The holder is set on one knee seven yards behind the line-of-scrimmage. Before the play begins, the holder places the hand which is closest to the placekicker on the ground in a location designated by the kicker's foot, with their forward hand ready to receive the snap. After receiving the snap, the holder will place the football on the turf, or block, ideally with the laces facing the uprights and the ball accurately placed where the backhand was initially, then balancing the ball with one or two fingers until the ball is kicked.
Neil William Rackers is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini. Rackers was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL draft, and also played for the NFL's Arizona Cardinals and Houston Texans.
Damon Duval is an American former professional football placekicker and punter. Duval played college football for Auburn University, and was recognized as a consensus All-American. He played professionally for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL), and the Montreal Alouettes and Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Benjamin James Agajanian, nicknamed "the Toeless Wonder", was an American football player, primarily a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL), the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and American Football League (AFL).
John Lee is a Korean former player of American football who was a placekicker for the St. Louis Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCLA Bruins, twice earning All-American honors, including a unanimous selection in 1985. Lee was selected by St. Louis in the second round of the 1986 NFL draft. He played one season with the Cardinals and was the first Korean to play in the NFL. He was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001.
Jerry Dean DePoyster is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker and punter in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wyoming Cowboys.
Stephen Everett Cox is an American former professional football punter and placekicker. Cox was drafted by the Cleveland Browns and played for them for four seasons. Cox played four more seasons for the Washington Redskins. Cox was one of the last straight-ahead style placekickers in the National Football League (NFL).
A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ball must pass through the vertical plane of the goal, which is the area above the crossbar and between the uprights or, if above the uprights, between their outside edges. American football requires that a field goal must only come during a play from scrimmage while Canadian football retains open field kicks and thus field goals may be scored at any time from anywhere on the field and by any player. The vast majority of field goals, in both codes, are placekicked. Drop-kicked field goals were common in the early days of gridiron football but are almost never attempted in modern times. A field goal may also be scored through a fair catch kick, but this is also extremely rare. In most leagues, a successful field goal awards three points.
The 1956 NFL Championship Game was the league's 24th championship game, played at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx in New York City on December 30.
Mac L. Percival is a former American football placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys. He played college basketball at Texas Tech University.
The place kick is a type of kicking play commonly used in American football, association football (soccer), Canadian football, rugby league, and rugby union. It was historically used in Australian rules football, but it was phased out of the game more than 100 years ago.
A kickoff specialist is a special teams position in gridiron football. They are responsible for kicking the ball in the kickoff. These players tend to have a strong leg, often capable of making touchbacks, and capable of keeping a ball in the bounds of the field of play but do not have the accuracy or technique required to be a full-time placekicker or punter. For most teams, the placekicker is the kickoff specialist.
A kicking specialist or kick specialist, sometimes referred to as a kicker, especially when referring to a placekicker, is a player on gridiron football special teams who performs punts, kickoffs, field goals and/or point after touchdowns. The special teams counterpart of a kicking specialist is a return specialist.
Jonathan David Baker is a former American football placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs. He also was a member of the Edmonton Eskimos and BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Arizona State University.
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