Will the fullback and punter vanish in the future?

Lynch

Cheesehead
Joined
Jun 7, 2007
Messages
183
Reaction score
0
Location
Malmö, Sweden
[align=left]My question is if any agree with me when I say that the fullback and punter is not needed anymore. I mean of course there have to be someone who punt the ball away and someone who can lead block.
But a kicker can learn to punt thats not hard, and a TE can easily take the fullbacks role.

I mean a TE is equaly good when it comes to blocking and can catch the ball when needed, and can surely run the ball sometimes as the fullback does.

So I think in maybe ten years these position will go away when coches notices that they are just taking space[/align]
 

cheesey

Cheesehead
Joined
Nov 25, 2005
Messages
1,000
Reaction score
3
Location
Wisconsin
I don't think they will do away with either position. A good punter can be the difference between giving your D good or bad field position. I think Craig Hentrich proved that. He was GREAT for the Packers during their SB 31 season. After we let him leave, we had a TERRIBLE time getting a decent replacement.
As far as FB, thats another big position when it comes to pass blocking. We were lucky to have Hendo all those years.
 
OP
OP
L

Lynch

Cheesehead
Joined
Jun 7, 2007
Messages
183
Reaction score
0
Location
Malmö, Sweden
[align=left]Yes of course Hentrich was a great punter and Henderson is a great FB.

I just mean don´t you think a skilled kicker could replace Jon Ryan, if the kicker have practised punting too?

And when Henderson retires and some years have passed then I think a TE could replace that position, a TE like Tony Gonzales who is relative fast for being a TE could take that postion and be used when we need to smash the ball into the endzone when we are five **** away[/align]
 

Zombieslayer

Cheesehead
Joined
Aug 13, 2006
Messages
4,338
Reaction score
0
Location
CA
[align=left]My question is if any agree with me when I say that the fullback and punter is not needed anymore. I mean of course there have to be someone who punt the ball away and someone who can lead block.
But a kicker can learn to punt thats not hard, and a TE can easily take the fullbacks role.

I mean a TE is equaly good when it comes to blocking and can catch the ball when needed, and can surely run the ball sometimes as the fullback does.

So I think in maybe ten years these position will go away when coches notices that they are just taking space[/align]

Interesting thoughts, but I think the reverse is true. the NFL is getting more complex and positions will be even more specialized. Punters and Kickers are entirely different beasts.

And for TE, you want somebody tall. I'd rather throw to a TE who's at least 6'4" or 6'5". Kellen Winslow, Dan Fouts fave target, was 6'6" if I'm not mistaken.

You usually don't want someone too tall of a RB (includes HB & FB). Tall RBs break more easily. Take a look at the top RBs in history, and only Jim Brown and Eric ****erson were tall. The top 5 RBs of all-time in terms of yardage were all under 6'. I think the ideal FB is right around 6' and 230 to 240 pounds.
 

Since69

Cheesehead
Joined
Oct 17, 2005
Messages
422
Reaction score
0
If we can't make do without a dedicated long-snapper, I doubt we'll be saying bye-bye to punters and fullbacks anytime soon.

The positions are too specialized now. In the old days, your punter was probably one of your wide receivers, and maybe he kicked field goals, too. Nowadays, teams find it's better to have three kings than one jack-of-all-trades.
 

PackFanInSC

Cheesehead
Joined
Jul 30, 2006
Messages
563
Reaction score
0
Last season, we kept an extra tight end to help out at FB when we got a little thin there so it is possible that MM thinks along those lines as well. I cannot say as I agree with that. Sometimes you need the Mike Alstotts of the league to get the short yardage where I could not see Bubba diving into the line on 4th and goal.

Atlanta tried experimenting with Koening playing both kicker and punter last year and found that he was terrible as a kicker when doing both. So they picked up Morten Andersen. On a rare occasion, like in the case of an injury, they can cover for one another but I think the biggest argument would have to be that an injury to one would eliminate 2 positions. Two many games are decided by 3 or fewer points to not keep to relatively capable specialists on the team.

If you can remember back to the 80s, Joe Theissman came in for their injured punter and his kick made it something like 6 yards. (Yes, that WAS before his broken leg!!) You need someone back there that knows what they are doing.
 
OP
OP
L

Lynch

Cheesehead
Joined
Jun 7, 2007
Messages
183
Reaction score
0
Location
Malmö, Sweden
Last season, we kept an extra tight end to help out at FB when we got a little thin there so it is possible that MM thinks along those lines as well. I cannot say as I agree with that. Sometimes you need the Mike Alstotts of the league to get the short yardage where I could not see Bubba diving into the line on 4th and goal.

Atlanta tried experimenting with Koening playing both kicker and punter last year and found that he was terrible as a kicker when doing both. So they picked up Morten Andersen. On a rare occasion, like in the case of an injury, they can cover for one another but I think the biggest argument would have to be that an injury to one would eliminate 2 positions. Two many games are decided by 3 or fewer points to not keep to relatively capable specialists on the team.

If you can remember back to the 80s, Joe Theissman came in for their injured punter and his kick made it something like 6 yards. (Yes, that WAS before his broken leg!!) You need someone back there that knows what they are doing.

[align=left]Okay I can might agree when it comes to the FB, you can need a specialized lead blocker who can run with with the ball and Henderson is quite good. I can agree that the FB is needed when I think about it, but perhaps it will be less importent in the future.

But I can´t agree when it comes to the punter. It´s just two diffrent way to kick the ball, I mean in soccer can the goalkeeper both kick the ball on the ground and lift it up and punt it away, plus he can throw it quite good :wink: [/align]
 

Lare

Cheesehead
Joined
Jan 17, 2005
Messages
705
Reaction score
0
Location
Packwalking, WI
Although you may be right on the FB position, I doubt if we'll ever see the combination of the kicker/punter positions used on a large scale.

With the current trend towards building a team through a strong defense, field position becomes even more important. That extra few yards you could lose every change of possession, by not having a pure punting specialist, adds up throughout the game and eventually leads to valuable points.

But I wouldn't be surprised to see more changes at the FB position as we saw last year in Green Bay. Let's face it, how often do FBs run with the ball anymore? The vast majority of the time they're just another blocker that occasionally catches a pass.

The teams that are successful in the NFL are ones that find innovative ways of getting more production out of the less productive positions. It's just a matter of time before someone finds another way to do that with the FB position.
 
OP
OP
L

Lynch

Cheesehead
Joined
Jun 7, 2007
Messages
183
Reaction score
0
Location
Malmö, Sweden
[align=left]The FB will disipear in the future it´s just a question of when. It´s needed today because there are still some good left who is real experts. But soon there will come a TE who will show that he´s god enough to start there. We see today that sometimes TE sub for FB who is injured.

A kicker/punter are also just moment of time before that will be a reality. Sometime someone will pop up who can both be a kicker and punter.[/align]
 

cheesey

Cheesehead
Joined
Nov 25, 2005
Messages
1,000
Reaction score
3
Location
Wisconsin
[align=left]The FB will disipear in the future it´s just a question of when. It´s needed today because there are still some good left who is real experts. But soon there will come a TE who will show that he´s god enough to start there. We see today that sometimes TE sub for FB who is injured.

A kicker/punter are also just moment of time before that will be a reality. Sometime someone will pop up who can both be a kicker and punter.[/align]
I just don't think you will ever see this happen.
If you had one guy try to do both kicking jobs, if he got hurt you'd REALLY be screwed. You'd lose both key positions in one injury.
As far as TE, you need BOTH TE and FB. They both have very different roles on the field. Like i said before, the FB pass protects AND he blocks for the RB. The TE has his duties during both types of plays already, whether as a blocker, receiver, or decoy.
 
OP
OP
L

Lynch

Cheesehead
Joined
Jun 7, 2007
Messages
183
Reaction score
0
Location
Malmö, Sweden
[align=left]okay it can be a problem if you get injured and you are both a kicker and punter. And if you ave a sub it will just go back to that one of them punt and the other one kick. But how often does a kicker get hurt?[/align]
 
OP
OP
L

Lynch

Cheesehead
Joined
Jun 7, 2007
Messages
183
Reaction score
0
Location
Malmö, Sweden
[align=left]So then why not a kicker/punter? if it´s to much of a problem with injures, then hire some good soccer players doesn´t get injured by kick a ball. David Beckham would perhaps be a good choise or Roberto Carlos[/align] :wink:
 

PackFanInSC

Cheesehead
Joined
Jul 30, 2006
Messages
563
Reaction score
0
Green_Bay_Packers said:
Kicker getting hurt. i would say not very often cause they would warm up so and they know how to kick it,so very rare.


Not all that rare -- Adam Viniateri missed the first 3 games last year with a pulled groin. John Hall (formerly of Wisconsin) was released by the Redskins in March after missing portions of the past 3 seasons due to injury, including the last 12 games last season.

Viking Punter Chris Kluwe suffered a hamstring injury during the Packer/ Viking game. If an injury happens during practice, you may be to get a replacement in in time for the game but, after the game starts, you pretty much want to have another specialist available.

In addition to the Theisman example I mentioned before, also back in the 80s, there was a concern with the 85 Bears because their backup for Kevin Butler was Steve "Mongo" McMicheal. Luckily for them, they never had to resort to putting him out there.
 

cheesey

Cheesehead
Joined
Nov 25, 2005
Messages
1,000
Reaction score
3
Location
Wisconsin
Yup.....the guys get injured alot more then people realize.
No one really notices that much because they arn't "star" players.
They arn't flashy. It's not like a Manning or Favre going down.
It's like a spare tire..........when you NEED it, you want a reliable one. But if it's a crappy one, you sweat bullets.
 

kmac

Cheesehead
Joined
Apr 19, 2006
Messages
849
Reaction score
0
Location
Milwaukee
[align=left]So then why not a kicker/punter? if it´s to much of a problem with injures, then hire some good soccer players doesn´t get injured by kick a ball. David Beckham would perhaps be a good choise or Roberto Carlos[/align] :wink:

Okay, so you're a soccer fan and you're from Sweden. Let me put this into perspective. Saying that Dave Rayner/Mason Crosby can learn to play punter as well as Jon Ryan because they also kick a ball is like saying that Olof Mellberg can replace Ibrahimovic or Allback as a striker on the Swedish national soccer team because they both run around and kick the ball.

Maybe we should replace Daniel Andersson of your hometown club with some cheap American like Landon Donovan. I mean, they both play soccer, what's the difference? :thumbsup:
 

Packnic

Cheesehead
Joined
Mar 29, 2006
Messages
2,454
Reaction score
6
Location
Salisbury, NC
Landon Donovan is better than Daniel Andersson and isnt soley a striker as he can and often does play a central midfielder role.

so replacing andersson with donovan would actually be an effective move from the Malmo perspective.

but i see the point...
 

kmac

Cheesehead
Joined
Apr 19, 2006
Messages
849
Reaction score
0
Location
Milwaukee
Landon Donovan is better than Daniel Andersson and isnt soley a striker as he can and often does play a central midfielder role.

so replacing andersson with donovan would actually be an effective move from the Malmo perspective.

but i see the point...
:lol: Smartass.

It would not be an effective move for Malmo because Landon Donovan has a ****** and is scared of big bad Europe.
 

PackFanInSC

Cheesehead
Joined
Jul 30, 2006
Messages
563
Reaction score
0
Not being from Sweden or a soccer fan, I have no idea who we are talking about. :shrug: :shrug:
 

digsthepack

Cheesehead
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
2,486
Reaction score
0
Very rare is the player who could excel at kicking and punting. It is such a highly refined motion that to alternate would surely screw up the mechanics of the player.
 

cheesey

Cheesehead
Joined
Nov 25, 2005
Messages
1,000
Reaction score
3
Location
Wisconsin
Lynch said:
[align=left]So then why not a kicker/punter? if it´s to much of a problem with injures, then hire some good soccer players doesn´t get injured by kick a ball. David Beckham would perhaps be a good choise or Roberto Carlos[/align] :wink:

Okay, so you're a soccer fan and you're from Sweden. Let me put this into perspective. Saying that Dave Rayner/Mason Crosby can learn to play punter as well as Jon Ryan because they also kick a ball is like saying that Olof Mellberg can replace Ibrahimovic or Allback as a striker on the Swedish national soccer team because they both run around and kick the ball.

Maybe we should replace Daniel Andersson of your hometown club with some cheap American like Landon Donovan. I mean, they both play soccer, what's the difference? :thumbsup:
Kmac....GREAT example!!!
Even though i don't know the players, i understand the point.
Another way of putting it is :The NHL could replace their players with figure skaters! After all, they both just skate around fast on the ice! :thumbsup:
 
OP
OP
L

Lynch

Cheesehead
Joined
Jun 7, 2007
Messages
183
Reaction score
0
Location
Malmö, Sweden
kmac said:
Lynch said:
[align=left]So then why not a kicker/punter? if it´s to much of a problem with injures, then hire some good soccer players doesn´t get injured by kick a ball. David Beckham would perhaps be a good choise or Roberto Carlos[/align] :wink:

Okay, so you're a soccer fan and you're from Sweden. Let me put this into perspective. Saying that Dave Rayner/Mason Crosby can learn to play punter as well as Jon Ryan because they also kick a ball is like saying that Olof Mellberg can replace Ibrahimovic or Allback as a striker on the Swedish national soccer team because they both run around and kick the ball.

Maybe we should replace Daniel Andersson of your hometown club with some cheap American like Landon Donovan. I mean, they both play soccer, what's the difference? :thumbsup:
Kmac....GREAT example!!!
Even though i don't know the players, i understand the point.
Another way of putting it is :The NHL could replace their players with figure skaters! After all, they both just skate around fast on the ice! :thumbsup:

[align=left]ok I got your point guys, but all I´m saying is that a kicker is a kicker and a punter a punter and it require some skill to be good in that postion.

I mean that David Beckham, who by the way will play in Los Angeles next year, had an role in his former club as an excellent free-kicker and he have done many free kick in a single game, more then a kicker, without getting injured. And he is also participating in the game as player tackle and stuff.

So why is not possible for a kicker doing both things when they are doing something so harmless?

Ok you say a punter is a punter and a kicker is a kicker, but it cold be the same with training.

A goalkeeper in soccer were a long time ago just someone who was a leftover who couldn´t play anything else and developed to a exellent athlete, and then many years later is it not rare seeing a goalkeeper taking free kicks and participating in the game in some situations.
A more obvious example on how a postion develop is how the defence players, in soccer, is more and more developing offensive awerness and some of them is a close to a scorer, 50 years ago was that nearly impossible, and ten years ago was it just Brazilian players who did that.

So why can´t Football develop in a similar way?

By the way how did you know about MFF and Daniel Andersson?

[/align]
 

TheStone

Cheesehead
Joined
Feb 28, 2006
Messages
156
Reaction score
2
Location
Aachen, Germany
[align=left]So then why not a kicker/punter? if it´s to much of a problem with injures, then hire some good soccer players doesn´t get injured by kick a ball. David Beckham would perhaps be a good choise or Roberto Carlos[/align] :wink:

THIS WOULD KILL YOUR SALARY CAP!!!!!!!
:rotflmao:
 

Members online

Latest posts

Top