Schum out

[texaspackerbacker]

Why the hell not? Possible better rush on the guy is cancelled out by better protection. If somebody averages 43 or 44 yards with good placement and height in top level college, there's no reason not to expect it in the NFL. Ditto that with place kickers. There are a helluva lot of both coming out every year. There shouldn't be any reason to pay them big money. Ted is right to treat them like they are disposable.

[pbmax]

Why the hell not? Possible better rush on the guy is cancelled out by better protection. If somebody averages 43 or 44 yards with good placement and height in top level college, there's no reason not to expect it in the NFL. Ditto that with place kickers. There are a helluva lot of both coming out every year. There shouldn't be any reason to pay them big money. Ted is right to treat them like they are disposable.

For one thing, the football is different. So the kicks are different.

In Madison, this is referred to as the Kevin Stemke effect. Unless you are Mike Lucas and you blame the GB coaches for screwing him up.

[Patler]

Why the hell not? Possible better rush on the guy is cancelled out by better protection. If somebody averages 43 or 44 yards with good placement and height in top level college, there's no reason not to expect it in the NFL. Ditto that with place kickers. There are a helluva lot of both coming out every year. There shouldn't be any reason to pay them big money. Ted is right to treat them like they are disposable.

One NFL punter said the difference is this: in college he stood still, caught an arched snap, secured the ball, then started his three-step approach to the kick. In the NFL he had to catch a line-drive snap as he was starting his two-step approach to the kick. Everything is just much faster, just as it is in every aspect of the game for players coming from college to the pros in every sport.

[Cheesehead Craig]

One NFL punter said the difference is this: in college he stood still, caught an arched snap, secured the ball, then started his three-step approach to the kick. In the NFL he had to catch a line-drive snap as he was starting his two-step approach to the kick. Everything is just much faster, just as it is in every aspect of the game for players coming from college to the pros in every sport.

To add to this, there are different rules for the "ineligible player downfield" penalty. In the NFL, only the players at the side of the formation, the "gunners", are allowed to run toward the punt returner as soon as the ball is snapped. All the rest of those along the line of scrimmage can't go more than a yard forward until the ball is kicked.

Under NCAA rules, the linemen can run toward the punt returner right after the snap. So many of the linemen take advantage of this and run forward after the snap. So if the college teams want to have anything resembling a return, they need to go back right away to help blocking. So the punter can take the 3 steps, run around and such as there's less pressure on him. In the pros, that time simply isn't there.