Touchbacks

[nanacat]

I know they're a big deal, preventing kick returns, and Hall is epic with his. My question is, will he get serious NFL looks due to his kickoff record? Sure hope so.

I also think that when kicks go through the uprights that should be worth a point or two. Just sayin.

[sdsyvie]

I believe he is being scouted atm

[MSU01]

If Brendan gets a shot in the NFL it will be for his punting, not his kickoffs. It's extremely rare for a team to carry three kickers/punters on its active roster, and all the NFL kickers have big enough legs to also consistently kick touchbacks if they want to. I think he'll definitely be looked at as a punter as he had a couple kicks this past Saturday that were absolutely NFL caliber.

[nanacat]

If Brendan gets a shot in the NFL it will be for his punting, not his kickoffs. It's extremely rare for a team to carry three kickers/punters on its active roster, and all the NFL kickers have big enough legs to also consistently kick touchbacks if they want to. I think he'll definitely be looked at as a punter as he had a couple kicks this past Saturday that were absolutely NFL caliber.

That's what I wondered about kickoffs vs punt ability in the NFL, where the priority would be? Thanks for the comment.

[coloradocat]

If Brendan gets a shot in the NFL it will be for his punting, not his kickoffs. It's extremely rare for a team to carry three kickers/punters on its active roster, and all the NFL kickers have big enough legs to also consistently kick touchbacks if they want to. I think he'll definitely be looked at as a punter as he had a couple kicks this past Saturday that were absolutely NFL caliber.

That's what I wondered about kickoffs vs punt ability in the NFL, where the priority would be? Thanks for the comment.

He'll probably be targeted for his punting with the opportunity to add kickoffs to his duties.

The placekicker doesn't always handle kickoffs. With the new setup I assume teams will go with the guy who can guarantee touchbacks and also place kicks where the ST coach wants them if they try to force returns, especially since they will have a season of video to work with to come up with new schemes.

[WetBreeches]

With the changes to NFL kickoffs, touchbacks/purposeful bombs out the back are down. If Hall were to do NFL kickoffs he would need to adjust and also have the ability to consistently land it between the 5 and goal line. As others have said, if Hall has a chance in the NFL it will be due to his punting ability, which is NFL caliber.

[BelligerentBobcat]

Kickoffs don’t matter that much in the NFL.

[tetoncat]

With the changes to NFL kickoffs, touchbacks/purposeful bombs out the back are down. If Hall were to do NFL kickoffs he would need to adjust and also have the ability to consistently land it between the 5 and goal line. As others have said, if Hall has a chance in the NFL it will be due to his punting ability, which is NFL caliber.

They do kick 5 yards further back in NFL as well. It is interesting that some teams just do kick it out and defend from 30.
It will be interesting as it gets cold if Hall continues to get touch backs all the time. Coverage group won't be used to tackling.

[coloradocat]

With the changes to NFL kickoffs, touchbacks/purposeful bombs out the back are down. If Hall were to do NFL kickoffs he would need to adjust and also have the ability to consistently land it between the 5 and goal line. As others have said, if Hall has a chance in the NFL it will be due to his punting ability, which is NFL caliber.

Touchbacks are not down, they are up. 18 of 32 teams have a touchback percentage of at least 75% this year and 20 teams have a higher touchback % this year than last year. I expect those numbers to come down a little over time as they get better at kickoff strategy but for now touchbacks are just as or more important than ever.