Special Teams Discussion




                 Special teams is what is know as the kicking game. Even though the game is called football this part of the game is only a small peice.


Kick-Off
Kick-offs occur at the start of each half and after a team scores. It is set up with a player at the ball called a Safety Man with the rest of the team lined up about three yards behind the ball, with the kicker lined up behind the ball. The ball is placed on an one inch high tee to be kicked off of.

Field Goals/Extra Points
Occur either after a touchdown (extra point) or either on a fourth down attempt when the ball is close to the endzone. The ball is snapped to a holder about three yards behind the line.

The Holder- The holder catches the ball and places it on the ground tip down with his index finger on the top tip with the laces turned out away from the kicker.

Place Kicker- Is a kicker who kicks the ball off a tee or held stationary on the ground.

Punting
Occurs on fourth downs when the first down is too far and/or the offense thinks it is not possible to get the first down and are too far away to kick a field goal. The ball is punted by the punter dropping the ball and kicking it into the air.

Punter- Stands about 10 yards behind the line. He wants to quickly get the ball into the air and he wants it to go high in the air in order to give his linemen time to get down field to stop the return.

Long Snapper- Takes the place of the center in special teams. He must snap the ball to the holder or the punter in a perfect spiral. It is like throwing a pass from between your legs.

Kick-Off Return
The kick return team line up in rows. The first row is responsible for blocking and watching for the onside kick. The second row of is for short kicks and the third is usually two deep players who watch for deep kicks.

Wedge- The kick-off blockers move to form a human "V" shape or wedge to block teh kicking team and help protect the returner running behind the "V" formation.

Punt Return
The line's responsiblity is to hold the punting team's line up and run down the field and make a human wall of blockers. Usually the last guy runs through and attempts to block the punt. There are usually one to two receivers back to catch the punt and then run behind the blockers.

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