Just a football (north american) question

[gooddragon1]

If someone could reliably make field goals from across the field, could they just constantly make field goals with kickoffs without the opposing team being able to do anything about it?

[Telonius]

No. A kickoff is special; if the ball falls anywhere past the end zone - whether it's one yard in, between the uprights, or (wouldn't ever actually happen) outside the stadium - it's considered a touchback. The other team gets the ball at their own 20 yard line. You have to actually be in control of the ball in order to kick a field goal.

[Emperor Ing]

If someone could reliably make field goals from across the field, could they just constantly make field goals with kickoffs without the opposing team being able to do anything about it?

Nah. Even the most amazing field goalers have difficulty making 50-yard field goals, and once a team declares that they're gonna attempt one, they have to move (I THINK, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG) 20 yards back. It's a workable last resort, but failure gives the opposing team excellent field position. And Touchdowns > Field Goals.

[gooddragon1]

Nah. Even the most amazing field goalers have difficulty making 50-yard field goals, and once a team declares that they're gonna attempt one, they have to move (I THINK, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG) 20 yards back. It's a workable last resort, but failure gives the opposing team excellent field position. And Touchdowns > Field Goals.

Still possible though? Just say you're attempting a field goal every time?

[Shyftir]

50 yarders are possible, I think the record is just short of 60 yards. But either way you can't try to kick one on the kick-off.

Remember the kick-off started out like the soccer(futbol) one, which was originally a kick into the opponent's territory. (It's changed more in that sport actually.)

[Emperor Ing]

Still possible though? Just say you're attempting a field goal every time?

Every drive, if you're getting up to your opponent's ~20 yard line, it's feasable. But even then you either need a powerful defense, or be playing against Brett Favre in the conference championchip, to make sure the other team doesn't outscore you, because one touchdown + the successful extra point's gonna set you back three field goals or one touchdown (plus the extra point.)

Bottom line, if you're making drives just to kick field goals, you're wasting your time.

[Erloas]

I know in Elam's best seasons he used to kick the kickoff through the uprights moderately often.

But as others mentioned, its just a touchback, nothing more.

[Gaelbert]

You also have to keep in mind that the uprights aren't on the 0 yard line. They're further back. You have to add in the distance to the end zone, and with all that it's rare to see teams attempt it from further back than the 40. In college, at least.

The Randomizer: I don't think the team has to move back, I think that's a voluntary choice to give the kicker more time to make his kick. They don't want the other team's defense to rush him or interfere with the kick.

[raitalin]

In the NFL, missed field goals attempted from the 20-yard line or closer result in the opposing team taking possession at the 20-yard line. Missed field goals attempted from beyond the 20-yard line result in the opposing team taking possession at the spot of the kick.

So if you decide to kick a 60 yard field goal (which means your line of scrimmage is at the opponent's 43, +10 for the endzone, +7 for the distance the kicker has to back up) and miss the other team gets the ball on the 50.

Also, if the kick doesn't go out of bounds it's still a live ball, and can be returned by the other team.

The longest NFL field goals are ties at 63 yards, one by Jason Elam and one by Tom Dempsey. Elam kicked his record in Denver, which is known for it's thin air (~1 mile above sea level). Dempsey kicked his with half a foot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Dempsey).

So yeah, even assuming you had some sort of Superman that could kick 90 yard field goals consistently, you're also going to need a good defense since it take 3 field goals to match 1 touchdown.

[Ted_Stryker]

Kickoffs have their own special rules: http://www.nfl.com/rulebook/kickoff

It's explicitly stated in the rules that kickoffs can't score field goals. Field goals can only come off plays from scrimmage, which require a snap of the ball to initiate. And even then, a punt can't score a FG, the ball has to be placed on the ground after the snap.

[KuReshtin]

If someone could reliably make field goals from across the field, could they just constantly make field goals with kickoffs without the opposing team being able to do anything about it?

No, there is a difference between a Field goal try and a kick-off.

The field goal try is what is called a scrimmage kick, which means that it's basically a regular play, only the offensive team decides to kick the ball.
A field goal can be made in three ways.
- Either by a place-kick (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3p0SLUHTTAM), where the ball is snapped back to a holder who puts the ball down on the ground and holds it in place for the kicker to kick it.
- Then there's the less used drop-kick (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0Jsz-fSNd4), where the offensive team usually lines up in a punt formation or a shotgun formation with the QB about 7-8 yards behind the line of scrimmage, then drops the ball and kicks it just as the ball touches the ground. It's not used a whole lot, and I believe that the last time it was done was by Doug Flutie (seen in the link above) in 2005, and before that, there hadn't been one made since the 1940's.
- The third, and even less frequent way to get a field goal is the 'free kick after a fair catch' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCBBUMnRqbo). If the receiving team fair catches a punt or a kick-off, they have the option to try a free kick of their own to try and hit it through the uprights for 3 points. It's a very obscure rule that no one really ever thinks about.

A kick-off doesn't become live until it's legally touched in the field of play by a player, and if the kicker then just booms it through the uprights, no one has legally touched it, and therefore it can not score any points.


Nah. Even the most amazing field goalers have difficulty making 50-yard field goals, and once a team declares that they're gonna attempt one, they have to move (I THINK, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG) 20 yards back. It's a workable last resort, but failure gives the opposing team excellent field position. And Touchdowns > Field Goals.

They do not move 20 yards back to make any kick. The ball is still snapped from where it would be snapped at a regular play, however the holders usually line up 7 yards behind the snapper to give the kicker a bit of a buffer to get elevation of the ball to get over the offensive and defensive line players.
You are correct in that 50+-yard field goals are still rare as they give the ball back to the defensive team with great field position if they miss.


50 yarders are possible, I think the record is just short of 60 yards.


The NFL record for a field goal is currently 63 yards (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrxTjgFYoU8) (Tom Dempsey kicked the first one, and Jason Elam matched it). A third 63-yard field goal by Swedish kicker Ola Kimrin doesn't count in the NFL record books as it happened in a pre-season game.


You also have to keep in mind that the uprights aren't on the 0 yard line. They're further back. You have to add in the distance to the end zone, and with all that it's rare to see teams attempt it from further back than the 40. In college, at least.

The Randomizer: I don't think the team has to move back, I think that's a voluntary choice to give the kicker more time to make his kick. They don't want the other team's defense to rush him or interfere with the kick.

Correct. 40-45 yard field goals are usually the most teams will attempt unless they are really desperate for points or if it's one of the last plays before half time or full time.


In the NFL, missed field goals attempted from the 20-yard line or closer result in the opposing team taking possession at the 20-yard line. Missed field goals attempted from beyond the 20-yard line result in the opposing team taking possession at the spot of the kick.


in the NFL, a missed field goal results in the opposing team gettign the ball from where the ball is kicked, no matter if it's inside the 20 or not, if I'm not mistaken.
In college rules (NCAA) you are right that the ball gets moved to the 20 if it's snapped from inside the 20 or from the previous spot (where the ball was snapped from on the FG try).



The longest NFL field goals are ties at 63 yards, one by Jason Elam and one by Tom Dempsey. Elam kicked his record in Denver, which is known for it's thin air (~1 mile above sea level). Dempsey kicked his with half a foot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Dempsey).


Darn ninja.. :smalltongue:

[raitalin]

in the NFL, a missed field goal results in the opposing team gettign the ball from where the ball is kicked, no matter if it's inside the 20 or not, if I'm not mistaken.
In college rules (NCAA) you are right that the ball gets moved to the 20 if it's snapped from inside the 20 or from the previous spot (where the ball was snapped from on the FG try).

Darn ninja.. :smalltongue:

Pulled that bit of information off of wikipedia, as I wasn't sure about it either, but that's what it says there.

And while I might've gotten there first, you did a much better job of it than I. Especially since I misunderstood the OP and didn't realize that they were asking if you could score on kickoffs through the uprights.

[KuReshtin]

Pulled that bit of information off of wikipedia, as I wasn't sure about it either, but that's what it says there.

And while I might've gotten there first, you did a much better job of it than I. Especially since I misunderstood the OP and didn't realize that they were asking if you could score on kickoffs through the uprights.

I might be wrong about the NFL ruling as we only use the NCAA rules when officiating here in the UK, and I still needed to just double check to make sure 'Team B' didn't get the ball from the spot where the ball was kicked instead of from the previous spot.
it's defeinitely from the spot of the kick in the NFL though, although I'm not 100% on it if it's inside the 20. I'm about 95% sure, though. :smallwink: