Punt returner

Earl Thomas (no. 29), safety of the Seattle Seahawks , wearing a punt against the Chicago Bears back

The punt returner ( PR ) is a special team player on an American football or Canadian football team. He catches the ball after a punt by the opposing team and carries it back as far as possible ( English to return , carry back ). The position of punt returner is usually only permanently occupied in professional teams. This position does not exist in most arena football leagues.

task

Before the punt, the returner positions himself about 35 to 45 yards (32 to 41 meters ) behind the line of scrimmage of the current play. After the punt, the returner runs to the position on the field where he thinks he can catch the football most safely. As soon as he has caught it, the returner runs towards the opposing end zone . Instead of running with the ball, he can display a fair catch by waving his arms above his head . Then he may catch the ball unmolested and not be tackled , but also not gain any space. The returner chooses the fair catch if the opposing defenders are too close and the risk of a fumble when catching the ball is too great. Optionally, he can also let the ball come to the ground and the attack begins where the first opponent touches the ball, whereby no player of the returning team may have touched the ball beforehand (see Muff ).

If the punt returner carries the ball into the opposing end zone , this is a punt return touchdown . If he does not succeed in this, the offense begins its attack at the point where the fair catch took place or at the point to which the returner was able to carry the ball back. If the returner catches the ball in his own end zone and does not carry it back, but goes on his knees or makes a fair catch there, there is a touchback and the offense begins at his own 20- yard line.

Position description

A punt returner is usually a very fast player with secure hands. This role is therefore often taken on by a wide receiver , defensive back or a running back . Reserve players usually take over the positions in the special teams.

Due to the similar tasks, a punt returner can also act as a kick returner ( return specialist ), but two different players are often used. As a rule of thumb that a punt because of Effets is harder to catch the Returnen but is less risky. The main reason is that the opposing gunner who want to tackle the punt returner are already blocked by the whining at the line of scrimmage . Therefore, the gunner cannot run directly to the punt returner and usually brake beforehand in order to carry out the most precise tackle possible. That is why there are usually not as hard collisions as with kick returners.

Records and Statistics

The first known punt return occurred on July 4, 1875 at the game between Harvard University and Tufts University , when medical student FB Harrington carried a punt back for the only touchdown of the game. It was also the first punt-return touchdown of all time.

Brian Mitchell , who was active from 1990 to 2003, holds the records in the National Football League for the greatest gain in space after punt returns with 4,999 yards and most punt returns with 463. While George McAfee , active from 1940 to 1950, with 12.78 yards achieved the highest average value per punt return, Devin Hester , who has been active in professional football since 2006 , holds the record for punt return touchdowns with 14.

In the Canadian Football League (CFL), Henry Williams, active as a footballer between 1985 and 2000, holds the record in three categories with 11,177 yards with a total of 1,003 returns and 26 punt-return touchdowns. Leon Bright , who was active in the CFL from 1977 to 1980, has the highest average value with 14.8 yards per punt return.

In NCAA football, Jack Mitchell , who played at college between 1944 and 1946, has the highest average value with 23.6 yards , Vai Sikahema , who played in the NCAA between 1980 and 1985, with 153 the most punts returned, and Wes Welker , who between 2000 and 2003 university sports, with 1,761 the highest total number of yards from punt returns. With 8 each, Welker and Antonio Perkins , who was active in university sports from 2000 to 2004, share the record for most punt-return touchdowns.

In the regular season of the 2017 NFL season , punt returner were used 1,666 times, which corresponds to 6.51 times per game. They chose the fair catch 626 times (37.58%) and ran 1040 times (62.42%), with 10 punt-return touchdowns (0.60%) over the entire season.

further reading

• Michael Auerbach: American Football. The official rules. Worth knowing from A – Z. , Falken-Verlag, Niedernhausen 2000, ISBN 978-3-8068-1673-0 .
• Peter Kränzle, Margit Brinke: American Football: game idea and rules, teams and actors, the scene in Germany and the USA, with a detailed glossary , Copress Sport, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-7679-1075-1 .

Web links

• Seahawks Rookie Tyler Lockett Takes the Rams First Punt to the House | Seahawks vs. Rams | NFL example of a punt return

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Michael Auerbach: American Football. The official rules. Interesting facts from A – Z., Falken-Verlag, Niedernhausen 2000, page 32f.
2. ↑ ^{a b} James Alder: About Football Glossary - Returner. In: about.com. Accessed May 24, 2015 . 
3. ^ Rule 10 Opportunity to Catch a Kick, Fair Catch. (PDF (0.5 MB)) Section 2 Fair Catch. In: www.nfl.com. National Football League, accessed May 24, 2015 . 
4. ↑ Peter Kränzle, Margit Brinke: American Football: Game idea and rules, teams and actors, the scene in Germany and the USA, with a detailed glossary, Copress Sport, Munich 2011, pages 53, 117.
5. ↑ Peter Kränzle, Margit Brinke: American Football: game idea and rules, teams and players, the scene in Germany and the USA, with a detailed glossary, Copress Sport, Munich 2011, pages 68, 121.
6. ^ NFL Rules 2013 , accessed August 20, 2015.
7. ↑ Peter Kränzle, Margit Brinke: American Football: game idea and rules, teams and actors, the scene in Germany and the USA, with a detailed glossary, Copress Sport, Munich 2011, pages 116 to 123.
8. ↑ Jets' special teams coach has' no reservation 'about Percy Harvin returning punts, despite inexperience , nj.com accessed June 22, 2015.
9. ↑ 1st and 10 with Allen Rossum ( September 27, 2010 memento in the Internet Archive ), steelers.com accessed June 22, 2015.
10. ↑ Kevin Paul Dupont: Gridiron gridlock. In: boston.com. The Boston Globe, September 23, 2004, accessed August 20, 2015 . 
11. ↑ 2015 official NFL Record and Fact Book. (PDF (53 MB)) Punt Returns. In: www.nfl.com. National Football League, pp. 558f. , accessed on July 18, 2015 . 
12. ^ CFL Records. In: cflapedia.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015 . 
13. ↑ Regular Season All-Time Records. (No longer available online.) In: cfl.ca. Canadian Football League, archived from the original on March 23, 2010 ; accessed on July 17, 2015 . 
14. ^ Canadian Football League - All-Time Records. (PDF (2.72 MB)) p. 172 , accessed on July 17, 2015 (English). 
15. ^ Football Bowl Subdivision Records. (PDF (1.27 MB)) p. 11 , accessed on March 25, 2017 (English). 
16. ^ NFL Opponent Returning Statistics. In: espn.go.com. ESPN, accessed August 21, 2015 . 

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on September 2, 2015 .