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With all the Aussie punters we sign (and other teams) surely the drop-kick can return

Eagle5

First Round Draft Pick
Gold Member
Nov 6, 2001
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Birmingham, Alabama
From a quick search on the Webz, appears that in college (not pro, Flutie kicked the last one), the drop kick is still legal to kick an extra point (for 1 point). And as you see in the below video, the drop kick is legal for an onside kick attempt, which to my mind would give it more pinpoint accuracy and/or loft on the ball to recover it.

Wonder if situationally, if you want the threat of going for two, your K can be in kick / shotgun formation, and you keep the option of a drop kick, a pass, or a handoff to Tank.

Likewise, new option with onside kick attempts, especially if you're Kevin Kelley at Presbyterian and you NEVER punt, and you go onside kick after every score.



The drop kick was often used in early football as a surprise tactic. The ball would be snapped or lateraled to a back, who would fake a run or pass, but then would kick the field goal instead. This method of scoring worked well in the 1920s and early 1930s, when the football was rounder at the ends (similar to a modern rugby ball). Early football stars such as Charles Brickley, Frank Hudson, Jim Thorpe, Paddy Driscoll, and Al Bloodgood were skilled drop-kickers; Driscoll in 1925 and Bloodgood in 1926 hold a tied NFL record of four drop kicked field goals in a single game. Driscoll's 55 yard drop kick in 1924 stood as the unofficial record for field goal range until Bert Rechichar kicked a 56-yard field goal (by placekick) in 1953.

In 1934, the ball was made more pointed at the ends. The creation of the pointed football is generally credited to Shorty Ray, at the time a college football official and later the NFL's head of officiating. This made passing the ball easier, as was its intent, but made the drop kick obsolete, as the more pointed ball did not bounce up from the ground reliably. The drop kick was supplanted by the place kick, which cannot be attempted out of a formation generally used as a running or passing set. The drop kick remains in the rules, but is seldom seen, and rarely effective when attempted.
 
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