Fair catch kick

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The fair catch kick is a little-known, rarely enacted rule found in professional and some amateur American football. It is one of the three types of free kicks; the other two are the kickoff and the safety kick. The fair catch kick is the only of the three in which the kicking team may score a field goal. At one time a very similar rule existed in rugby union called goal from mark.

Fair catch kicks can only occur when a member of the receiving team signals for, and successfully makes, a fair catch. That team then has the option of restarting play either by snap or fair catch kick. If the team elects the fair catch kick option, the kicking team lines up at the spot where the fair catch was made and the opposing team lines up ten yards downfield. The kicker then may either placekick the ball from a teammate's hold (a kickoff tee may be used in high school) or dropkick the ball. Three points are awarded for kicking the ball through the uprights. If the kick does not go through the uprights, the ball is live, similar to either of the other free kicks. Likewise, a fair catch kick landing out of bounds but not in the end zone is awarded to the receiving team 30 yards from where it was kicked.

In the NFL, a fair catch kick may still be attempted if the quarter ends on the fair catch play. This is not automatic; a team's captain or coach must exercise this option.

The last successful fair catch kick in the NFL was by Mac Percival in 1968, scoring the game-winning field goal for the Chicago Bears against the Green Bay Packers. As of 2006, 8 more have been attempted, none successful.^[1]

1 Circumstances of use
2 Known attempts
3 References
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Circumstances of use

This play is very rarely used. First of all, it is only allowed in the NFL, high school, and a few other levels of football. In the NFL, a rare combination of circumstances would make it plausible. As it will only happen after a punt or free kick, a fair catch tends to be taken too far from the goal for a kick to be successful (although, unlike a field goal attempt, the resulting kick is taken from the spot of the catch, not several yards back, and the defending team must stay 10 yards back before the kick.) Further, it is of most use to a team when there is not enough time to run a play from scrimmage, so is only likely to be seen when the punt would otherwise be the last play of a half or a game. Finally, at the end of a game it is only of use when the receiving team is 3 points or fewer behind, or the game is tied -- if they need 4 or more points, they will try to run the ball back for a touchdown. If a team has a three point lead on fourth down with a few seconds left, they are more likely to run out the clock by having the punter run around the end zone and take an intentional safety than to risk a punt.

In the rare circumstances when a punt is taken close to a team's own goal line with only a few seconds left in the half, sportscasters will sometimes mention the rule. However, punters, under those circumstances, will generally kick the ball away from the return man, most likely to frustrate a long return rather than to prevent a fair catch.

Because a fair catch kick is rarely used, many players, coaches and fans don't know that the rule even exists.

[edit] Known attempts

[edit] Regular season

Ken Strong, New York Giants vs. Green Bay Packers, November 20, 1933.^[2]

Good from 30 yards in the 3rd quarter.

Ben Agajanian, New York Giants vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, October 23, 1955.^[3]

Missed from 56 yards with about 30 seconds left in the first half.

Gordy Soltau, San Francisco 49ers vs. Detroit Lions, November 2, 1958.^[4]

Wide right from 61 yards with 15 seconds left in the first half.

Sam Baker, Philadelphia Eagles vs. New York Giants, September 13, 1964.^[5]

Short from 47 yards at the end of the first half.

Paul Hornung, Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears, September 13, 1964.^[6]

Good from 52 yards at the end of the first half.

Fred Cox, Minnesota Vikings vs. Atlanta Falcons, December 4, 1966.^[7]

Good from 40 yards at the end of the first half.

Bruce Gossett, Los Angeles Rams vs. Detroit Lions, November 23, 1967.^[8]

Short from 55 yards with 3 seconds in the first half.

Mac Percival, Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers, November 3, 1968.^[9]

Good from 43 yards with 20 seconds left (won 13-10).

Fred Cox, Minnesota Vikings vs. San Francisco 49ers, December 8, 1968.^[10]

Short from 47 yards at the end of the first half.

Curt Knight, Washington Redskins vs. San Francisco 49ers, October 5, 1969.^[11]

Wide left from 56 yards with 2 seconds left (tied 17-17).

Tom Dempsey, New Orleans Saints vs. San Francisco 49ers, November 23, 1969.^[12]

Short and wide left from 57 yards at the end of the first half. Dempsey hit a 55-yard field goal vs. the Los Angeles Rams earlier in the 1969 season, and one year later, he set the NFL record with a 63-yard field goal vs. the Detroit Lions at Tulane Stadium, the same site where this fair catch kick took place.

Curt Knight, Washington Redskins vs. Denver Broncos, November 1, 1970.^[13]

Missed from 49 yards at the end of the first half.

David Ray, Los Angeles Rams vs. Baltimore Colts, November 8, 1971.^[14]

Missed from 45 yards at the end of the first half. This was a Monday Night Football game in Baltimore.

Mark Moseley, Washington Redskins vs. New York Giants, November 25, 1979.^[15]

Short from 74 (yes, 74) yards near the end of the game (the Redskins were trailing 14-6 and hoped to score quickly & recover the onside kick; there was no 2-point conversion rule until 1994).

Fred Steinfort, Denver Broncos vs. New England Patriots, September 29, 1980.^[16]

Missed from 73 yards at the end of the first half. The game was in Foxboro.

Raul Allegre, Indianapolis Colts vs. New England Patriots, November 18, 1984.^[17]

Missed from 61 yards at the end of the first half. This is probably the only fair catch kick after a kickoff; the Patriots, up 26-10 right before halftime, tried to onside kick.

Rod Bironas, Tennessee Titans vs. Houston Texans, October 9, 2005.^[18]

Short from 58 yards at the end of the first half.

[edit] Playoffs

Lou Michaels, Baltimore Colts vs. Dallas Cowboys, January 9, 1966 (NFL Playoff Bowl).^[19]

Wide from 57 yards at the end of the first half.

Mike Cofer, San Francisco 49ers vs. Minnesota Vikings, January 1, 1989 (NFC Divisional Playoff).^[20]

Short from 60 yards at the end of the first half.

[edit] Preseason

Chester Marcol, College All-Stars vs. Dallas Cowboys, July 29, 1972 (preseason).^[21]

Short from 68 yards at the end of the first half.

Mac Percival, Chicago Bears vs. Houston Oilers, August 9, 1972 (preseason).^[22]

Short from 55 yards with 15 seconds left.

Rafael Septien, Dallas Cowboys vs. Houston Oilers, August 30, 1986 (preseason).^[23]

Missed from 53 yards with 24 seconds left at the end of the game (lost 17-14).

Chris Gardocki, Chicago Bears vs. Philadelphia Eagles, August 8, 1993 (preseason).^[24]

Short from 63 yards at the end of the first half.

[edit] Opportunity passed up

(includes only fair catches made with no time remaining, or where the fair-catching team attempted a field goal on the next play):

Detroit Lions vs. Baltimore Colts, November 25, 1965.^[25]

Tied at 24, the Lions fair caught a punt on the Baltimore 42 with 24 seconds left. However, they inexplicably decided to attempt a 50-yard FG from scrimmage rather than the 42-yard free kick; Wayne Walker's attempt was low, nearly blocked, and came up short. The game ended in a 24-24 tie.

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Miami Dolphins, December 25, 1971 (AFC Divisional Playoff).^[26]

Tied at 24, the Chiefs Dennis Homan fair caught a punt at his own 32 as time ran out in regulation. Chiefs' coach Hank Stram feared a Mercury Morris return of a short miss of the 68-yard FG, and decided not to kick. Also playing into Stram's decision was the fact Jan Stenerud missed two field goals earlier in the game, including a 32-yard attempt with 35 seconds left that would have won the game. Stenerud had a 42-yard attempt in the first overtime blocked, and Garo Yepremian ended the longest game in NFL history with a 37-yard field goal 7:40 into the second overtime, giving Miami a 27-24 victory.

New England Patriots vs. New York Jets, October 12, 1986.^[27]

Down 31-24, Irving Fryar inexplicably fair caught a punt deep in his own territory with no time left. The Patriots didn't request the kick, nor did the referees ask them if they wanted one; referee Jerry Seeman said after the game that "it's the player's responsibility to come and ask for the extension." For those interested, the Patriots were favored by 7, so a successful kick would have had no impact on the spread.

Dallas Cowboys vs. Atlanta Falcons, September 20, 1999.^[28]

Wayne McGarity fair caught a punt on the Atlanta 47 with no time left in the first half. Dallas coach Chan Gailey knew of the rule, and had specifically instructed McGarity to fair catch the punt if it was inside the 50, but Gailey forgot that he would be able to attempt the kick with no time left on the clock. Instead, the Cowboys went to the locker room.

Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears, October 30, 2005.^[29]

Tied at 13, Eddie Drummond fair caught a punt at his own 28 with no time left in regulation. The Lions reasonably declined the chance at making an 82-yard free kick, and the game went to overtime.

Arizona Cardinals vs. St. Louis Rams, September 24, 2006.^[30]

Down 16-14, Troy Walters fair caught a punt at his own 33 with no time left in regulation. Arizona's Robert Griffith was offside on the punt, but Rams coach Scott Linehan declined the penalty, thinking the game was over. Neil Rackers and the Cardinals' field goal unit lined up for the 77-yard free kick, but the Rams, given another chance to accept the penalty, did so, and took a knee on the final play of the game.

[edit] References

^ http://quirkyresearch.blogspot.com/2006/07/nfl-fair-catch-kick-attempts.html
^ Kelley, Robert F. (Nov. 27, 1933). "Giants turn back Green Bay by 17-6". New York Times, p. 21.
^ Effrat, Louis (Oct. 24, 1955). "Giants defeated by Steelers in seesaw contest at Polo Grounds". New York Times, p. 31.
^ "Old-timers Perry, McElhenny, Tittle star in 24-21 rally". (Nov. 3, 1958). Los Angeles Times, p. c1.
^ Wallace, William N. (Sep. 14, 1964). "Safetyman blitz shackles Tittle". New York Times, p. 44.
^ White, Gordon S., Jr. (Sep. 14, 1964). "Rout of Chicago led by Hornung". New York Times, p. 44.
^ Rollow, Cooper (Dec. 11, 1966). "Berry almost blanked out on play that whipped the Bears". Chicago Tribune, p. E3.
^ Florence, Mal (Nov. 25, 1967). "Wanted three points". Los Angeles Times, p. a2.
^ "Bears upset Packers, 13 to 10, on free kick in final seconds". (Nov. 4, 1968). New York Times, p. 62.
^ Dozer, Richard (Dec. 9, 1968). "Vikings stay alive". Chicago Tribune, p. g1.
^ "Redskins tie 49ers, 17-17". (Oct. 6, 1969). New York Times, p. 64.
^ Rollow, Cooper (Nov. 30, 1969). "Pro football patter". Chicago Tribune, p. b4.
^ "Jurgensen on target". (Nov. 2, 1970). Los Angeles Times, p. d8.
^ Oates, Bob (Nov. 9, 1971). "L.A.'s special teams cost win in Baltimore". Los Angeles Times, p. d1.
^ Katz, Michael (Nov. 26, 1979). "Giants topple Redskins, 14-6". New York Times, p. C1.
^ Roberts, Ernie (Jan. 21, 1981). "Color Rockingham grey". Boston Globe, p. 1.
^ "Colt 'free kick' no consequence". (Nov. 14, 1984). Indianapolis News, p. 30.
^ http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap/NFL_20051009_TEN@HOU
^ "Matte's passing paces Colts to 35-to-3 upset of Cowboys in Playoff Bowl". (Jan. 10, 1966). New York Times, p. 19.
^ "One play gave New York 2 hits". (Jan. 3, 1989). Los Angeles Times, p. 2.
^ Damer, Roy (Jul. 29, 1972). "Morton leads pro kings". Chicago Tribune, p. n_c1.
^ Pierson, Don (Aug. 11, 1972). "Bears defeat Oilers 20-17". Chicago Tribune, p. c1.
^ "Oilers 17, Cowboys 14". (Aug. 31, 1986). New York Times, p. S9.
^ Mitchell, Fred (Aug. 9, 1993). "63-yard fg try on free kick falls short". Chicago Tribune, p. 4.
^ Strickler, George (Nov. 26, 1965). "Colts tie Lions, 24-24, in 4th quarter". Chicago Tribune, p. e1.
^ Markus, Robert (Dec. 28, 1971). "Along the sports trail". Chicago Tribune, p. c3.
^ "Jets hold off Patriots to win, 31-24". (Oct. 13, 1986). Washington Post, p. C6.
^ "Dallas". (Sep. 22, 1999). New York Times, p. D6.
^ http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/gamebook/NFL_20051030_CHI@DET
^ http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap/NFL_20060924_STL@ARI