Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonofanump
Did not know that the NFL requires the ball to be kicked off of the ground.
Arizona tried one today. It has been 40 years since one has been made.
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Another "gotcha" is that NFL for about the past 25 yrs. has treated it as a missed FG attempt if team R doesn't touch the ball. Not sure what happens if K is first to touch it beyond the neutral zone and then R touches it. K's touching is legal, but if R doesn't touch it they get to snap it from the previous spot, regardless of whose possession the kick ends in. If there's enough time on the clock, sometimes K's formation consists of a huddle in some corner, to avoid contact with the ball.
Attempts were more attractive for several decades before 1974 when the goals were on the goal line and play continued as for other free kicks. For several years after the "missed field goal" rule, it didn't apply to free kicks.
Rugby Union abolished scoring a goal from a fair catch free kick about 1972; before that it was fairly common.
Robert