Spot after missed field goal

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by Freddy

There is one area coach whose team, in a punting situation, always has his center snap the ball to a holder who places the ball and the kicker kicks it just as if it were a field goal attempt. Doesn't matter if it's at midfield or deep in their own territory, they've done it the same for several years now.

Other than the possibility that this team always has a kicker but has no one who can punt, is there any rules advantage for this team's coach to do this?

The only "rules advantage" is that the other team might not know that Fed rules (unlike the NFL & NCAA rules which changed in the 1970s) still treat all kicks from scrimmage the same, and therefore might not attempt to run the ball back.

There are several tactical disadvantages to using a place kick rather than a punt for field position, the only tactical advantage being accuracy in driving the ball out of bounds. Before NFL and NCAA changed their rules, one practically never saw a place kick used from scrimmage unless it had at least some chance to score a goal, because of these disadvantages vs. punting. Therefore the recent popularity of this tactic in Fed ball can be explained only as an attempt to exploit ignorance of the rules against those who are too young to realize otherwise.