Statistics for blocked punt
 

Looking for a correct function to record the effect of a blocked punt for team and individual statistics.

Is punt distance recorded from the line of scrimmage to the point of contact by the player blocking the punt? where the blocked punt is recovered? at the end of the return picked up by defense?
Is the net return recorded from the line of scrimmage to the point of recovery by the defense? what if offense recovers the block and ball is turned over on downs? if offense recovers beyond line of gain?

Any other insight on punt statistics you have encountered?

You didn't say what level/ruleset.

The NCAA Football Statisticians' Manual covers blocked punts beginning on page 31.

If I get a chance, I'll try to find something similar for NFHS.

Thanks for the link. I had never seen a statisticians manual before. Tons of info I will use for tracking stats for our broadcasts.

I think the NFHS does publish a statisticians manual. It covers several main HS sports.

It can be purchased here:
National Federation of State High School Associations - Statistician's Manual

Radio: a lot of stat stuff is built into the baseball rules, so those guys over there may know quite a bit about baseball stats, but in general football officials don't concern ourselves much with stats. The closest many of us come is turning in foul reports, which is for our benefit and not the stat guys. A lot of folks think bean bags are dropped so the stat guys will know, for example, how long the punt return was. In fact, its strictly for our own benefit in knowing enforcement spots and nothing more. It wouldn't be unusual to see 2 bean bags down on a punt.

2 or 3 years ago, I was up in the press box and a newspaper guy asked about the 2 bean bags. I told him what they were for and he was rather surprised. Later in the game, there was an interception inside the 5 and the back judge (very good that night) correctly dropped a bag. "I guess he forgot to bag the other inteceptions," the reporter said. I got to explain the momentum rule.

I am guessing that the reporter's head exploded when that was explained.

Jasper

Heh. Reminds me of when Marty Glickman was announcing HS varsity games on TV in the NYC metro area on Sat. mornings. In a game being played under Fed rules (or at least an approximation of them), on 4th & very long, A1 got a bad snap, resulting in a broken play during which he went beyond the NZ, saw he couldn't make the line to gain, and punted -- good punt too. An official flagged it, and team B accepted the penalty for "illegal handling of the ball" -- the signal interpreted generically by Glickman that way, who insisted, approximately, "Not many of you know this, because it's rarely done, but you can punt that ball any time. It didn't matter that he was past the line of scrimmage." Said it about 3 times, too. He sent someone to the sideline with a microphone to determine what the foul was, while harping on what a good and legal play that punt was.

It was a good play, because the penalty at that time was just an ordinary all-but-one-spot, repeat-the-down affair, and team A got off a good punt when they repeated 4th down about 8 yards behind the previous spot (15 behind the SOF). And under NFL & NCAA rules of the time, the punt would've been legal. It was about 2 downs later when an official explained the foul to the person carrying the field microphone, and then Glickman went silent until he had to announce the next play.

The 28-year-old Bryan is trying to follow in the footsteps of a handful of other Australians to punt in the NFL. To win a spot on a 53-man roster, he will have to withstand the scrutiny of probably the only fans in the NFL who care as much about hang time as they do overtime."I was actually a professional for five years, so that sort of helps," Bryan said of his time with popular Australian Football League clubs Carlton and Collingwood. "I've been around a professional organization for five years. That was my life."There's still scrutiny and you have to perform. If you don't perform, you don't play. There's a lot of pressure to make sure you're the best you are."Ever since Craig Hentrich left in 1999, every punter to step onto Lambeau Field has felt pressure. And often it's at its worst during the intrasquad scrimmage, when many fans are getting their first look at the punting candidates.The left-footed Bryan was punting in front of a crowd Friday afternoon at the Don Hutson Center, only it was a bunch of rookies who were taking part in a three-day orientation camp. It was a far cry from the crowds of 70,000 that watched him as an Australian pro, but the session provided another chance to work out with first-year punter Tim Masthay, his main competition.