How come the quaterbacks get more credit than the punters do?(Is this right?)

It happens on all levels of football. The punter stands 5-7 yards back of the line of scrimmage and he kicks the football and then he gets credit for where the ball was snapped from and not where he kicked the ball from…

If the ball was snapped from the 40-yard line and when punted travels to the opposite 20-yard line(crossing mid-field in the process), going left-to-right and it rolls dead there, then the punter gets credit for a 40-yard punt….In reality he should get credit for 45-47 yard punt, based on where the ball left his foot and not from where the ball was snapped…..

When you stop and think about it for a second, this is crazy….I have never been a punter or even been a big fan of punters, but something doesn’t add up right here…..

The quarterback throws a pass one or two yards up the field and the receiver, or the back out of the backfield, catches the ball and they run/travel 50 yards for a touchdown and the QB gets credit for a 52-yard TD pass and he threw the balll for two yards and the receiver or back, carried it 50 yards for the score and the QB is getting just as much credit as the receiver, for completing a two-yard pass…..

I get the part about the TD pass play, being measured for distance from the line of scrimmage, just like the punts, but again, the QB is getting credit for a 52-yard pass-play and all he did was complete a two-yard pass…..If the QB throws a couple of those, then he has 104 yards passing, on two, two-yard passes….

Is there something skewed about this football math?????

The QB is getting much more credit than the punter, for doing the same amount of work(or maybe even a lot less work), on a single play…..

The field goal kicker is getting a better deal than the punter too…..The field goal kicker gets credit for where the ball is placed down for the FG attempt and not where the ball is snapped from…..

If the field goal attempt is going down from the 33-yard line, then the FG kicker will get credit for the placement from the 33-yard line and the extra ten yards for the end zone and he has himself a 43-yard field goal if he was kicking left-to-right….(Going right-to-left, he just booted a 77-yard field goal….

The point is that the FG kicker is getting credit for where the ball was placed down and not from where the ball was snapped, by the long-snapper, at the line of scrimmage…

The punters are getting a raw deal and they are being ripped off, if you ask me and nobody did, but I was thinking about this overall yardage equation, while studying quaterbacks’ passing numbers this morning…..

What do you think, are the punters getting ripped off?????

Are the field goal kickers and especially the quarterbacks, getting credit for more yardage than they deserve?

It looks like on the surface, that the punters and the receivers are doing most of the work and that that the QB’s and FG kickers are coming away with all the glory and they’re taking credit away from the punters and receivers……

A long look at the problem here, any thoughts?????

This could get detailed and complicated……

8 thoughts on “How come the quaterbacks get more credit than the punters do?(Is this right?)

  1. The quarterback has to know EVERY play in the book and know where everyone needs to be. COME ON MAN, The QB touches the ball on every offensive play and also is a leader on the field. This shouldn’t even be a topic of discussion.

  2. The disparity in yardage speaks for itself….

    Punters all over need to speak for themselves…..Will Johnson and others need to step up and speak out about this…..

    It looks like the punters are getting ripped off…..

    QB’s for the most part have to know three plays:
    1)Handoff
    2)Pass forwards
    3)Pass sideways which is a lateral

    *****The backwards pass should be outlawed…..This is very dangerous with the possiblity of fumbles…..*****

  3. Being a former kicker I feel the punter’s pain. I have been preaching this punters are not gettnig enough credit philosophy for many years and others should see the light. As you said, the numbers just don’t add up.

  4. This is insane. The quarterback runs the team and he deserves the spotlight.

    I too have been saying this for many years.

  5. the better quarterback you have the less you need a great punter. likewise, the worse your quarterback (or offense in general), the more your defense needs a great punter. often the quarterback does get too much credit when things go well, such as the example of a 2 yard pass and fifty yard run after pass. often the quarterback gets too much blame when things go bad, ie bad snaps, tipped/dropped passes, missed blocking assignments, etc. i agree with giving the punters the extra yardage, but to compare the importance of their job with that of the quarterback is way off base. don’t see many coaches allowing their quarterbacks to play soccer during football season.

  6. Really Andy? 3 plays? As someone who coached the position for a long time I would have to take exception with that statement. QB’s even at the HS level have to be able to read defenses. Many times in the spread the play is called at the line of scrimmage based on how the defense is set. Will Newman, for example, threw several TD passes on plays that were called runs but when he got to the line he recognized an uncovered receiver, change the play, and completed the pass. While at the same time it was a tremendous luxury having Matt Milisor kick and punt. I remember one game where Matt was sick and could not play. While we were warming up the opposing coach walked over and asked Matt why he wasn’t dressed. When Matt told the coach he was sick the coach replied “Crap, we haven’t worked on kick off return all week”
    Also like to point out that Punters get credit for how far the ball rolls if it isn’t caught, QB’s don’t get that. Can’t wait til Friday! Everybody go out and support your favorite team!

  7. This topic does make us talk and think and now if we can get everybody blocking and tackling on Friday we’ll be fine…

    I spoke with a quarterback tonight(Josh Thompson), from Western Guilford and he said I may be on to something…..

    I think Josh might be ready to see the breakthrough….

    We may be changing the course of football history forever here….

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