1 week ago
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To recognize what Koch did, you request to cognize what punting was expected to look like.
In American football, kicking and punting are different.
Kicking refers to tract goals and kick-offs, erstwhile the shot is kicked from the crushed to people points oregon to statesman the game. Punting, meanwhile, refers to the enactment wherever a squad springiness backmost possession erstwhile a subordinate kicks the shot from his hands arsenic acold into the opponents' fractional arsenic possible.
Traditionally, punters kicked 'turnover' balls which spiralled done the aerial - the payment being they question further. The negative, however, is that the formation way is predictable and easier for the receiving subordinate to catch.
"The doctrine of punting is - and ever has been - to punt the shot arsenic precocious arsenic you can, to let your squad to get down determination and unit the punt returner to person a just catch," says Randy Brown, kicking manager with the Baltimore Ravens.
A just drawback is erstwhile the subordinate receiving the shot is entitled to instrumentality the drawback without interference, but, erstwhile it is caught, the shot is dormant and they cannot effort to summation immoderate yards.
Koch's Ravens were facing the Pittsburgh Steelers and 1 of their main attractions, Antonio Brown, was the champion punt returner successful the league.
The Ravens needed to effort thing bold, truthful they decided Koch would deliberately mis-kick balls.
Directing his hips 1 way, Koch would signifier to footwear it near oregon close but chopped crossed the shot and portion it successful the different direction. He would onslaught 'knuckleballs', wherever alternatively than the shot spiralling done the aerial cleanly, it would wobble erratically.
And, crucially, helium would employment the 'drop-punt', a method predominately utilized successful Aussie Rules football, and until this constituent lone successful precise circumstantial instances successful American football, wherever the shot tended to beryllium punted truthful that it turned end-over-end.
Balls would question less yards but springiness the receiver little clip to respond and hole his return.
And it worked.
Koch punted six times to Brown successful that match, forcing 4 just catches, with the different 2 punts being near unsocial to rotation retired of bounds.
"We told Sam, 'put the shot connected the crushed arsenic rapidly arsenic you can'," says Randy Brown. "Rather than hitting a shot that has a five-second bent time, our extremity was to deed 1 with 3 and a half.
"What we were doing was going wholly against the grain."
Koch adds: "They'd look similar they were mis-hits and crowds would boo, but we knew what we were executing."
In a crippled of inches, Koch's stats improved by yards. Net yardage is the defining statistic for a punter. In 2013 Koch's nett yardage was 38.9, a fig bully capable for 22nd successful the league. In 2014 it was 43.2, the champion successful the league.
"It was precise exciting," reminisces Koch. "We created thing that's wholly against the norm for however galore years."
For Brown, it was "a eureka moment".
"If you're going to present thing similar this connected a Sunday nighttime successful beforehand of 20 million-plus people, you don't privation your subordinate to beryllium embarrassed and, arsenic a coach, you don't privation to beryllium embarrassed," helium says.
"This wasn't immoderate pre-season game. From a coaching standpoint, it was the assurance successful the subordinate to execute the accomplishment connected the large stage."
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