page_title: Punter (football)
section_title: Skills and usage
hierarchical_section_title: Punter (football) / Skills and usage
caption_attribution_description: San Francisco 49ers vs. Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on September 9, 2012. Photo by Mike Morbeck.
context_page_description: A punter in gridiron football is a special teams player who receives the snapped ball directly from the line of scrimmage and then punts the football to the opposing team so as to limit any field position advantage. This generally happens on a fourth down in American football and a third down in Canadian football. Punters may also occasionally take part in fake punts in those same situations, when they throw or run the football instead of punting.
context_section_description: The purpose of the punt is to force the team that is receiving the kick to start as far as possible from the kicking team's end zone. Accordingly, the most effective punts land just outside the receiving team's end zone and land either out of bounds (making it impossible to advance the ball until the next play) or after being kicked exceptionally high (allowing the kicking team time to run down the field and prevent the punt returner from advancing the ball). Punters therefore must be able to kick the ball high, long distances, and precisely. One standard is that a punt should be in the air for at least 1 second for every 10 yards it travels, but the linear relationship drops off once it hits over 50 yards. 
  
  Punters may also impart a spin to the ball that makes it harder to catch, increasing the odds of a muff that may lead to the punter's team regaining possession.
  The punter frequently serves as the holder on field goal attempts. The punter has typically developed chemistry with the long snapper and is thus accustomed to catching a long-snapped ball. Additionally, punters are also kickers and understand kicking mechanics, such as how far back to lean the ball as the kicker makes an attempt, and when a field goal attempt should be aborted. Punters may pass or run the ball on fake field goal attempts and fake punts.
  
  Many punters also double duty as kickoff specialists as most punters have been at one point field goal kickers as well, and some, such as Craig Hentrich, have filled in as worthy backup field goal kickers. 
  Punters seldom receive much attention or fan support, in part because they are called upon when a team's offense has just failed.
caption: Andy Lee
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