Quick kick In American football and Canadian football , a quick kick is any punt made under conditions such that the opposing team " should not " expect a punt . Typically this has been a kick from scrimmage from a formation that is , or resembles , one usually used other than for punting , or at least not resembling the one usually used for punting . Typically it will also be on some down before last down ( last down being 3rd in Canadian , and , since 1912 , 4th in American football ) , unless done from a formation usually used for place kicking ; if opponents begin to anticipate quick kick on next - to - last down , then it may be done on a previous down . Purpose . The purpose of a quick kick is the same as that for all punting , but with additional hope of : Disadvantages . The disadvantages ( required for the punt to be unexpected ) are one or more of these : More likely . Factors that make a quick kick more likely : If a team uses the quick kick a lot , surprise can be maintained only by their also having a fake quick kick play . One type of such play is the equivalent of the Statue of Liberty play for the forward pass : the ostensible punter holds the ball out as if to drop it , then hands it to a teammate stepping behind or in front of him . The quick kick is usually done from closer to the line of scrimmage than an ordinary punt . For approximately the decade of the 1910s in American football , the rules discouraged the quick kick by requiring that the ball be kicked from at least 5 yards behind one ' s line of scrimmage . Because of the closeness of the opposing team , the approach the kicker uses before dropping the ball for a quick kick is often designed to decrease the distance forward that the punter will step , and / or to reduce the time of the approach . One such technique is the " rocker step " , in which the punter first steps backward and then rocks forward . Another is to take a somewhat sideways approach , leaning and kicking somewhat " across the body " ; for a right - footed kicker this means approaching toward the right while leaning left . A quick kick made relatively close to the opposing goal line is often executed by a technique called a " pooch punt " , which is a more controlled kick . A typical last down punt or a punt taken as a free kick is done with the emphasis mostly on maximizing distance . Frequency . Quick kicks are relatively rare in American football , but they have never completely disappeared . Quarterback Randall Cunningham made 20 quick kicks during his career , including one of the longest punts in NFL history , 91 yards , in 1989 . [ correction : while Cunningham occasionally did quick kick , this was not a quick kick . The Eagles ' punter had been injured and it was a standard 4th down punt ] Bear Bryant was known to have used this on third downs when up big or as Kenny Stabler once said " I wanted to see how our defense could do " . Another , more recent example is that of Kellen Moore of Boise State University against Louisiana Tech on October 26 , 2010 , when Moore delivered a 54 - yard punt . New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady performed a quick kick punt on 3rd & 10 in the final quarter of a blowout against the Denver Broncos , in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs , on January 14th , 2012 .