Punting-metrics

Here is some great appreciation and love for the art of punting...

I was fully prepared to write a post about how the statistic "punts inside the twenty" is completely worthless and misleading. After doing a little research, I don't think it is completely worthless. I do, however, think that it has the potential to be a bit misleading.

When you think about the statistic, what comes to mind? For 90% of you, the response is probably, "I don't think about punters and their statistics." Fair enough. For me, it conveys the preciseness or accuracy of the punter in pinning the opponent near the goal line. But if that's the purpose, it seems like the statistic is too broad to accomplish that... I would prefer that we use a "punts inside the ten" or "punts inside the ten versus touchback ratio", as a smarter, more focused, statistic. Or better yet, the average opponent's starting position following mid-field punts.

The author goes on to conduct a statistical analysis of punts from the 2008 season, concluding that Philadelphia Eagles' punter Sav Rocca was on fire that season.

The best punter in these mid-field punting situations has so far been Sav Rocca and the Philadelphia Eagles coverage unit. Four punts inside the 3 and Seven within 10 yards of the goal line compared to only one touchback is pretty impressive.

There are also some great ideas in the Comments section, this one in particular gave me a boner.

I was wondering what a stat that measured percentage of available yards would look like. (Net of touchbacks, but not return yards.) For instance a team punts from the 50, the best possible punt would be 49 yards (ball can't be on the goal line). If a punter punted a 49-yard punt, he would get a score of 98% on that punt. If a team punts from its own 20, the best possible would be 79 yards. If the punt goes 50 yards, he'd earn a score of 63%.

For your viewing pleasure, here is a vintage Sav Rocca punt carried over from the old website, circa the 2010-2011 NFC Playoffs.