Football bros, who decides to call for a fair catch on punts?

[SoutheastBeast1]

Are there coaches on the sideline who call out to the returner if it looks no good?

Kind of how 3rd base coaches help baserunners in baseball to know whether to slide or come in standing?

Always wondered if it was solely on the returner to decide or if coaches on the sideline are helping with that decision.

[SoutheastBeast1]

Never ever heard of a single time a COACH or someone else then the punt returner call a fair catch.

I don’t mean the coach calls it. I’m asking do coaches on the sideline help the returner make the decision to call it or not.

Hence the question “do coaches call OUT to the returner?”


I have a new question now, do some of you not even read a post before you hit the reply button? The question was stated pretty clearly.

[jtaylor2010]

I don’t mean the coach calls it. I’m asking do coaches on the sideline help the returner make the decision to call it or not.

Hence the question “do coaches call OUT to the returner?”

Yeah, generally a handful of coaches will monitor the ball in the air and let the returner know what to do. One stands across from the tee to check velocity when it’s kicked, one stands about 15 yards up from the returner to see where kicking team is relative to the ball at that point, and one is beside the returner so he can be heard clearly. Same with punts too, that’s why they have a kick catch interference penalty. The kicking team can’t interfere with the returners ability to see and hear the coach giving commands.

[SoutheastBeast1]

Yeah, generally a handful of coaches will monitor the ball in the air and let the returner know what to do. One stands across from the tee to check velocity when it’s kicked, one stands about 15 yards up from the returner to see where kicking team is relative to the ball at that point, and one is beside the returner so he can be heard clearly. Same with punts too, that’s why they have a kick catch interference penalty. The kicking team can’t interfere with the returners ability to see and hear the coach giving commands.

Wow I’m not even sure if I’m being trolled or not.

If I am getting trolled, I 100% bought it. That’s too elaborate to make up I feel like so choosing to believe it.

[HtotheOV]

usually the fans but with no fans the team designates a bench player on sidelines

[SmashinYoungVag]

The owner usually has the best view being in box seats so he relays down to the coach who then lets the returner know what to do

[dizzin9]

His mama

[MugenNSX]

It is the job of the waterboy to let the returner know whether to call fair catch or not

[cncman]

His mama

It is the job of the waterboy to let the returner know whether to call fair catch or not

correk

[BishsBMirin]

It is the punt returner. Instinct. Until you get to the college level, you don’t have to worry about this anyway. It starts with where you’re positioned in the first place. You know approximately where you’re at on the field if you move forward or backward after the ball is punted. A lot of it is trust in your special teams doing their job and blocking the gunners. But based off where you’re positioned and the hang time, instinct gives you a good idea. Kind of like when a QB feels pressure from his blind side. They also spend a lot of time in practice doing this and it’s a lot more brutal/distracting in practice.

[akmerle]

Lol, know how I know you’ve never played organized football before?

It’s a judgement call by the punt returner based on game situation. Making him wait (and overthink) for a call while the ball was already in the air would lead to a TON of botched returns.

Think about a guy sitting there trying to follow the kick, seeing if the gunners have cleared his blockers, and then having to wait to hear from a coach via a hand signal from the far side of the field. It would be a disaster. Opposing punters would punt to their sideline to make the distance farther / harder to see, crowd noise would make it difficult to hear, and in play audio calls are not allowed.

Return specialists do however work with their coaches on what return coverage / formation they are playing that is dependent on a host of variables (field position, clock, game situation, opposing punter / coverage team, etc). These factors also come into play on how aggressive the return team will go after blocking the punt vs. sitting back and establishing a return blocking scheme. Punt returns generally aren’t as complex as kickoff returns since you can’t really set up a traditional left/right/middle return scheme. Teams will even swap return specialists at times depending on if they are wanting a big return vs. needing a fair catch.

[2010JW]

Probably coaches. I remember last year Tavon Austin had a clear lane ahead after a punt and he still went for the fair catch beacuse Jason Garrett wanted the fair catch no matter what

[NorrinRadd12]

Serious answer

In certain situations the HC or special teams coach will tell the returner to fair catch no matter what but other than that it's the return man.