Straight-on kicking

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racepug
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Straight-on kicking

Post by racepug »

Watching "Da Bears" get penalized yesterday when their holder tried to sop up some of the water where he was going to place the ball for a FG attempt made me wonder if it would be possible for a placekicker of this era to become adept at straight-on kicking as a way of combating the kinds of conditions that were present in Chicago in Week 1. It does seem that going "old school" on kicking under those circumstances would present certain advantages over "side-winder" kicking.
superbowlfanatic
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Re: Straight-on kicking

Post by superbowlfanatic »

You make a good point, as straight-on kicking is a better option when the plant foot area is slippery. Keeping one's center of gravity directly over the plant foot has less chance of slipping than a twisting soccer-style torqued body, coming in an an angle and needing to stop firmly in one place.

There used to be a kicker a few decades ago named Booth Lusteg, who I believed did kick using both the conventional straight-on toe style as well as soccer style in the NFL.
I don't believe that he has a very long career, but maybe he adjusted as such when the weather dictated it.
Terry Baldshaw
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Re: Straight-on kicking

Post by Terry Baldshaw »

Ah, the legendary Booth Lusteg. He would prepare on the sideline by kicking Styrofoam cups. His two field goals in the Steelers 6-3 1968 O.J. Bowl victory over the Eagles ruined any chance of Pittsburgh drafting Simpson. Perhaps a blessing, now that I think about it.
JuggernautJ
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Re: Straight-on kicking

Post by JuggernautJ »

Terry Baldshaw wrote:Ah, the legendary Booth Lusteg. He would prepare on the sideline by kicking Styrofoam cups...
Did he kick them straight-on or "soccer style"?

More than you could possibly want to know about Booth....
https://www.profootballresearchers.org/ ... _Booth.pdf
RRMarshall
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Re: Straight-on kicking

Post by RRMarshall »

While this seems like the way to go in theory, in practice it doesn't necessarily hold true. As an example I cite the 1980 AFC Divisional Playoff game between the Raiders and Browns in icy, snow-covered Cleveland. Don Cockroft, a straight-ahead kicker, missed both of his extra point attempts while Chris Bahr, the soccer-style kicker, made both of his. Bahr told me he took shorter, precise steps to make sure his plant foot didn't slip. The reason the Browns threw into the end zone on their final play from scrimmage (the infamous end zone INT by Mike Davis) was because even a short FG attempt by Cockroft was no guarantee given the conditions.
superbowlfanatic
Posts: 120
Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2014 7:22 am

Re: Straight-on kicking

Post by superbowlfanatic »

JuggernautJ wrote:
More than you could possibly want to know about Booth....
https://www.profootballresearchers.org/ ... _Booth.pdf
Good, thorough article.
One location misspelled: Jerry took some lessons in kicking and put in plenty of practice time at Bower Field in
New Haven with his wife doing the holding.

The name of the field is Bowen Field, not Bower.
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