Best-ever KICKOFF kickers?

[74_75_78_79_]

Not judging by FG or XP %-age, or how many long FGs made, etc, but simply who was the best at pinning the opposing offense deep in their own territory or maybe kicked-off well enough to prevent big returns?

[JohnTurney]

Not judging by FG or XP %-age, or how many long FGs made, etc, but simply who was the best at pinning the opposing offense deep in their own territory or maybe kicked-off well enough to prevent big returns?

super tough question. There could be some numbers available for people to research but it may not answer your questions.

From 1991-2017 there is data for who had the longest "average" kickoff but you'd have to decide what the value is. And you can go back and find
who kicked the most touchbacks -- to 1970 ... but again ... that's not answering your question.

Anecdotally, Raphael Septien seeped to get good height on his kickoffs ... but not sure who else might have been good at "directional" kickoffs.

You can also get ... and kind of backdoor returns vs a kickoff guy ... see if there are patterns, etc ... I've done a little of that year to
year and picked out top guys from the 60s-80s ... but that still does not answer your question.

I don't know how you can find and answer to that except to talk to recent kickoff guys (mostly kickers, some punters) and ask them who they think
are good at that ... PFF grades every kick -- and you'd think direction and all that is included ... so there is than from 2006 on ... who they grade as the top kickoff guys.

PSI graded kickers but never knew exactly what the criteria used was, presuming that direction and preventing returns are part of the equation.

If someone else knows ...to best thing that would be closest is to find the kickers that allowed the fewest return yards on average and them just assume they were at least partially responsible ... along with the coverage ... like with punters.

Great topic, though.

[74_75_78_79_]

Not judging by FG or XP %-age, or how many long FGs made, etc, but simply who was the best at pinning the opposing offense deep in their own territory or maybe kicked-off well enough to prevent big returns?

super tough question. There could be some numbers available for people to research but it may not answer your questions.

From 1991-2017 there is data for who had the longest "average" kickoff but you'd have to decide what the value is. And you can go back and find
who kicked the most touchbacks -- to 1970 ... but again ... that's not answering your question.

Anecdotally, Raphael Septien seeped to get good height on his kickoffs ... but not sure who else might have been good at "directional" kickoffs.

You can also get ... and kind of backdoor returns vs a kickoff guy ... see if there are patterns, etc ... I've done a little of that year to
year and picked out top guys from the 60s-80s ... but that still does not answer your question.

I don't know how you can find and answer to that except to talk to recent kickoff guys (mostly kickers, some punters) and ask them who they think
are good at that ... PFF grades every kick -- and you'd think direction and all that is included ... so there is than from 2006 on ... who they grade as the top kickoff guys.

PSI graded kickers but never knew exactly what the criteria used was, presuming that direction and preventing returns are part of the equation.

If someone else knows ...to best thing that would be closest is to find the kickers that allowed the fewest return yards on average and them just assume they were at least partially responsible ... along with the coverage ... like with punters.

Great topic, though.

Thanks for the response! And the, "great topic". May be a tough question to answer, though. And, shortly after posting, I wondered if it was an easy answer after all. I wouldn't want someone to actually roll up their sleeves and labor over it unless they really, truly, wanted to.

Punters are usually better at strategically trying to pin a kick within the 20 or, better yet, the 10 or less. Kickoffs are tougher. Mostly go into, or beyond, the end zone (touchback).

And even if a kicker's kickoffs resulted in lesser return yardage...maybe, more-likely, it had to do with the ten gunners running down-field with him.


And now starting this coming year...(2024)...the Kickoff will change forever! Maybe not a bad thing, or lesser thing. We'll see.

[JohnTurney]

And even if a kicker's kickoffs resulted in lesser return yardage...maybe, more-likely, it had to do with the ten gunners running down-field with him.

Yeah --- coverage would be lion's share. Kickoffs are directional ... especially when there is a great returner they want to pin him in .. but seems like that fail as much as succeed.

But that's now.

Back in the 1970s? 60s? Did they have as much control as kickers now? I'd doubt it.