Originally posted by TJ Spikes
IMO... The logical thing would be the farther you are away from 0, would decrease your accuracy.
You're specifically trying to do a special kind of kick, instead of just going through a "normal" motion.
I could also argue that the longer a punt is, the more difficult it would be to be accurate, just like passing.
Who the F knows. You gotta handle it Theo.
That much I can tell you is true. Here's what I know already;
Let's start with a term I use. I call the area between the 20 and the goal line, 'The Dead Zone'. It's where I want the ball to die when punting (no returns either). Anytime I can hit that is bonus baby $. I don't keep 'Coffin Corner stats but I do track 'DZ' (dead zone) stats.
Throw out the first couple of seasons, where a punter can't kick the ball very far, and you'll find the 'Sweet Spot' for punts is between your 45 and the opponent's 45 yard line. From that area on the field you get the best ANGLES for pin-em-deep/out-of-bounds punts.
The further back you punt, the more extreme the angle. And the more extreme the angle, the harder it is to punt the ball out of bounds inside the 20. Those punts generally get caught and returned. Not a terrible thing but likely to result in not pinning your opponent deep (unless you got wicked ST's).
Punts inside the opponent's 45 are a crapshoot of either too deep (touchback) or just perfect (coffin corner). This is where my tactics query comes in. I know the effect of SA's and Skills concerning the improvement of stats for DZ punts... and the effect the spot on the field and distance the punt must travel as to the punt's effectiveness... but I don't know how tactics change things beyond the obvious disclaimers with the settings.
SoooooOOOOoo... it's break out the book and chart punts using different (tactic) settings and gather info until I got an idea... or two.
