I'm surprised there are no more punter/quarterbacks

[Reverend Conehead]

If I could bring back any Cowboys punter, it would be Danny White. He could punt well, but was also an excellent quarterback. He was such a good QB that he got the starting job when Staubach retired. Having a punter who can play QB created a huge threat of fake punts, many of which Danny pulled off. Plus, it saved a roster space. Even if your punter were only the third-string quarterback, you at least didn't have to use up a roster spot for that 3rd QB. You would think that teams would want to do whatever they could to efficiently use their roster spaces. I would think that, if a college QB also developed good punting skills, that would make him all the more valuable at draft time.
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It was cool when Danny White came onto the field to punt. Teams had to be honest in their coverage because they knew that White could burn their butts via a pass or even by taking off running. I also remember that Raphael Septien (K) was our backup punter. I remember in one game, the starting punter (Mitch Hoops) was injured, so Septien did all the punting. Your kicker being able to punt was good security in case your punter got hurt.

 

[MoistMayonnaise]

QB is too valuable now to have them on the field doing anything else.

 

[Cowboy_svt]

i think BB answered this question indirectly pretty nicely in relation to the long snapper - why not just have the center do it and save a roster spot

 

[maryquality]

You don't see any QB's as holders for the kicker either.

 

[thunderpimp91]

Punters have just gotten too good over the years to make that a thing anymore. Danny Whites best season as a punter from the 80s would make him the worst punter in the league in 2023. If the league average kick was still 40ish yards then you could probably get a few QBs good enough at it to give it a try. Guys anymore though are getting 50+ yarders with hangtime pretty routinely. It never gets talked about but in order to get that good at kicking/punting you have to push your body to the limit.

 

[Typhus]

When Dak turns 40 and making 100 mill per, Jerry will ask him to assume all the punting duties as well for the hometown discount.

 

[Motorola]

QB is too valuable now to have them on the field doing anything else.

You don't see any QB's as holders for the kicker either.

Too risky - and tempting - for the opposing punt return/block teams to take shots at the QB in either of those positions throughout the game.

 

[Coogiguy03]

If I could bring back any Cowboys punter, it would be Danny White. He could punt well, but was also an excellent quarterback. He was such a good QB that he got the starting job when Staubach retired. Having a punter who can play QB created a huge threat of fake punts, many of which Danny pulled off. Plus, it saved a roster space. Even if your punter were only the third-string quarterback, you at least didn't have to use up a roster spot for that 3rd QB. You would think that teams would want to do whatever they could to efficiently use their roster spaces. I would think that, if a college QB also developed good punting skills, that would make him all the more valuable at draft time.
...
It was cool when Danny White came onto the field to punt. Teams had to be honest in their coverage because they knew that White could burn their butts via a pass or even by taking off running. I also remember that Raphael Septien (K) was our backup punter. I remember in one game, the starting punter (Mitch Hoops) was injured, so Septien did all the punting. Your kicker being able to punt was good security in case your punter got hurt.

enter trey lance

 

[jazzcat22]

They been replaced with RB / QB players.

 

[KJJ]

Danny White took off and ran several times from punt formation, but can’t remember him ever throwing a pass from punt formation. Not saying he didn’t. He pulled off a number of fake punts.

 

[Motorola]

Punters have just gotten too good over the years to make that a thing anymore. Danny Whites best season as a punter from the 80s would make him the worst punter in the league in 2023. If the league average kick was still 40ish yards then you could probably get a few QBs good enough at it to give it a try. Guys anymore though are getting 50+ yarders with hangtime pretty routinely. It never gets talked about but in order to get that good at kicking/punting you have to push your body to the limit.

Danny White's career average__ 40.2 - tied for 166th all-time
Top 12 punting averages today___46.7 or higher (Cowboys' Bryan Anger and 4 others at that number)

 

[Ranching]

If I could bring back any Cowboys punter, it would be Danny White. He could punt well, but was also an excellent quarterback. He was such a good QB that he got the starting job when Staubach retired. Having a punter who can play QB created a huge threat of fake punts, many of which Danny pulled off. Plus, it saved a roster space. Even if your punter were only the third-string quarterback, you at least didn't have to use up a roster spot for that 3rd QB. You would think that teams would want to do whatever they could to efficiently use their roster spaces. I would think that, if a college QB also developed good punting skills, that would make him all the more valuable at draft time.
...
It was cool when Danny White came onto the field to punt. Teams had to be honest in their coverage because they knew that White could burn their butts via a pass or even by taking off running. I also remember that Raphael Septien (K) was our backup punter. I remember in one game, the starting punter (Mitch Hoops) was injured, so Septien did all the punting. Your kicker being able to punt was good security in case your punter got hurt.

Danny was great. Many would say he sucked because he didn't win a SB......ignorance is bliss.

 

[Motorola]

Danny was great. Many would say he sucked because he didn't win a SB......ignorance is bliss.

Followed a Cowboys Legend/ HOFer...very tough shoes to fill.
Three straight NFC Championship appearances as the Cowboys QB.
Had a great HC career in the Arena Football League afterwards.

 

[thunderpimp91]

Danny White's career average__ 40.2 - tied for 166th all-time
Top 12 punting averages today___46.7 or higher (Cowboys' Bryan Anger and 4 others at that number)

Tough to actually say because there was no measuring hang time or similar metrics 30 years ago, but I have to believe punters today are getting more yardage on higher punts too. You also look at just the simple stats like TB% vs overall kicks that land inside the 20 and you see that punters are more accurate and better at manipulating how balls bounce.

Not hating on Danny at all, but it was a different era and kickers/punters IMO are very underappreciated in todays game.

 

[joseephuss]

Followed a Cowboys Legend/ HOFer...very tough shoes to fill.
Three straight NFC Championship appearances as the Cowboys QB.
Had a great HC career in the Arena Football League afterwards.

I wanted Dallas to bring him in as a QB coach. If anyone understood the pressure of being a Cowboys QB, it was him. Plus he had a good offensive mind.

 

[joseephuss]

I think Tom Tupa was the last guy who did both punting and QBing at the same time in the NFL.

 

[Motorola]

Tough to actually say because there was no measuring hang time or similar metrics 30 years ago, but I have to believe punters today are getting more yardage on higher punts too. You also look at just the simple stats like TB% vs overall kicks that land inside the 20 and you see that punters are more accurate and better at manipulating how balls bounce.

Not hating on Danny at all, but it was a different era and kickers/punters IMO are very underappreciated in todays game.

Also back then, if an offense stalled between the opponent's 35 - 49 yard lines, the punters would come in to and perform the short "coffin kick" - pining the other team deep in their territory to start their series on offense.

 

[SuperBowlz]

I get not using your QB on special teams but it does seem like someone could have the skills to be a K/P. It would not only open a roster spot but save some money against the cap too.
Randall Cunningham was an all American punter in college. I remember he booted a 90 something yarder on 3rd down once.

 

[Reverend Conehead]

Danny White's career average__ 40.2 - tied for 166th all-time
Top 12 punting averages today___46.7 or higher (Cowboys' Bryan Anger and 4 others at that number)

Average distance is not a stat that makes sense to evaluate a punter with. You don't necessarily want the punt to go as far as possible. It might go into the endzone for a touchback. The purpose of punting is to give your opponent the worst field position possible. It's way more important to get the ball inside the opponent's 10 yard line, or even inside their 5, granted that's not possible from every position on the field. If you're punting from your own endzone, for example, it's probably not going to end up inside the 10. However, the stat I would like to see is the number of times the punter got the ball inside the opponent's 10 yard-line when punting from a position where that was feasible. Of course, it's not all on the punter either. He depends on cover guys to get down there to hopefully stop the ball before it gets into the endzone.
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I would say that an opponent's resulting bad field position and hang time are way more important than the distance punted.

 

[thunderpimp91]

Also back then, if an offense stalled between the opponent's 35 - 49 yard lines, the punters would come in to and perform the short "coffin kick" - pining the other team deep in their territory to start their series on offense.

That’s a very good point. It’s rare to see a punt inside the 50 anymore as those are either long fgs or 4th down attempts.