On side kick?
- Thread starter wobycat
- Start date
It's a matter of risk vs reward. High probability of risk vs a low probability of reward.
Statistically there probably is a case to be made for using the onside kick more strategically, especially as a road dog. However coaches in general are risk averse. They get criticized enough for wasting 5 extra second on the clock, or when one player forgets he's on the punt return team costing a time out, but going for an onside kick and not recovering it will bring a lot more wrath down upon them especially if the opponent scores off of it.
Unless the opponent begins the 2nd half by recovering an onside kick.
The downside is lose the ball at the 50, they score quickly and you find yourself in a hole that you can't get out of. But.......if we find that we're not going to stop Jackson I would try it every time to hopefully keep him off the field if we were successful.
I'd prefer that after a score, the players all lined up outside a circle - say the size of a soccer circle - alternating team players around circle, & the ref threw the ball down on its point & then whomever recovered got possession. Holding other players is encouraged. But no clipping or face mask grabbing. Hell, no helmets allowed on the play. I think it would add excitement.
Yea but when you're struggling on defense what percent of the time do you actually stop them short of mid field anyway? Sometimes it seems to be about 8%!
An onsides kick only gives up about 30 yards in field position and that's if you are fortunate to hold a regular kick off at the 25 yard line or better.
So I'm not opposed to trying it more, like I say depending on how you feel about getting stops on D to begin with.
BTW I feel the same away about punting vs going for it on you own side of the field
That high school in Arkansas does really well simply playing the odds... always onside kicking. Never ever punting unless they are 4th and very long in their own territory, never kicking field goals. And going for 2 every time. If you get good at it like they are you could continuously beat the odds. They will have stretches where they dont give up the ball for 3 or 4 possessions in a row...
Search the web for stats on advanced football analytics. There's a big difference in the odds of recovering an on-side kick based on whether it was a "surprise" or "expected" on-side kick. Some data show the odds as high as 45% of recovering a surprise on-side kick, but less than 15% if the kick is expected. This leads some strategists to suggest that the surprise on-side kick is indeed underutilized.
Guess you also have to factor in the odds an opposing team would have of scoring with a first down at a given field position
Guess you also have to factor in the odds an opposing team would have of scoring with a first down at a given field position
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Search the web for stats on advanced football analytics. There's a big difference in the odds of recovering an on-side kick based on whether it was a "surprise" or "expected" on-side kick. Some data show the odds as high as 45% of recovering a surprise on-side kick, but less than 15% if the kick is expected. This leads some strategists to suggest that the surprise on-side kick is indeed underutilized.
Guess you also have to factor in the odds an opposing team would have of scoring with a first down at a given field position
EXCELLENT! I love it when someone takes the time to research a topic being discussed and post meaningful facts.
This makes infinitely more sense than onside kick, if we are talking outside of endgame situations.
Less funny bounces on very smooth turf fields. Need to make them lumpier. :cool2: