Talk:Fair catch

Fair catch kick?
Is there a "fair catch kick" in any other form of American football besides the NFL? I've definitely seen it there, but never in college or high school. Rlquall 01:01, 31 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Yes, it's in National Federation of State High School Ass'n rules. 216.179.1.251 (talk) 06:21, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Expansion
Adding a section on how a fair catch is meant to protect the receiver and how the XFL did not have it.

Question
Can you make a mark or a fair catch in your own end zone? Nlsanand 07:38, 8 October 2006 (UTC)

pros and cons ??
It is not well explained in the article what the fair catch's pros and cons are. It seems that it's advantage is to avoid injuries. The disadvantage is that no yardage is made. So is it a security/yardage tradeoff ?? In other words: if you risk your health you can make a run?? That's stupid. The appropriate comparison would be if a ski downhill racer would get a 2 second bonus for not wearing a helmet. --boarders paradise (talk) 01:40, 20 June 2011 (UTC)
 * It's not just about protecting the receiver. If the kick receiver sees the coverage closing in on him and thinks he won't be able to beat them ... well, the offense can always score on the drive. Also, if it's late in a game and you've got a narrow lead it's a good way to practice ball control ... wouldn't do to muff or fumble it back to the kicking team and give them such great field position. Finally, I would imagine a situation in which a player who doesn't normally receive might want a fair catch, such as a defensive lineman after a blocked punt. And, of course, there's always the free-kick opportunity afterwards. Daniel Case (talk) 05:17, 9 September 2011 (UTC)

Need for video of a fair catch, and ideas for how to make a good one
I've posted the Video requested above because it should be rather obvious that the photo in the article is not really that helpful as what it shows could be any catch (It might also not qualify as a free image; it was clearly taken at an NFL game and the conditions of attendance at most sporting events usually preclude taking pictures or video without The Express Written Consent of Major League Baseball ... well, in this case the home team or the league; some people at Commons feel we can just ignore that but since attendance at games is purely voluntary I think you can't argue you're not bound by the terms that are usually on the website and the back of the ticket stating that you agree, by entering the venue, to terms which limit any photos or video you take to personal use only).

So it would probably be best shot at a high-school or small-college game (at that level you'd at least guarantee some players with talent the viewer would expect to see; kids in Pop Warner might be easier to get access to, but ... I can't imagine how that would look). A video, if shot, should be more than a single take from the stands ... we'd probably not get everything we could that way.

In fact, to shoot one properly, you'd want to do this during special teams practice (which assumes getting on good terms with the coaches, if you aren't already) because that way you could guarantee a punt leading to a fair catch, something which doesn't always happen in game situations. Don't use a phone ... get an actual camcorder and mount it on a tripod. You're going to want to do a few takes, get coverage, and perhaps storyboard the video in advance:


 * Master shot of the snap and punt from, say, the stands, the usual angle shown on television. Perhaps from both sides (depending on the light).
 * Corresponding shots from same angle of return man waiting deep. Maybe some closeups (this is why you shoot at practice so you can walk out on the field and set the camera up for this. Same deal with the punter, calling for the snap, getting it and perhaps making the kick in closeup. These can be done at times when the other players are doing other things; just make sure they're standing in the same place where they're standing in the master shot (and in similar light).
 * Maybe the snap and some interior line action (or the lack thereof, as in many return situations there will be only one or two players trying to get to the punter and block the kick), from just to the side.
 * Then the trickiest shot of all ... the punt itself, followed from kicker to returner in one take just like they do on TV, preferably from the stands. You may well need a few takes, as well as some practice just following it with the camera (If you didn't know this already, you will learn right there and then that filmmaking is a lot harder than it looks).
 * This could/should be intercut with takes of players from the punting team running down on coverage and the return team setting up to block. Because then we want to end with ...
 * ... the return man, seeing the coverage get too close for comfort, is seen both in the master shot and in closeup looking up and waving his right hand from side to side (To make sure the coverage appears credibly close enough for this to happen, the punter can be asked to pooch it a little bit and/or the return man set up a little shallower than he'd otherwise have to).
 * And at last he catches the ball in closeup, with defenders stopping short just two yards away.
 * Then get busy editing.

Daniel Case (talk) 05:59, 16 December 2015 (UTC)