The quarterback punt is the sacred gem of football bingo. If you hit it on a Sunday, you can die in peace.
It wasn’t always this way. Called a “quick kick” in football parlance, the quarterback punt is designed for a specific situation to surprise the defense, usually on third down, but sometimes on a mid-to-long range fourth down after a bluff. There was a time several decades ago when the thrower would double as the kicker far more often. For example, hall of famer George Blanda retired with 22 punts that traveled a total of 809 yards. A generation ahead of that John Elway punted seven times, and Terry Bradshaw took eight whacks.
Now the quarterback boot has become a relic, and it’s therefore our duty to keep the memory of its glory alive. We must never forget, so here are the five best quick kicks.
Randall Cunningham nearly cleared the entire field
Because he’s Randall Cunningham and he can do whatever he damn well pleases, the former Eagles and Vikings quarterback (and Cowboys, but no one remembers that) punted 20 times.
The distance on two of them? 91 and 80 yards. Yeah, that counts the roll just like every punt, so a sprinkling of luck is required. But the 91-yarder below still went 60 yards in the air (about 70 if you count the end zone).
Kordell Stewart was also a jack of many trades
For men of a certain age (my age?), Slash was the sort of hero you’d put on a lunchbox, and all the kids would think it’s the coolest lunchbox. He did everything except sell foam fingers in the stands.
He was pretty OK while starting 87 games at quarterback for the Steelers, though the passing part was often an issue (55.8 career completion percentage). But running wasn’t with his 2,874 career rushing yards, and a single-season high of 537. Stewart caught footballs too, finishing his career with 41 receptions, most coming early on.
Oh and he punted, because of course he did. This boot -- one of his six -- was downed at the yard line.
The quick kick is a Steelers thing?
In our modern times, the quarterback pooch is usually reserved for unique situations, and this is a prime example.
The Steelers had a comfortable lead on the Browns in the fourth quarter, but didn’t want to give them any life with still just over seven minutes left. On fourth down they were against the wind, making what would have been about a 45-yard field goal attempt less than ideal, and going for it on fourth and 18 didn’t exactly sound like much fun either.
So Big Ben did his arm waving fake out thing, and then kept walking backwards. Then backwards some more before getting the snap, applying foot to football, and watching as the eggball bounced to the one yard-line where Emmanual Sanders downed it.
FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!
Tom Brady has two career punts, and one of them came in the dying minutes of a 45-10 game. The reason for such an odd play at such an odd time was so Bill Belichick. It seemed like he put great thought into this exact scenario.
From Mike Reiss, who relayed Belichick’s reasoning:
“Coach Bill Belichick explained the team didn't want to face the various punt rushes the Broncos had on fourth down, so the call was for the unusual quick kick. Brady was in the shotgun and he aced the assignment, the ball downed at the 10 because the Broncos didn't have anyone back to receive.”
Immediately afterwards there was a fight that featured some serious body chucking, and Belichick getting in the middle of hulking tree humans, trying to play peacekeeper. Put ear muffs on all children nearby while watching the video below.
Or maybe quick kicking is a Patriots thing?
When Brady was out with a busted leg in 2008, Matt Cassel’s leg was working just fine. He launched a punt 57 yards as Belichick again used his most evil wizard methods to get favorable field position.
