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+---- Thread: *DSFL Punting Stats: Midseason-ish Edition (/showthread.php?tid=20435)
*DSFL Punting Stats: Midseason-ish Edition - Matty7478 - 03-26-2020
So, you want to learn more about this years DSFL punting class and their stats at the lower level. I understand that; punting stats are one of my favourite things to look at after the sim finishes and the index is put up. However, I feel as if punting stats as a whole get lost amongst the noise by many when they are searching through the stats sheets. When people discuss the K/P position in general outwith the purview of those who are K/P's themselves, the talk tends to revolve around extra points and field goals and what their longest attempt and make of the season was. But it's important to understand that placekicking is not the only situation where having a good K/P is handy - while making 60 yard kicks with ease is definitely of great advantage to your team, what may come as an even bigger advantage throughout a season is the ability to flip field position at the drop of a hat. It takes the pressure off your defence, gives your offence the chance to get rolling if your defence can get a stop, and because of this helps teams in the long run. The three players who played at K/P for some part of their career and are enshrined in the Hall of Fame - Turk Turkleton, Dean Jackson and Micycle McCormick - all won the 'Punter of the Year' title multiple times, with 2 of them (Jackson and McCormick) winning more punting titles than kicking titles. If anything, this goes to show that punting is just as important to having a Hall of Fame career than simply kicking the ball through the uprights all the time.
Anyway, now that my ranting is done, let me drop down off this soapbox so we can discuss the punting stats for this new class of punters, starting with the basics.
The Basics
![[Image: Ou5uZSU.png]](https://i.imgur.com/Ou5uZSU.png)
Wow... Would you look at those stats. Talk about a great stat table. So, dear reader, what do you think these stats can tell us about this kicker class? Bobby Boomski sure looks like he's got the powerful major league leg doesn't he? Meanwhile, Solarin doesn't even look like he's trying to kick the ball! What's he doing out there? Although, his long is pretty long... unlike those full-time slackers Sidekick and Small! They've not even passed 60 on a kick yet, how is that possible?!
If you haven't picked up on it by this point, I'm being facetious. Very facetious. Why am I doing this? Because these stats that exist in the punting tab under the 'Player Stats' menu, are a reason why barely anyone looks into punting stats at all. By themselves, they tell us nothing. Sure, Boomski has punted the ball a lot, and his average is the highest, so that alone without any context would tell you that he's a fantastic punter, and doing the best out of everyone here. It would also tell you that, while Boomski and Small are brilliant at pinning the ball inside the 20, Solarin can barely find that part of the field if he tried. But the simple fact is, this basic level of analysis without understanding team composition and overall ability is useless. That is, if a team were to not manage to get out of their own 20 on a drive, would the punter not have more space to work with, and therefore more of a chance to rack up a strong average distance?
This point gives credence to the 'context stat' I am about to use. Don't worry, it isn't that difficult to understand. In fact, it basically explains itself - though I will take the time to explain it anyway in a second. This stat is called 'Average Punting Distance from the Goal Line'.
Average Punting Distance from the Goal Line
Average Punting Distance from the Goal Line, or APDGL as I will now call it because the actual name is very long, does exactly what it says on the tin. I took every punt that has been taken by a team in the DSFL so far this season, noted the point on the field at which the line of scrimmage was set when the punt was taken, and then - after taking all the kicks down of a team - calculated the average distance they were from the Goal Line when lining up for the punt. What use is this to us, the stat watchers? Well, as alluded to earlier on, it all comes down to explaining the environment a punter takes his punt in. If he's punting from his own 1 yard line, he has 99 yards to work with. If he's punting from 31 yards out (which, spoiler alert, is the closest to the goal line any team has punted from), he has barely any space to work with and so has to be smarter with his kicking. So, let's look at each team individually from the longest to shortest distance from the goal line to assess these punters in this new light.
1. Dallas Birddogs (Bobby Boomski)
- APDGL: 66.9661First on the list is the man who has punted the most this season for any team, Boomski from the Dallas Birddogs. The Birddogs have routinely struggled to drive down the field in a consistent manner, and so were obvious contenders to be number 1 on this list. What makes this analysis interesting is their distance increase over the rest of the field; compared to 2nd place alone, they are ahead by 3.1 yards on average. Considering we are over halfway through the season, to have an advantage of over 3 yards to the next competitor alone is an indictment of the Dallas offensive system. What is also does however, is show how weak Boomski's stats actually are. Boomski is a power punter first and foremost, and so should be in his element with a lot of field to work with. This is not exactly the case, as he struggles to assert himself when being compared to powerhouses from Minnesota and Kansas City. Overall, this is another stat which details the woes this new franchise has dealt with in their first season.
2. Tijuana Luchadores (Jacob Small)
- APDGL: 63.8269Next up on this list is a team who are currently on the rise, sitting at the top of the South division having won 3 of their last 4 matches; the Tijuana Luchadores. For a team who currently leads on tiebreaker in the South, they consistently find themselves with high punt totals and give Jacob Small a lot of room to work with on the field. Does this suggest their defence has a much more prominent role to play in their success? This appears to be the case. On the topic of punting however, the Luchadores become an even more interesting case; even giving Jacob Small the 2nd most distance to work with, he has the 3rd worst average of all recognised punters playing the position this season. Why is that? It is likely because of his kicker archetype: as an accuracy-based kicker, he does not have the leg on him these other kickers have, possessing only 66 kick power. Therefore, he is not cut out for the longer distance kicks that Tijuana requires him to take. What he definitely is cut out for, meanwhile, is punting with a smaller field, as shown by his tied-league highest 8 punts inside the 20. While Boomski likely used his power to his advantage to get those 8 balls inside the 20 from long distance, Small likely found more opportunities to place these kicks in the 20 with more accuracy and finesse which may belong at the higher level. It may not translate to basic stats, but Small finds a niche at this level with his accuracy.
3. Minnesota Grey Ducks (Cashrinski Blödenheimer)
- APDGL: 63.7046In third place, and just 0.1 yards behind Tijuana, we find the Minnesota Grey Ducks and their punter, Cashrinski Blödenheimer. If you're wondering, this is the first of 3 teams (that's right, 3 teams!) who punted the ball from the closest to the goal line at 31 yards away. And yet, it hasn't served to hurt their average too much. Last year's Ultimini champs have punted the tied 2nd least throughout this season; however, when they are forced to punt, they tend to give Blödenheimer a lot of space to work with. It wouldn't be wrong to say this year's Grey Ducks have not been the most prolific scorers (2nd least points for through 8 games), so the fact that their offence may sometimes break down early in drives might not be too surprising. What they've lacked in offensive flair however, Blödenheimer has made up for with punting prowess. With average punting stats that stack up well to Boomski's lofty figures, it goes without saying that Blödenheimer can kick with the best of them. What this does also prove, however, is that punters can't win the game by themselves, and having the 3rd worst defence in points allowed tells us the Grey Ducks have not given themselves a chance to benefit from Blödenheimer's solid punting. Look for an improvement from the Grey Ducks as the season rolls on.
4. Norfolk SeaWolves (Sam Sidekick)
- APDGL: 63.0714Sitting 0.6 yards behind the Grey Ducks in 4th place is the Norfolk SeaWolves. In most facets of this season, outside of their record and their points per game tallies, the SeaWolves have found themselves sitting around average. This form continues into their punting. Their punter, Sam Sidekick, follows the same trend as Jacob Small of the Luchadores in that he is an accuracy-based player. Because of this, his power is lacking and so his open field kicking doesn't leave much to the imagination. He rates above Small in the average punt distance category, which tracks well for him considering he had less field to work with on average. However, his inside 20 stats are also largely lacklustre; his 5 punts inside the 20 rank him tied with Kansas City and Minnesota. Overall, a middle of the road punter on a team that continues to get results even with yards per game stats that are unremarkable.
5. Kansas City Coyotes (Matthew McDairmid)
- APDGL: 62.9773Up next in 5th place is my team, the Kansas City Coyotes, and my kicker, Matthew McDairmid. I promise to not be too biased when talking about my own player, and be as realistic as I can be about his performance. Truly he is a phenom in the posit- oh wait... my bad. Seriously though, McDairmid does rank rather well compared to the other punters in this class. Being given a somewhat average field position by his fellow Coyotes, McDairmid uses his abilities as a power punter to send the ball well down field more often than not. Sitting in 3rd, and only 0.8 yards behind Boomski, when considering average punt distance, when the other 2 players in front of him have at least over 0.7 of a yard more to work with on average, means he operates at an above average level in the punting game. And his 5 punts inside the 20 slot in well next to Sidekick and Blödenheimer in the accuracy stats. Overall, he isn't currently tracking as a standout punter against other nearby talents, but there is the hope he will grow along with the rest of this talented Coyotes squad to be standouts in the future. (P.S. This is the 2nd of the 3 teams that had a punt of 31 yards. Crazy right?)
6. London Royals (Seth Lindsey)
- APDGL: 62Many may be surprised to find the Royals as low in this measurement as they are, especially given that they are the team with the worst record in the league. My thought is that it may have something to do with their run-first style of offence that has earned them consistent yardage all season long. However, that analysis is for a different article; let's review the performance of their punter, Seth Lindsey. Lindsey is another person who falls into the category of an accuracy-first player. Even with the lesser field position, he is still able to eek out an advantage in terms of punting average over the other 2 accuracy-first players we've already looked at in Small and Sidekick. However, in the area you would expect accuracy-first players to be better - punts inside the 20 - he sits tied lowest of anybody who has kicked over 15 punts. This is not the greatest look for a player like Lindsey and is something he will likely look to work on as the season wears on. Keep an eye out for what the Royals can do in big match-ups down the road.
7. Portland Pythons (Pseudo QB/Steppy the BOT)
- APDGL: 61.7111This is the team and punter situation I will talk the least about, because the Pythons now use a bot as their main K/P. To begin the season, Pseudo QB had the responsibilities and did a mediocre job; not the best yardage per punt, but a decent start in punts inside the 20 which made his position as an accuracy-first punter obvious. However, due to inactivity, he was replaced in this role by R. Steppy, a bot. In all truth, interest is more likely to be piqued when talking about player-created punters who can be drafted to the top level and can improve over time; therefore, I will only touch on this bot's stats for a second. His average is woeful, even for a accuracy-first punter, but he puts the ball inside the 20 an insane amount... like it's in his programming or something. Weird. (P.S. This is the last team to have punted from 31 yards out. And they were the most recent to do it - congrats Portland!)
8. Myrtle Beach Buccaneers (Kai Solarin)
- APDGL: 61.359To the consistent offensive powerhouse goes the short field for punters. The Buccaneers are a largely run-based team that have done a fantastic job of controlling the clock and getting first downs early in drives all season. Because of this, Kai Solarin has had to deal with the challenge of having the fewest opportunities to punt, along with the least distance in front of him to work with. As our final accuracy-based punter on the list, he has shown himself to be capable working in the shorter field; his punt average sits just below his rival accuracy-kickers while having much less field to work with. It can be said however that his punts inside the 20 have been altogether unimpressive. While that may have something to do with having 10 less chances than other accuracy-based punters to pin the ball, based on the stats at hand, it is somewhat unimpressive.
And with that, each punter has been discussed at length. The question now becomes, who of these punters are at the top of this class currently? Well, truthfully, it all depends what you deem more important in your punter. Do you prefer a punter who can flip the field at the drop of a hat? Or do you prefer a type who can take the ball from midfield and lace a punt that perfectly drops into a coffin corner? Personally, at the level we play at currently, my obvious preference is towards the power type of punter. As offences can be less consistent in their ability to drive down the field at DSFL level, having a punter that can flip the field is important to keeping momentum and putting pressure on the other teams. Because of this, the likely standouts are players like Blödenheimer and McDairmid who make use of their average field position to put teams quickly onto the backfoot, along with the yardage leader Boomski who has proven useful in his multiple attempts to punt for long distances.
Bonus Stat
Here's an extra stat at the end of the article for those who want to know a bit more about the defences of these teams in relation to punts. Defences were barely discussed in this article, but above I did note that for a punt that flips the field to actually be useful, you need a defence that can actually stop the other team. This is where the 'Punts Forced' table comes in:
![[Image: i1tlaBz.png]](https://i.imgur.com/i1tlaBz.png)
Here, we can see what teams are able to take advantage of their field position to stop the opposing team and force them to give the ball back to them throughout a game. Myrtle Beach are especially good at this, halting teams early with their dominant rush defence. Meanwhile, Kansas City has the least punts forced, likely due to giving up more time of possession with their lacklustre rush defence and struggling to stop teams from getting first downs in midfield. However, Kansas City also has the best points allowed per game. Why are these on such opposing ends? This is likely because Kansas City can force teams eventually into a long enough 3rd down situation where they need to pass the ball; this benefits Kansas City in the end of course, because they hold the best pass defence in the league, and likely leads to more field goals being taken against them.
However, once again, that analysis is for another day. I hope you enjoyed this article and I will see you all again when I next choose to commit multiple days to understanding the stats of Kicker/Punters (likely towards the end of the season).
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2912 words*DSFL Punting Stats: Midseason-ish Edition - retrospace111 - 03-26-2020
amazing analysis
maybe if we had a better punter/kicker we would be 8-0
*DSFL Punting Stats: Midseason-ish Edition - Matty7478 - 03-26-2020
(03-26-2020, 03:57 PM)retrospace111 Wrote:amazing analysis
maybe if we had a better punter/kicker we would be 8-0
Cheers mate!
There is a chance you could be higher than where you are now without the K/P being what it is, but the offensive PPG hasn't exactly been the nicest to you this season. Maybe the fact the PPG doesn't match up with the yards stats and punt stats means Portland may become even scarier in the late season? Who knows
*DSFL Punting Stats: Midseason-ish Edition - Revolution5 - 03-26-2020
Love it
*DSFL Punting Stats: Midseason-ish Edition - Kalakar - 03-26-2020
Rude
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*DSFL Punting Stats: Midseason-ish Edition - infinitempg - 03-26-2020
Awesome work! Also reminds me I should track DSFL surrender punts...
*DSFL Punting Stats: Midseason-ish Edition - Briedaqueduc - 03-26-2020
(03-26-2020, 09:24 PM)Kalakar Wrote:Rudeit's ok kal you're the best in my heart <3