Post by alecs on Nov 4, 2024 14:51:19 GMT -8
Some more offseason musings trying to burn up time until Opening Day, but I'm curious to hear any opinions out there regarding the drop kick as it currently stands in the Indoor Football League.
For those unfamiliar with the concept, a team can attempt a drop kick while on offense, a play in which the kicker drops the ball down from about knee height and kicks the ball almost instantaneously when it contacts the ground, in an attempt to send it through the uprights. The unconventional nature of the play made it rather obscure up until the 2023 season, when Connor Mangan began attempting them in regularity during his time with the Northern Arizona Wranglers. His relatively successful run earned him the nickname "Dropkick" Mangan, and the following season several other kickers experimented with the tactic. Ernesto Lacayo and Axel Perez were among the most successful kickers who basically mastered the art of the play, and Henry Nell was the first kicker to ever convert one in an IFL Championship game last August.
So why line up kicking attempts in this fashion rather than the easier, more reliable, and more conventional route of having a holder set the ball in place for the boot? That's where a quirky (and rarely used up until currently) feature of the IFL rule book comes into play. See, converting a PAT is worth two points if done via the drop kick, effectively doubling its value over a traditional extra point attempt. Drop kick field goals also carry more weight, four points instead of three, which we saw play out once last season.
All this brings me to my hypothetical question: With its increasing popularity, how should the IFL structure drop kicks going forward? Keep the current rules, modify them a bit, or outlaw the play altogether? I'm interested to see what the forum thinks!
For those unfamiliar with the concept, a team can attempt a drop kick while on offense, a play in which the kicker drops the ball down from about knee height and kicks the ball almost instantaneously when it contacts the ground, in an attempt to send it through the uprights. The unconventional nature of the play made it rather obscure up until the 2023 season, when Connor Mangan began attempting them in regularity during his time with the Northern Arizona Wranglers. His relatively successful run earned him the nickname "Dropkick" Mangan, and the following season several other kickers experimented with the tactic. Ernesto Lacayo and Axel Perez were among the most successful kickers who basically mastered the art of the play, and Henry Nell was the first kicker to ever convert one in an IFL Championship game last August.
So why line up kicking attempts in this fashion rather than the easier, more reliable, and more conventional route of having a holder set the ball in place for the boot? That's where a quirky (and rarely used up until currently) feature of the IFL rule book comes into play. See, converting a PAT is worth two points if done via the drop kick, effectively doubling its value over a traditional extra point attempt. Drop kick field goals also carry more weight, four points instead of three, which we saw play out once last season.
All this brings me to my hypothetical question: With its increasing popularity, how should the IFL structure drop kicks going forward? Keep the current rules, modify them a bit, or outlaw the play altogether? I'm interested to see what the forum thinks!
