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Field goal

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A field goal (formerly "goal from the field") is a general term used in some sports wherein a goal may be scored either during general play ("from the field") or via some sort of free shot.

The term has been used in American & Canadian football, rugby union, rugby league, and basketball.

Contents

[edit] Rugby

A field goal or "dropped goal" (usually abbreviated to "drop goal" in speech) is scored by drop kicking the ball above the crossbar and between the uprights. Typically, it is only used for goals scored during open play — place kicks are usually used for penalties and conversions. However, in the Sevens version of both codes and the Nines version of league, all conversions must be drop kicks. A field goal is worth three points in rugby union and one point in rugby league; conversions are worth two points in both codes.

Two finals in the Rugby World Cup have been decided by dropped goals in extra time. South Africa's victory margin in 1995 came from a Joel Stransky drop goal in extra time. Jonny Wilkinson duplicated the feat for England in 2003. Jerry Guscott famously dropped a match and series-winning goal in the second test for the British Lions on the 1997 British Lions tour to South Africa. In the 1999 Rugby World Cup South African Jannie de Beer dropped 5 goals, a record in test matches, in their 44-21 quarter-final win over England.

In rugby league, since the reduction of their value from two points to one in the early 1970s, the field goal's primary use has been in the latter stages of match in order to break a deadlock, or for "insurance" points. With the introduction of the golden point in the National Rugby League, the field goal is often the first choice option when looking to secure a win. Generally though, a team will opt for a more attacking kick, in hopes of scoring a try, or else kick to gain field position.

[edit] American and Canadian football

Image:American Football Kick.jpg

A field goal may be scored by a place kick or the very rare drop kick. The ball must pass "through the uprights", that is, over a crossbar 10 feet off the ground and between upright posts 18' 6" (5.55 m) apart, to count, and the kick must not be a kickoff. A field goal can still be good even if the ball hits an upright or the crossbar. The rules of the particular sanctioning authority may impose additional requirements. A successful field goal scores three points.


[edit] Football Field Goal Dimensions

  • NFL - 10' height 18'6" width
  • CFL - 10' height 18'6" width
  • NCAA - 10' height 18'6" width (since 1991)
  • High School - 10' height 23'4" width (games may be played on fields with goalposts that are 18'6 by state adoption)
  • Arena Football - 15' height 9' width

(Height = to Crossbar)

[edit] Missed Field Goals

In the NFL, missed field goals on or inside the 20-yard line result in the opposing team taking possession at the 20-yard line. Missed field goals beyond the 20-yard line result in the opposing team taking possession at the spot of the kick. This rule applies to both place kicks and drop kicks.

Prior to the 1994 season, missed field goals resulted in the opposing team gaining possession at the line of scrimmage or the 20 yard line, whichever was farther from the goalpost.

Prior to the 1974 season, missed field goals resulted in the opposing team gaining possession at the line of scrimmage or the 20 yard line, whichever was closer to the goalpost. This rule is still in effect in high school football, except in Massachusetts and Texas, where high school games are played under NCAA rules.

The opposing team may also catch a missed field goal and attempt to return it. This is only rarely performed, as on average the opposing team would not be able to return the ball to the spot of the kick. However, it is occasionally done, particularly when a very long kick is attempted at the end of the first half. Nathan Vasher of the Chicago Bears returned a 52-yard field goal attempt 108 yards for a touchdown in this manner on November 13, 2005, against the San Francisco 49ers, the longest play in NFL history. Devin Hester, also of the Chicago Bears would match this return on November 12, 2006 versus the New York Giants, also off of a 52-yard field goal attempt.

In the NCAA, the opposing team takes possession at the line of scrimmage rather than at the spot of the kick.

In Canadian football, the opposing team must return the missed field goal. If they do not, or if the missed field goal goes through the end zone, then the kicking team scores a single point, called a "rouge". This may occasionally lead to situations at the end of a close game where a team is forced to kick the ball out of its end zone to preserve its victory/tie.

[edit] Kicking Styles

There are several styles kickers have used for kicking field goals over the years. The soccer style is the most widely used kick in football today.

[edit] Soccer Style

Soccer style gets its name from the game of soccer and the manner in which soccer players kick a ball. A soccer style field goal kicker kicks the ball with the instep of his foot and approach the ball from an angle. Typically a kicker will take 3 steps straight back and 2 side steps to the left (if right footed). This will put them in the proper position for approaching the ball. Some kickers, such as Adam Vinatieri, start farther to the side and facing away from the line, then proceed to "swing" their body around, almost in a semicircle motion, kicking the ball in with the same final motion.

Soccer style is the most widely used in American Football today. In this style the ball is normally thrown backwards to a holder standing about 7 yards from the line of scrimmage. The length of the field goal recorded is thus normally around 17 yards more than the distance to the end zone, the last 10 yards is the end zone itself.

[edit] Straight-ahead style

In the straight-ahead style, the kicker takes several steps back and kicks the ball with the toe of his shoe. This style was widely used until the soccer style took over beginning in the early 1960's.

Unlike the soccer-style, the straight-ahead style requires the use of a special shoe that has a flattened toe and is reinforced to be extremely rigid. Additionally, some kickers wore a kicking shoe that was one or even two sizes smaller than normal. Hall of Famer George Blanda, a straight-ahead kicker who also played quarterback, wore a modified shoe that allowed him to play both positions without changing shoes. However, many modern kickers (the "soccer-style" term has all but disappeared) use a shoe that features a smooth contact surface.

Steve Cox of the Washington Redskins kicked the last straight-ahead field goal in the NFL in 1987. Cox was a punter who also kicked off and occasionally kicked long field goals. Mark Moseley was the last full-time straight-ahead place kicker in the NFL.

[edit] Drop Kick

A drop kick is made when the kicker drops the ball and then kicks it when it bounces off the ground. This kick was popular in the early 1900s. However, the modern American football is more pointed on both ends, making the bounce less reliable. The main advantage of the drop kick is that the kicking team gains an additional blocker. Because this advantage is minimal, drop kicks are rare nowadays.

The last successful drop kick in the NFL was made on January 1, 2006 by New England Patriots quarterback Doug Flutie for an extra point. It was the first time in 64 years that a drop kick was converted for an extra point in the NFL.

The last successful drop kick extra point in NCAA was by Aaron Fitzgerald of the University of LaVerne on November 10, 1990 against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. [1]

[edit] History

In the early days of football, kicking was highly emphasized.

  • In 1883 the scoring system was devised and field goals counted 5 points while touchdowns and conversions counted 3 each.
  • In 1897 the touchdown was raised to 5 points while the conversion was lowered to 1 point.
  • The field goal was changed to 4 points in 1904 and then to the modern 3 points in 1909.
  • The touchdown was changed to 6 points in 1912.
  • In 1924 the conversion was spotted at the 3 yard line.
  • In 1925-1928 it was moved to the 5 yard line.
  • In 1929 it was moved to the 2 yard line.
  • Finally, in 1968 it was moved back to the 3 yard line.
  • The goal posts were originally located on the goal line; this led to many injuries, and the NCAA moved the goal posts to the rear of the end zone in 1927. The NFL, however, had goal posts on the goal line until 1974. Goal posts on the goal line needed padding in an effort to reduce injuries. Also, sometimes the ball, for a team having possession deep in its own territory, was moved to a hashmark to reduce having the goal post in the backfield. And there was at least one case (Joe Namath, in the NFL or old AFL) of a pass being rendered incomplete by its hitting the goal post.
  • In 1959 the NCAA goal posts were widened to 23'4".
  • In 1988 the NCAA banned the kicking tee, requiring kicks from the ground.
  • In 1991 the college goal posts were reduced in width to 18'6", the width of NFL goal posts. In 1991 and 1992, this meant severe angles for short field goal attempts, since the hashmarks were still located 53'4" apart. In 1993, the NCAA narrowed the distance between the hashmarks to 40' (which was the width of hashmarks in the NFL until 1972, when they were narrowed to 18'6").
  • Like the collegiate goal posts, the NFL goal posts were located on the goal line. They were moved to the rear of the end zone in 1974, as a result of the narrowed hashmark distance of 1972, which had made for easier field-goal angles.
  • In 1967, the NFL adopted the "slingshot" goalpost, with a single post curving to support the crossbar. The NCAA later adopted the same rule, but later allowed the use of "offset" goalposts, with two posts rather than one. Three schools in Division I-A currently use two posts instead of one for goalposts in their stadiums: Florida State, LSU, and Washington State.

[edit] Field Goal Records

[edit] Longest Field Goals

[edit] NFL

The progression of professional longest field goals:

  • 45 yards - Pete Henry, Canton Bulldogs vs. Toledo, Dec. 10, 1922 (drop kick)
  • 54 yards - Glenn Presnell, Detroit Lions vs. Green Bay Packers, Oct. 7, 1934
  • 56 yards - Bert Rechichar, Baltimore Colts vs. Chicago Bears, Sept. 27, 1953
  • 63 yards - Tom Dempsey, New Orleans Saints vs. Detroit Lions, Nov. 8, 1970
  • 63 yards - Jason Elam, Denver Broncos vs. Jacksonville Jaguars, Oct. 25, 1998
[edit] Collegiate
[edit] High school
  • 68 yards - Dirk Borgognone, Reno High School (NV) (W 34-14) v Sparks HS (NV), 9/27/1985
  • 67 yards - Russell Cowsert, Dallas Christian HS (TX) (W 67-0) v Fort Worth Nolan HS (TX), 1987



[edit] CFL

[edit] Famous Field Goals

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Dempsey kicked the ball in the straight-ahead fashion. This kick is famous as the longest NFL kick in history and because Dempsey was born with a right club foot and no toes (this was his kicking foot).

This tied Dempsey's record. Elam used the soccer style kick.

The NFL would later announce that a botched call earlier in the game should have not gone in favor of the Colts, which led to the field goal. Four days after the miss, Vanderjagt appeared on The Late Show, which is hosted by Indianapolis native and Colts fan David Letterman. In his appearance, he completed a 46-yard field goal on West 53rd Street, outside the Ed Sullivan Theater.

  • On 10/16/1976 Tony Franklin kicked two 60+ yard field goals in one game. His first one of 64 yards broke the collegiate record. Later in the game he kicked a 65 yard field goal. On the same day however, Ove Johansson kicked a 69 yard field goal to break Franklin's record.

[edit] Infamous Field Goal Attempts

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Garo Yepremian of the undefeated 16-0-0 Miami Dolphins was preparing to add three points from 42 yards out in the final minutes of the fourth quarter in what had developed into a 14-0 Super Bowl shutout of the Washington Redskins on January 14, 1973. The kick was blocked by defensive tackle Bill Brundige. Yepremian, instead of falling on the ball, made a feeble attempt to throw a pass. He did not even get a solid grip on the ball and it slipped out of his hand. Yepremian batted it in the air while trying to regain control. Brundige tipped the ball and it went right into the arms of Redskins cornerback Mike Bass who ran the ball 49 yards for a touchdown to cut the Dolphin's lead in half with 2:07 remaining on the clock. Miami lost its impending Super Bowl shutout (which no team has ever accomplished to this day, I-XL) with a final score of 14-7 and it was an embarrassingly ironic end to what became known as the "perfect season".

Another infamous field goal attempt came in the 2002 NFC Wild Card game between the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers in San Francisco. The Giants, who were ahead 38-14 at one point in the game, were now trailing 39-38 and were lined up for a field goal attempt by Matt Bryant with seconds left which would have won the game. Long snapper Trey Junkin, who had been signed for that game due to injuries, and who had trouble with the snaps all game long, botched another one. The Giants' holder, punter Matt Allen, picked up the bad snap and tried to throw a pass to lineman Rich Seubert, who had reported into the game as an eligible receiver was open downfield. Seubert was pulled down by a 49er while the ball was in flight, which by definition was pass interference. However, the penalty was called on Seubert for being illegally downfield, and the game ended. Nearly all agreed that the interference penalty needed to be called, but others showed that another Giant lineman was illegally downfield, which would have meant offsetting penalties and a re-kick from the previous spot, instead of seven yards from the spot of the interference call (as it would have been had the pass interference and only that had been called). The 49ers advanced, and were beaten by the eventual Super Bowl champion Buccaneers 31-6 the next week.

[edit] Four-Point Field Goals

In recent years, NFL Europe has experimented with a rule that awards four points for any field goal kicked 50 yards or more.

In Arena Football, a field goal scored by drop kick is worth four points.

[edit] Basketball

In basketball, the term "field goal" is the term for any basket not made from the free throw line. "Field Goal" is the official terminology used by the National Basketball Association (NBA) in their rule book, their box scores and statistics, and in referees' rulings. The same term is also the official wording used by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

[edit] Sources

International Rugby Board How To Score (pdf)

[edit] External links

pt:Golo de campo

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