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re: Ray Guy has passed away
Posted on 11/4/22 at 1:03 am to MAROON
Posted on 11/4/22 at 1:03 am to MAROON
quote:
it's very interesting that he is the only true punter in the HOF. His stats are not even top 20 for punting average.
He CHANGED the game, that's why. He is widely credited with the concept of "hang time," where his teammates would have time to run under the punt to be there when the ball landed and instantly contain the return. Also famous for pinning opponents inside their own 20 - doing that usually hurts your overall average if you're really good at doing it. Back in the 1960s and earlier, teams just used one of the other players on the team who could kick far as their part-time punter. In the 1970s, teams switched to using a "specialist" who could serve as a full-time punter, and Guy was a big influence on that change in the game as well (he himself primarily played safety while in college).
That said, while he was good enough to have the collegiate punting award named after him and join the HoF, his revolutionary style is just now apparently fading after four decades and being replaced by the "LSU style" of using an Australian-Rules Football player who can punt with either foot and capable of aiming his punt at specific targets on the field.
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