Run-Punt Option

I drafted Jeanty in one dynasty league on Monday, and probably will tonight in a league where I get to keep fewer players.  He is fun to watch.  But the point of the video is the new(ish) twist that one college team is trying on punts, to run first and punt only if the run looks blocked off.  It is risky, because it is easier to block and any disruption might cause a fumble.  But it also injects the element of surprise into the play, a chaos that one team expects and the other does not. A defense can't be everywhere at once.

It is not strictly new.  A player can drop-kick from anywhere on the field for a field goal, though that hasn't happened in decades, and Doug Flutie of the Patriots used that a few years ago for an extra point.  He and punter Rich Camarillo used to work on a last-second alternative to a Hail Mary when their team was out of field goal range, but three points would win or tie. They tried it both ways, Camarillo passing 20-30 yards down the field to Flutie while the receivers headed to the goal line, bringing the defensive backs and linebackers with them, and Flutie to Camarillo. The passcatcher would then spin and drop kick the ball through the goal posts. They pleaded with Bill Belichick to let them try it in a game, but it never happened.