Drop Kick Question

I will put in my 2 cents about Drop Kicks. As far as I know, it is still legal in Football.

I have coached Rugby and Football. In rugby it is a valuable offensive tactic. In Rugby, you play for field advantage/position. If you kick the ball and miss, they are pinned back, so not a big loss. Not to mention in rugby there is a wider open field for players to set up the kick. Defenders will usually be several yards behind the ball.

In football, ball control is a major tactic and to lose the ball could be very detrimental. In the end, the negative side would be equivalent to punting away the ball on 2nd or 3rd down. I would guess that most teams would opt for a Field Goal attempt on 4th down (probably the same accurate range for kicking) than have a player drop kick.

I would enjoy seeing the rules decision on a 4th down call in the NFL. If you miss the FG in the NFL, the ball is spotted where the place holder was. If you miss a drop kick, would the ball be in the same place or would it be a touchback (if it went into the endzone)? It might give some kickers the opportunity to attempt a kick with no serious penalty (same as if they were to punt) for missing.

Just chewing the fat on this one.......8 more months until 2 a days.

John Thomas