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Could the Banana be exported to the NFL?

  • Thursday, August 16 2012 @ 07:25 pm ACST
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"One has to wonder if the "banana" will make an appearance" were the words of WFN writer Chris Adams in 2007. While the former Australian Football League punters (or VAFA in Matt McBriar's case) weren't the first ever to try drop punts in the NFL they have certainly been credited for it's wider use in the American game.  Feted for it's greater accuracy in directional kicking and the way the ball reacts when it hits the turf (as opposed to the traditional spiral punt) the drop punt is being used by both the Australian and many of the US NFL punters.

But now it appears the banana kick could be the next Aussie rules export.  Sav Rocca tried one in the Washington Redskins preseason game against Buffalo last week.  The Washington Times described it as "a sideways-end-over-end punt designed to roll forward and diagonally toward the sideline."

In the article Rocca says "He’d use it only when punting a relatively short distance"

"There’s a significant risk involved, though, because the drop is a bit awkward."

“It is a lot tougher because if you don’t hit the ball right in the right spot, you can either get too much side spin and no distance, or if you hit the ball too far in the middle, it will go straight,” Rocca said.