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[QUOTE="OttoinGrotto, post: 1139023, member: 297"]
This is why I think punting is such a horrible contradiction. Yes, field position matters - so why are coaches so afraid of maintaining the good field position they already have in favor of taking a chance that 1) they can put the opponent in bad position and then 2) their defense will hold them to that field position so that 3) your offense will get the ball back in good field position, which if you're trading punts means... you get roughly the same field position you sacrificed to begin with? The best way to control field position is to keep the ball.

I think coaches think about this stuff all wrong. They love thinking about field position in terms of where the ball is at the very beginning of a possession. But why, after all of the field they earn on offense, are they so willing to throw away the field position they currently have once they have to get just a couple of yards?

Coaches choose to give up what their team has earned all the time. It's a bad trade. You hear them talk about "losing the locker room" if they "take the game away from the kids" because they make the choice to try to extend a drive and keep the field position they've already earned. A punt's just a turnover that the fraternity has agreed is ok.

I'd love to hear about a coach "losing a locker room" because they didn't go for it on 4th when they needed to. At some point if the coaches don't get smarter maybe some players will.
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