Finally, a media outlet questions why coaches like to punt so much. Leave it to two of my fav sites to read about sports to team up and analyze the issue — The  New York Times and Advanced NFL Stats. I think we all know that the NFL is, generally speaking, a conservative league and a copycat league so the fact that coaches approach 4th downs in similar ways isn’t surprising until…you factor in the fact that the NFL is also a secretive league looking for every conceivable advantage. And the stats don’t necessarily support group think on the punting issue.

I’m fully in support of going for it on 4th and shorts especially later in close games. But that’s also the time when coach’s decision making is questioned the most. And  a bad punt will be questioned less than bad play execution in those situations. So I get the dilemma there. But a girl likes excitement sometimes!

That being said, head on over to the Times and join the discussion. 

[The NY Times: "Punting Less Can Be Rewarding, But Coaches Aren't Losing Jobs For It"]