Image via Complex Original
There's an hierarchy that exists when it comes to football teams. Quarterbacks are at the top of the pecking order on just about every team in the country—from Pop Warner to the NFL. Then come running backs, wide receivers, linebackers, cornerbacks, defensive ends, tight ends, safeties, and centers (the order may vary, from team to team). And then, wayyyyyyy down the list—somewhere between long snappers and water boys—come kickers and punters. They play an important role on football teams. But they're also routinely subjected to large amounts of slander because, well, they're kickers and punters.
In recent years, though, kickers and punters have gotten a little bit ballsy and tried to earn respect from their teammates by proving that they're every bit as tough as everyone else on their teams. And while it's worked on several occasions—Pat McAfee's amazing hit on Trindon Holliday last season comes to mind—it usually doesn't end well when kickers and punters try to mix it up with other players on the field. Just ask Browns punter Spencer Lanning, who tried to tackle Steelers wide receiver/punt returner Antonio Brown yesterday afternoon only to get kicked right in the face.
Lanning isn't the only kicker or punter who has gotten annihilated on the field recently, either. After seeing what happened to him, we put together A Recent History of Kickers and Punters Getting Destroyed on the Football Field. We give these guys credit for trying to do something other than kicking or punting. But they should probably just stick to doing what they do best and leave the tackling to the real football players.
Steven Hauschka
The Date: 10/13/2013
What Happened? The Seahawks kicker attempted to bring down Titans kickoff returner Darius Reynaud by running right into him. His effort proved to be futile, though, because Reynaud literally just ran right through him. We hope he's asked someone on Seattle's defense for tackling tips since this took place.
Jon Ryan
The Date: 10/6/2013
What Happened? You have to give the Seahawks punter some credit here. He was the holder on a field goal that got blocked by the Colts and ran alllllll the way down the field to try and stop Indianapolis from scoring a touchdown. He had a chance to do it, too, but then…OUCH. He got leveled by fullback Mario Harvey. What's up with all the hostility against the Seahawks kicker and punter, NFL?
Jared Roberts
The Date: 9/22/2012
What Happened? The Colorado State kicker tried to pull a fast one on the Utah State special teams unit by kicking an onside kick attempt to himself. It didn't work out too well for him, though, because he ended up flat on his back, courtesy of Utah State's Jake Doughty. Oh, and his team didn't end up with the ball, either, so Roberts got clobbered for, essentially, nothing.
Keegan Peterson
The Date: September 8, 2007
What Happened? How did the Florida Atlantic punter not see the guy from Oklahoma State running right next to him? The guy was right there and yet he never even saw this block coming. He did manage to bounce right back up but he didn't do himself any favors during this punt return.
Kevin Huber
The Date: 12/15/2013
What Happened? The Bengals punter thought he might be able to help his team stop an Antonio Brown punt return. But he thought wrong. When he started running towards Brown as Cincinnati's last line of defense, Steelers linebacker Terence Garvin blocked him—and blocked him hard. The hit resulted in a broken jaw and a cracked vertebrae and put Huber on the sideline for the remainder of the 2013-14 NFL season.
Ron Coluzzi
The Date: 9/6/2014
What Happened? The Central Michigan punter saved a touchdown for his team during a punt return by Purdue's Frankie Williams. So that was good. But unfortunately, he had to get slammed to the turf by Williams while he did it. So it was a win/lose situation for him.
Sav Rocca
The Date: August 13, 2007
What Happened? The Eagles punter got hit so hard by Ravens linebacker Antwan Barnes in the first NFL preseason game of his career that his helmet actually flew off. What a way to get welcomed to the league.
Ryan Allen
The Date: 1/11/2014
What Happened? The Patriots punter found himself in a position that he did not want to be in during a playoff game against the Colts last year. He was standing near his own end zone when a ball was snapped to him poorly and he had to decide what to do with his next. He could have thrown the ball away, thrown it out of the back of the end zone, or even just taken a knee. But instead, he just stood there and ended up getting gang-tackled by the Colts. It knocked him out of the game.
Brandon Williams
The Date: 10/6/2013
What Happened? The Northwestern punter had a very limited amount of space to work with during a game against Ohio State and needed to get his punt off quickly. He wasn't able to do it, though, and because of that, he got swallowed up by the defense. Or to put it more accurately, he got flipped on his head and had to sit at the bottom of a pile and watch the other team score. That's just rubbing salt in the wound, Buckeyes.
Spencer Lanning
The Date: 9/8/2014
What Happened? The Browns kicker tried to stop Antonio Brown from getting past him on the field. His method for doing that: Falling down and then getting kicked in the face. To his credit, he didn't let Brown get by him without slowing him up and he also earned his team 15 yards because Brown got called for a penalty for kicking him. But something tells us that that doesn't really make him feel any better about the play.
