Ask Farmer: Examing ‘coffin corner’ punts and the choosing of home jerseys

Have a question about the NFL? Ask Times NFL writer Sam Farmer, and he will answer as many as he can online and in the Sunday editions of the newspaper throughout the season. Email questions to: sam.farmer@latimes.com

::

Why don’t punters kick to the coffin corner anymore like back in the good ol’ days?

Jim Taylor, Anaheim

Farmer: First, an explanation of the term coffin corner: It used to be that punters operating from the opponent’s side of the 50-yard line would try to send low-trajectory punts directly out of bounds, crossing the boundary as close as possible to the pylon on the goal line. A successful punt into that “coffin corner” would be unreturnable, and pin the opposing team deep in its territory.

For this, I asked Rams beat writer Gary Klein to consult Pro Bowl punter Johnny Hekker on the topic.

“I don’t think the coffin corner has gone anywhere,” he said. “I think, just the adaptation, more punters are using the end-over-end Australian-style punt. That’s easier for us to aim and put in the corners, but also easier for our gunners to judge in the air. It flies like a kickoff, it’s more true, it’s not curving and tailing like a spiraled punt, and also increases the chances of the ball bouncing straight up or backward a lot more than a spiraled punt.”

So punters have become more accurate with that style, and the end-over-end flight pattern makes the ball more difficult to field, increasing the chances of a muff by the returner.

Also, experts say, if a punter is constantly changing his mechanics to cater to different styles of punts, he gets away from the methodical, predictable routine of punting the same way every time. That increases the likelihood of inconsistencies and errors. Better to go through the same motions repeatedly.

::

I have noticed that the Rams have been wearing their white jerseys for both home and away games. I personally don’t like the white uniforms. I am partial to the older blue-and-gold color scheme. Who decides what color uniforms to wear for home and away games?

Justin Hanelin, Los Angeles

Farmer: It’s the home team that gets first dibs on whether to wear light or dark jerseys, and typically it’s the head coach who makes the call. Clubs designate in July which jersey they will wear for each home game, and the team can decide on a week-by-week basis on its pants color. Some teams prefer to wear white earlier in the season to help deal with warm weather. Teams can wear their alternate uniforms twice per season.

For years, the NFL encouraged teams to wear their colored jerseys at home. However, the Dallas Cowboys like wearing their white (and not blue) jerseys at home. That tradition started because legendary general manager Tex Schramm didn’t want fans to get bored of seeing the same color scheme for every game, and therefore he wanted the visiting teams to provide a different and colorful look to each game in Dallas.