Place-kickers are a different breed of football player. Under normal circumstances, they don’t block, they don’t tackle, they don’t run the ball, throw the ball or catch the ball. Their uniforms rarely get dirty. They practice on the side of the field, away from their teammates, except for their accomplices, the snapper and the holder.
But it’s a fickle, sometimes cruel art. It’s very binary. It’s good or it’s not good. No wiggle room. The difference between a 40-yard punt and a 39-yard punt is one yard. The difference between a field goal six inches inside the upright and one six inches outside the upright can mean a game, perhaps a season.