Earlier this year, SB Nation’s Jon Bois released an excellent video analyzing all 21st century NFL punts using his newly minted “Surrender Index.” The Chart Party video is completely worth every one of the 54 minutes of punt takes and explains the Surrender Index quite well.
Note that this index is less about whether or not punting is a good decision, but it is rather in indication of how “sad” Bois believes the punt to be. After viewing his video and several examples, I am quite confident that Bois and I share congruent emotional reactions to the cowardly punt.