New Punt Technique TERRIFIES Returners

Mitch Wishnowsky hits one of the nastiest Banana punts you will ever see and it's absolutely tearing up the league right now so punt returners are actually on edge playing against him.

[@stevens9273]

Had no idea how intricate putting/kicking/special teams where to the game. You do a great job of breaking it down for the casual fan like myself. Congrats on your soon to be 50k sub

[@IsaacPunts]

Thank you! Glad you guys can appreciate it!

[@PTFVBVB]

I second all their comments, always had an appreciation for the brand, but now that I understand what they're going for it's all the more impressive

[@joshuaburba1048]

@stevens9273, just FYI that it's punting, not putting, which is a golf term. Also, it's "were" rather than "where," which refers to a location. Hope that's helpful.

[@PTFVBVB]

@@joshuaburba1048 more importantly it's "who" and "asked?"

[@joshuaburba1048]

@@PTFVBVB If you think you're being clever, you apparently don't realize you just did exactly the same thing I did, and I could easily ask you the same thing. Who asked for your comment to me? Are you allowed to send me that comment? Then I'm allowed to send my earlier comment. It works both ways genius, in case you couldn't figure that out.

[@ThemeParkBeast98]

I love watching him punt. It's extremely rare when he has a bad punt. He has saved the team a few times with his punts.

[@jediroya6810]

The banana is very common in Australian rules football, where you score points by punting it between the goalposts from wherever you happen to be on the field. It’s also a bigger field so imagine you’re punting from a spot 20 yards wide of the right pylon in line with the goal line. If you want to get it between the uprights, you use the banana and curve it in.

[@dampaul13]

I'm not sure you'd call this a simple banana kick. A banana/check-side is where you're holding the ball virtually sideways so that you can hit the fat side of the ball with the outside of your kicking foot, resulting in a much more dramatic arch on the ball. Here, he is holding the ball to still get the tight spiral, helping with height and distance, while getting a not nearly as dramatic inside-out arch on the ball. In the AFL this would be more akin to a sliced/mis-hit, ill-directed torpedo, although here, it would seem Mitch is doing it on purpose.

[@sjsupa]

@@dampaul13Yeh! His purpose is not to kick the ball between goal post, but to make it hard to track. So it is natural to modify the technique to max distance, not caring about accuracy.

[@RyTrapp0]

@@sjsupa I definitely wouldn't say he's 'not caring about accuracy' that's pretty important in punting to setup your blockers when they get downfield. Not to mention, directional punting away from more dangerous returners. The punting game just keeps getting more and more advanced more than anything I think.

[@sjsupa]

@@RyTrapp0 OK。Maybe, 'not caring about accuracy' should be accuracy is as important as in ruby game.

[@off1k]

@@dampaul13 You don't have to hold the ball sideways for a banana/checkside but there are varying degrees you do hold it for different amounts of swing. He kicked that holding exactly the way you kick a checkside/banana for a right footer. He didn't kick with a straight leg swing, his right leg swing is out to his left for this kick. If he kicked with a straight leg swing then he may have had the ball some degrees more to his right. Have to remember the width of an NFL field is far more narrow (approx 2.5x) than an average AFL field.

[@ajcajc5429]

Great job, no one educates on the supreme skills punters have to have more than you. I think we're in a golden age for punting & its only going to get better!

[@evancoghlan2424]

Aussies just jumped on a plane and started doing what we’ve been doing for the last 50yrs

[@richardbarry4663]

I remember attending a Holiday Bowl game back in 2003 between WSU and Texas is which the WSU punter did the same thing to Texas. Texas had very poor field position throughout the game and the WSU defense shut them down. I always thought the punter deserved the MVP for the game but they gave it to someone else. A good punter who can pin the other team deep in their territory is extremely valuable!

[@darylhenry9595]

As a 49ers fan and University of Utah fan, I'm glad to see Mitch getting the respect he deserves

[@R-vl9ue]

They all come from Australian rules football!

[@omnione12]

Thanks for the education, I have always been on the fence with Mitch because of the lack of power, but your breakdown was eye opening

[@jacobwatson1406]

Great analysis your videos really help me learn a lot about special teams and football even though I already know a lot but I really appreciate it 👍

[@R-vl9ue]

They all come from Australian rules football!

[@joshmore7175]

NFL fans learning what spin is has been highly entertaining

[@markmiranda9461]

Outback Mitch has been on fire this season. My favorite Aussie that isn’t named Steve Irwin.

[@jamesberry3586]

Bro, that logo is hilarious! Hopefully we have seen the end of the 49irs this season and it's great health from here on out!

[@timdere]

With highlights no longer showing punts, this is my go-to source for breakdowns on this part of the game. Keep up the great work.

[@BobAtEvermore]

i am an announcer, silent in disbelief

[@IsaacPunts]

*youtube commentor silent in disbelief*

[@VexxNoMoreEditz]

@@IsaacPunts* reply to a reply to a comment silent in disbelief*

[@CreditsFC]

@IssacPunts *Reply to a reply to a really commenter in disbelief

[@tysons8759]

Everyone is playing Football and this dude is golfing with his foot.

[@Sora-ING]

​@@anothermovienerd more like sliders😂

[@tysons8759]

A change up don’t bend like a slice. Go to sleep child.

[@tysons8759]

@@anothermovienerd child please.

[@HarrycuberMC]

the banana punts are gotta be the best type of punt

[@yehudahraphaelsohn7617]

Actually ironically, I believe that was the one drive Jacksonville got momentum on and managed to get their single FG of the game. Still a phenomenal punt that possibly prevented a TD drive.

[@gibster9624]

He put on a clinic on Thanksgiving. Felt like Seattle had twice the distance to go to score every single drive and the banana ball got muffed creating one of the biggest plays of the game.

[@justinsugay1149]

Love these quick break downs. Niners arguably have the best P, LT, TE, FB, RB, LB, and RE in the league. That's Wishnowsky, Williams, Kittle, Juszcyk, McCaffrey, Warner and Bosa respectively. Rough game on Mon but we'll learn from it and bounce back even stronger. Go Niners!

[@brownriceprod]

i would have added that preseason tackle highlight he had like a year or two ago

[@5yearsout]

Got to watch Mitch kick for my Utah Utes for 3 years, always fun to watch him. We got spoiled with punters Tom Hacket, Mitch Wishnowsky, both Ray Guy winners. The current punter Jack Bouwmeester is solid too.

[@jchase5468]

I held for our kicker and was personal protector for our punter in high school…he went to Marshall on scholarship…there are so many small details that allow special teams to excell and the teams that focus on special teams win close games…look at Beamer ball at VaTech

[@yesfinallygot1]

it would be cool if you could analyze the all-22 angles for his punts

[@riggsmurtah2788]

Watching this Seahawks game its amazing to see it!

[@rsetha01]

I think he went to Utah and we got him from Australia so they a bit different down under 😂

[@FranticMonster11]

Yes...Yes we are!

[@PhlyingPhil]

@@DyingInPlainSightNo, that inset image was of Michael Dickson (Seattle) also an Aussie, also doing fun stuff with the ball.

[@PaulGaither]

There are so many 49ers fans in videos who are haters of his and talked shit when his contract was extended. Now I bet that you talked about him, they will be band wagon super fans acting like they had his back this whole time. As a 49ers fan, I am constantly disappointed in the fake ass front runner bull shit fans we have.

[@robertvang1024]

i feel you on that one.

[@G.light33]

wtf? I would love to see those comments from those fans because Wish has BEEN a beast and he can lay the wood!

[@PaulGaither]

@@G.light33 - Well, he signed his 4 year extension on Sep 16, 2022. i am sure you can find plenty of hot take Content Creators who have a video that day and he days that follow with archived live chats and the general comments section.

[@BeingButterfly]

They aren't The Faithful. They're trolls. Ignore them.

[@PaulGaither]

@@BeingButterfly - The faithful is some bull shit the Yorks invented as a marketing ploy to grab you when the team sucked in the 2000s. It was a no-true-Sccottsman fallacy. If you don't ride the 49ers' jock, then you aren't "faithful" and aren't "real fans" and you have bought into it. No. You can love the 49ers and also have a critical thinking brain. The haters are just ignorant haters. Being "faithful" has nothing to do with it.

[@jamesrobbins4020]

Love that man, as a Utah Utes fan

[@poppys34]

At Utah he was such a tremendous help in making the defense better because the offense never started with good field position.

[@dvldog_]

That's like trying to catch a wiffle ball shaped like a foorball.......

[@CornholioPuppetMaster]

Why tf did he pick the Jaguars game to discover that 😂 we were doing so good

[@BeingButterfly]

The Mitch Wishnowsky educational video The Faithful have been waiting for........Let's gooo!

[@CornholioPuppetMaster]

This dude doing curvekicks 😂

[@peternut358]

That’s an Australian rules Football kick that is called a boomerang 🪃 or Banana kick. If a receiver starts in the middle of the field the aim of the punter is to slice the ball sideways moving and confusing the receiver with the spin into allowing the ball to hit the ground. Elite Australian Football players would catch that ball with ease.

[@jamiebruner8463]

"Also known as 'That motherfucker'" LOL

[@prestondier7046]

This is great information. I would love to see a camera angle from above to really show the slice of the punt.

[@BazookaTooth707]

Whats crazy is that Mitch had a back injury in the steelets game.

[@evancoghlan2424]

- Top Punters in the NFL 🇦🇺 - 7 out of last 10 Ray Guy Awards 🇦🇺 - 6 out of 10 Semifinalists for this year’s Ray Guy Awards 🇦🇺 For Aussies, watching American punters in the NFL is like that scene in Good Will Hunting where Matt Damon tells his professor “Do you know how easy this is for me? I wish you could do this, because then I wouldn’t have to watch you fumble around and F#@k it up!” Calling for an AFL vs NFL long kick and accuracy competition. “Australia’s Cup” 🏆🏈 🇦🇺

[@oldbrokenhands]

Now kickers can throw knuckleballs.

[@yamandirranewton1419]

And this is something we do in Australia all day, every day. And the punt returner is forced to catch and run the ball and play on with no free catch.

[@dampaul13]

Really?

[@yamandirranewton1419]

@@dampaul13 100%.. rugby league has the equivalent of a punt returner called a fullback. That's his job all day everyday. And he doesn't leave the field.

[@dampaul13]

@@yamandirranewton1419 HAHAH! Oh, League! Oh, it's cute that you think League is bigger than Aussie Rules, so cute! So, yeah, you might want to change that "100%" of yours given the interest and participation of codes like Association Football (soccer) and Aussie Rule in Australia.

[@mick4093]

It’s called the banana kick

[@lukebursle6139]

In Australia we call that an inside out torpedo.

[@mytoesinyournose4792]

crazy that punting is on trending. good job isaac

[@IDC20101]

mitch is the most underrated punter

[@mickywalton3468]

As BT says, the Bah-nah-Nah

[@Toyebox93]

Didnt he play Footy growing up? I mean different ball, but the banana kick is ever prevalent in it.

[@dampaul13]

Not sure I'd call it a simple banana.

[@Rob-ww6nc]

Australian football.. not footy... that's just the nickname for football!

[@13BadassMetal]

He's punted 28 times. 16 have been inside the 20 and not returned.

[@SteefPip]

He's a nice consolation prize for a failed drive because he's fun to watch.

[@NathanGenzer-fw4jp]

Love the vids!

[@joaquinveleta3159]

I LOVE how fellow Niners celebrate his punt ending at the 1😀

[@dirtiesttiger]

Got that boomerang 🪃 curve to his punts 😂

[@R-vl9ue]

Leant from Australian rules football !

[@dampaul13]

@@R-vl9ue Really? Is that type of kick commonly seen in Australian football? I assume there must be a heap of highlight packages on it on KZbin then. I'd love to see these vids!

[@R-vl9ue]

@@dampaul13 oh yes it is on you tube "best banana kick's of the modern ERA" AFL

[@R-vl9ue]

@@dampaul13 mind you they go buy banana. One state calls them check side. I call them Boomerang kick's!

[@dampaul13]

@@R-vl9ue "buy banana" Who "buys" bananas? What does purchasing bananas have to do with kicking a ball? "One state calls them check side." Rightly or wrongly, more and more people use the terms interchangeably. You just have to listen to the number of commentators not from SA who call it a check side these days. "I call them Boomerang kick's!" And nobody really cares what you call anything, especially given you appear to be wrong on a regular basis.

[@michaelwallace1861]

Old guys will remember this as kicking it to coffin corner.

[@user-gl3iz7dc8y]

when i was in the game, he kicked that so high that they always got there before they even could catch it

[@Teacherofall]

His he kicking wiht the laces out like in ace ventura

[@CreditsFC]

Can’t wait till Stoney learns it

[@bamfam8544]

When you have a Rugby Background, punting the ball is everything.

[@dampaul13]

Yeah, but he doesn't have a rugby background.

[@bamfam8544]

@@dampaul13 Everyone plays Rugby in Australia. Whether on youth level or on regular team.🤙

[@dampaul13]

@@bamfam8544 "Everyone plays Rugby in Australia." Really? Are you saying Mitch has a rugby background? Would you like to put a small/large wager on it? Please, tell me more about how much you know about different codes of football played in Australia. Would you care to guess what country I come from? How much did you want to make our bet for?

[@BrisbaneBroncosfan67]

@@dampaul13chill bro, this exact kick is used in rugby all the time, just like in afl

[@aaronwehipeihana3253]

This is the AFL Checkside

[@dampaul13]

Really?

[@ccw301]

wish tv would show the entire flight of the ball from the kicker and returner pov

[@BigBoss69420]

Wishnowsky is basically a 12th defensive player for the 49ers.

[@davepascoe6093]

That is an Aussie Rules Checkside kick

[@dampaul13]

Not sure about that.

[@R-vl9ue]

@@dampaul13 well if you play or know anything about AFL Australian football. It's 100%. I was as good a kicker as any punter in the NFL...Dang wish I was born in about 1990 I would have went to the state's and made it easy. All that cash!

[@dampaul13]

@@R-vl9ue I'm not sure if growing up in Melbourne and playing AFL counts. "100% was" Well, unless he magically held the ball on a much greater angle than the camera showed, that allowed him to magically hit the fatside of the ball without the camera catching it, and then, magically, be able to not get nearly as much dramatic movement on the ball as one would expect for a checkside/banana, while still getting a tight spiral with height and distance, I'm going to go with no, it wasn't was AFL people would call a checkside/banana. Let me dumb it down for you. A banana/check-side is where you're holding the ball on a greater angle, so that you can hit the fat side of the ball with the outside of your kicking foot, resulting in a much more dramatic arch on the ball, often reducing distance. Here, he is holding the ball to still get the tight spiral, helping with height and distance, while getting a not nearly as dramatic inside-out arch on the ball. In the AFL this would be more akin to a sliced/mis-hit, ill-directed torpedo, although here, it would seem Mitch is doing it on purpose, as he has done on other occasions. Oh, and I watch a lot of NFL live, including 49ers games, and have seen Mitch do with numerous times before. Mitch most certainly doesn't hit the ball with any checkside/banana action/intent, he wouldn't get enough hang time and/or distance with a traditional checkside/banana. And, yeah, sure you would have made the NFL. Dreams not dead, baby! Go for it.

[@dampaul13]

@@R-vl9ue And Darren Bennett was born in 1965 in Australia and was able to change the face of punting in the NFL, and as a result, the American college system. If he, could do it, why couldn't you?

[@R-vl9ue]

@@dampaul13 I just saw this! No I am passed it. But I was involved with AFL clubs. That's the 18 team AFL league! There is only 18 teams in the world that Play in the AFL! The rest play Australian football! Was not good enough at senior level, speed etc. However training with legends of the Carlton and North Melbourne clubs. I could certainly was as good as any player kicking wise! I would have to remind Stephen Kernaghan of the 90 metre bomb from the 50 metres Line at the Robert Heatley stand end that went 20 metres obove the goal posts into the stand Kernaghan with hands on hip turned around and said"shit you can go in" He got a shock when he turned and saw a runner hired help that kicked it! You can go in. Was what the coach Robert Walls would say to the player's at the end of training when they did their Last good thing at training! PS Kernaghan was a good guy like Kenny Hunter back in , 1986 good guys! Unlike some there were the opposite especially one with the number 3 . "Rhymes with tick's! I certainly was a better kick than he! Paul Molly Meldrum great guy always grabbed me for practice kicking before training started if there was not a spare player. No I called them Boomerang kick's so you watch the 49ers. I used to watch Joe Montana back in the eighties! As for kicking the world famous All Black's Rugby union and league copied the Australian rules footballs drop punt to kick for touch year's ago! Australian rules football players are superior to any other football code in the world. Kicking a oval shaped ball!

[@jelliebird37]

A bit off topic, Isaac, but I have a question for you. Since you touted Brad Robbins, and my Bengals drafted him… what do you make of his performance so far? 😕 ( *I was very pleased that they drafted him, btw, based on your preview assessment. In fact, my hopes were: edge rusher, punt returner, tight end, punter, running back… then O-line and DB. I mostly got my wish. However, the results have been mostly 😫😖. I am high on Chuck Sizzle, though, despite missing six games, and even excluding his punt return TD)

[@IsaacPunts]

Brad has been, by NFL standards, below average. He is however competing well with other rookies and doing better than some of the guys drafted last year. I imagine he will only continue to develop and go up from here

[@jelliebird37]

@@IsaacPunts hey, first of all, thank you for your reply, I really appreciate that 👍🏼. But can you explain what it is that punters get better at, at thus level? For the casual fan (at least *this* casual fan 🙄) it seems like there’s not much that differentiates one punting situation from another, and as long as he has adequate protection, it’s just… you know, kick it where he wants it to go. (Please don’t mistake my ignorance for a lack of appreciation for the position; I think good punters sometimes actually win games!)

[@YoDaddyB]

At the end it was a replacement returner at the same time so that could be a reason also

[@Darkbowalltheway]

I believe they showed this in the seahawks game. The returner dropped the ball because of how he kicked it, it made it awkward for the returner.

[@nvs6284]

We call that a banana kick here in oz

[@dampaul13]

Not sure we would.

[@brianandrea3249]

Gone the boon-a-na!

[@Lucrative_24]

Mitch is a force!

[@goombacraft]

This pretty much looks like a bomb/up and under kick like in Rugby

[@R-vl9ue]

Rugby league and Rugby union... copied this kick from Australian rules football... it's not a drop punt the up and under as you put it! Similar but it's a banana or check side kick used by Australian rules football to curve the ball to kick at goals on acute angles!

[@BrisbaneBroncosfan67]

@@R-vl9ueyeah and it’s used up in rugby league to kick the ball higher, so that the person who catches it gets tackled sooner.

[@Rob-ww6nc]

​​​​@@BrisbaneBroncosfan67True.. but the Storm Cronulla Broncos.. used AFL players to help with the kicking from the nineties.. And league guys would help AFL Guy with tackling techniques! Promise it's fact. Wayne Bennett got Justin Leppitch from the lions about 20 years ago! Craig Davis used to go down from the Swan's! To Cronulla. At the pro level NRL and AFL players don't get into that.. our games better than yours BS.. Darren Lockyer didn't need the help. He grew up playing Aussie Rules at Springwood in Brisbane!

[@TeamFish15]

Helluva breakdown!!

[@TheAseer2020]

If he was playing in the CFL, Canadian football League. He would score a lot of 1Pts kicks/Rogue. It may sound odd but I like seeing a Rogue scored more than a Touchdown.

[@RyTrapp0]

Punters across the league are going to have to learn this just to give their returners some practice lol

[@iman8738]

cant wait for the knuckleball punters

[@ogkrimkram4793]

The returner was Christian Kirk. A wide receiver that does not have full returner training. Jamal Agnew, our usual returner, was injured on the previous return. Jamal Agnew would’ve fair caught that at the 20.

[@vanmatheson9674]

And now to add to the Seahawks thanksgiving game to his collection, the spinning ball he does making it hard as hell for these returners to even CATCH..a kick of beauty 🥲

[@Mike-pb6lw]

Mitch has got to be first team all pro this year

[@MarMaxGaming]

The banana ball! Love it

[@16ktsgamma]

He almost got his punt blocked too but didn't.

[@fialee8ca132]

Kicks a curve ball football. Interesting.

[@kravenofspider]

No look punt.

[@tgpaulsen]

Where did you get this background music? It sounds so familiar!

[@claudiocruz7440]

If you grew playing soccer in a Mexican family, this is what you call a chanfle..😂🤣😆

[@dsanchezc3]

A skilled kicker can make the ball do what he wants just like a skilled pitcher.

[@blakefuechtmann]

I leanred this in Madden 2005

[@MAte925]

Aussies have been great for n.f.l punting!

[@tranixter]

Dude grew up playing backyard aus footie, no American can compete

[@RealityOrganized]

Younger viewers might not be aware in the 1970s and 80s, highly skilled punters in the league executed the "Coffin Corner Kick". It's mostly a lost art now.

[@evancoghlan2424]

Aussies been doing this for way longer! American punters are a joke.

[@peteasarisi2536]

​@@evancoghlan2424then how come the NFL isnt signing them for big bucks? NFL been looking at Australia for well over a decade now & only a few have made impact beyond pre season

[@evancoghlan2424]

You’re joking right? A country that is 10% the population of the US and literally doesn’t play NFL has 2 of the top 3 punters in the league. 20 punters who have made an NFL roster and 7 out of the last 10 Ray Guy awards… There was literally a New York Times article about Australian punters taking over the NFL. Stats don’t lie Pete 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@peteasarisi2536]

@@evancoghlan2424 yea wake me when any of them impact a superbowl run like a Dave Jennings or jeff Feagles shit ud settle for Tom Tupa impact if you saying nfl american punters are a joke & all you git are highlights of mid field punta on beautiful kicking conditions. Clueless

[@evancoghlan2424]

Imagine having to go back 20-30 years to find Punters that you can compare to Aussie punters. Literally 5 out of the 10 semi finalists this year for Ray Guy award are Aussie. We’re taking over that role. Just sit back and enjoy it mate! 👍🏼

[@Xaddre]

He spun the ball look up the “magnus effect” if you’re still confused.

[@greenAbbot]

Why do I feel like the editing goal of this vid was to make it sound like one giant run-on sentence?

[@Hektikhekthor]

Roberto Carlos would be proud

[@wrxspeed5042]

It's honestly just a matter of time before other teams see this and figure it out a way to block it he seems to let go of the ball a little bit before he kicks it and holds it a little longer than most punters

[@fishvato1403]

Bro he’s been doing this for 4 years 😂 he’s not a rookie wdym they gonna figure it out

[@jorgen7974]

nah that's just a checkside

[@dampaul13]

Really?

[@ethanlastinger8798]

That type of kick really messes with backups, cause that was Kirk returning after Agnew went down.

[@jaym.g.5789]

He didn't want to field it because he's the starting receiver doing relief PR duties for the injured return guy lol

[@gregstuart9783]

It’s a banana

[@dampaul13]

Really?

[@jmarxful]

Remember everyone making fun of the niners for picking him in the 4th round?

[@AbnormalMold]

Damn punter is sick with it. Good on him/them w.e works. Who is the best punter ever anyway? Lol i always liked dustin colquitt my self.

[@Slipknot5301]

Shane lechler and ray guy

[@aloneslothits730]

all pro everywhere 49ers

[@ledgendsrus]

You can be so much more accurate spiralling the ball, massive distance too.

[@DR-ge8hp]

best punter in the league

[@christophercastellano6359]

This is not a new technique but a very old one

[@andysparks1973]

Checkside kick ..

[@juniorv5430]

Bang Bang

[@anthonyware4033]

This is not new I have seen punters do this for over 20 years

[@Scoupe400]

Coming from rugby, I’ve never understood why punters don’t kick the ball out within the ten yard mark. My understating is you can kick it straight out. Even if not, and it had to bounce, there’s techniques used in rugby to aid direction. And I’d say rugby players aren’t as skilled as Aussie rules players at ball control. You should be able to kick the length of the pitch and send it away from the returner, or if he’s central give him a bounce to worry about. I’d be fearful of any team with a decent return guy. It becomes a lottery and all the hard work by the rest of the team is wasted if that punter gets crafty. You should never gamble in 1 on 1 sports because you just get punished - good punt return teams should do the same and punish you. I’d give the coach the middle finger any time the opposing punt return team made more than 10 yards. The only time I can maybe see it is if you’re not bothered about starting to defend at their 20 and want to test them and you’re at the half way.

[@dampaul13]

NFL balls are apparently a lot more difficult to kick and control.

[@peteasarisi2536]

The issue is always going to be where do the side-judges mark the ball as having gone out of bounds in the air. You'd be surprised how many times they miss the air space travel over the invisible boundary around the field. NFL has 80 year old men tracking the punts overhead