<P> It contrasts to a punt, wherein the player kicks the ball without letting it hit the ground first; and a placekick, wherein the player kicks a stationary ball off the ground: "from placement". A drop kick is significantly more difficult; as Jim Thorpe once explained, "I regard the place kick as almost two to one safer than the drop kick in attempting a goal from the field ." </P> <P> The drop kick was often used in early football as a surprise tactic . The ball would be snapped or lateraled to a back, who would fake a run or pass, but then would kick the field goal instead . This method of scoring worked well in the 1920s and early 1930s, when the football was rounder at the ends (similar to a modern rugby ball). Early football stars such as Charles Brickley, Frank Hudson, Jim Thorpe, Paddy Driscoll, and Al Bloodgood were skilled drop - kickers; Driscoll in 1925 and Bloodgood in 1926 hold a tied NFL record of four drop kicked field goals in a single game . Driscoll's 55 yard drop kick in 1924 stood as the unofficial record for field goal range until Bert Rechichar kicked a 56 - yard field goal (by placekick) in 1953 . </P> <P> In 1934, the ball was made more pointed at the ends . The creation of the pointed football is generally credited to Shorty Ray, at the time a college football official and later the NFL's head of officiating . This made passing the ball easier, as was its intent, but made the drop kick obsolete, as the more pointed ball did not bounce up from the ground reliably . The drop kick was supplanted by the place kick, which cannot be attempted out of a formation generally used as a running or passing set . The drop kick remains in the rules, but is seldom seen, and rarely effective when attempted . In Canadian football the drop kick can be taken from any point on the field, unlike placekicks which must be attempted behind the line of scrimmage . </P> <P> Before the NFL--AFL merger, the last successful drop kick in the NFL was executed by Scooter McLean of the Chicago Bears in their 37--9 victory over the New York Giants on December 21, 1941, in the NFL Championship game at Chicago's Wrigley Field . Though it was not part of the NFL at the time, the All - America Football Conference saw its last drop kick November 28, 1948, when Joe Vetrano of the San Francisco 49ers drop kicked an extra point after a muffed snap against the Cleveland Browns . </P>

Can you still do a drop kick in the nfl