puntdistancenet

puntdistancenet is a web-based data resource that aggregates and analyzes punt distance statistics from American football games, with a focus on net punt distance—the effective distance contributed to field position after accounting for returns and penalties.

The project collects data from play-by-play logs, official box scores, and broadcast data, applying standard normalization to compute per-punt metrics such as gross distance, net distance, hang time, punt direction, and return outcomes. Net punt distance is the core metric, defined as the punt distance minus return yards, downed yards, and certain penalties, representing the field position impact of the punt.

Data are organized by league, season, team, and game, and are accessible via a web interface with search and filtering options. The site also offers downloadable datasets and an API for researchers and broadcasters to integrate punt distance metrics into analyses, visualizations, and scouting workflows.

The intended audience includes sports researchers, analysts, coaches, scouts, media, and fans. The platform emphasizes transparency by documenting data sources and any adjustments or estimations, while acknowledging limitations such as measurement variance between sources, incomplete wind or altitude information, and data sparsity for lower levels of play.

See also: net punting, punting (American football), football statistics.