Popular Post CreepingDeath Posted December 2, 2019 Popular Post Report Share Posted December 2, 2019 From The Ringer: https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/12/2/20991345/winners-losers-week-13-andy-dalton-bengals-jets-lamar-jackson-tom-brady Quote Winner: Tennessee’s Hyperclutch Field Goal Block Unit A few weeks ago, we wrote about how Tennessee spotted a minuscule tell on Kansas City’s field goal unit and used it against them, perfectly timing the snap on a game-winning field goal attempt and blasting through the line of scrimmage to steal a win. I thought it was a neat, unique moment in a likely meaningless game and wanted to highlight it so somebody might remember it. Things have changed. The Titans have been reinvigorated since switching from Marcus Mariota to Ryan Tannehill at quarterback in Week 6, winning all but one of his starts. On Sunday, they played a game against the 6-5 Colts that essentially served as a playoff-elimination game. And again, the field goal block team won it. With the game tied at 17 in the fourth quarter, the Titans crashed through the line and not only blocked the kick, but returned it for a touchdown. You might think this sort of thing is common, because you’ve seen highlights of field goal blocks returned for touchdowns, and because a team sends a field goal block unit out on the field every time. But I can assure you, it is not. Punt blocks for touchdowns are pretty common, because the snap is so long, the blockers also have to worry about releasing downfield to cover the punt, and the punter’s windup is pretty long. That’s why there have been three punt blocks returned for touchdowns this year. Field goal blocks returned for touchdowns, though, are extremely rare, because the snap is short, the entire offense is solely focused on protecting the kick, and the run-up is quick—before Sunday, there hadn’t been a field goal block returned for a touchdown since 2016. Every time there is a field goal attempted, the defense sends its field goal block unit out on the field—but you have to understand, they’re not trying to block the kick every time. Sure, they’ll push against the offensive line and jump, but that’s not really gonna do much unless the kicker kicks the ball way too low. Field goal block units actually have plays which are designed to break through the opposing line of scrimmage and get to the kicker, but they can’t run them every play for a few reasons—first of all, if they did, the opponent would pretty quickly figure out how to block them and the schemes wouldn’t work, and second of all, legitimate attempts to block field goals often lead to roughing penalties which give up first downs, and sometimes you’d rather take your chances with the kick. It’s the same reason NFL offenses don’t run trick plays every time—they wouldn’t work all the time, and they’re risky if things go wrong. But every once in a while, the field goal block unit gets to go 100 percent. And the Titans are apparently exceptional in these scenarios. There have only been 10 field goal blocks in the league total this season, and two of them were Titans game-winners. These Titans have an incredible superpower. They spend four quarters learning everything about the exact process of their opponents’ field goals, charging up for their moment of destruction. And when their unfortunate opponent kicks the ball in a critical moment, the damn ball isn’t even gonna cross the line of scrimmage. Lots of things looking good for us lately, gents. Supernope, charleytolar, ChemEngr79, and 7 others 6 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
titanruss Posted December 3, 2019 Report Share Posted December 3, 2019 ST has been great. Wish we could just figure out how to do anything at all in KR and PR. titansjr9988, rns90, and Supernope 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernope Posted December 3, 2019 Report Share Posted December 3, 2019 8 hours ago, CreepingDeath said: before Sunday, there hadn’t been a field goal block returned for a touchdown since 2016. Wild. Would have never guessed Eighteen 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoshimitsu Posted December 3, 2019 Report Share Posted December 3, 2019 Answer to the Special Teams sudden bursts of power: Kaio-ken Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
heyitsmeallen Posted December 3, 2019 Report Share Posted December 3, 2019 I had no idea one hadn’t been returned for a TD since 2016. Also, Aren’t 5 of the 10 blocked FGs by the Titans? They have at least 3. Thrill 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post TF_Titan Posted December 3, 2019 Popular Post Report Share Posted December 3, 2019 The game winning FG block yesterday was a direct result of Kalu's game winning FG block against the Chiefs. Normally the line is supposed to block from the inside out...meaning prioritize the interior rushers first before focusing on the outside rushers. I guarantee you the right tackle watched a lot of film of the Chiefs game and was worried about Kalu getting a quick jump. This caused him to jump out to block Kalu too soon before securing the inside rush from Cruikshank, who basically got a free run directly to the kick. What's really interesting to me...and makes me think the Titans may have intentionally schemed for this exact thing...is that Tye Smith rushing from the right side never makes an attempt to get to the kick. Instead he runs straight up field and pulls up about 4 yards directly to the right of where the ball is going to be kicked from, which puts him in perfect position to catch the blocked kick. Maybe teams do this sort of thing all the time and we never notice because it rarely works, but I think it's an example of how detailed the planning is for ever single thing that goes on in an NFL game that most of the time goes completely unnoticed. DCTitan, heyitsmeallen, CreepingDeath, and 5 others 7 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denali Posted December 3, 2019 Report Share Posted December 3, 2019 (edited) 10 hours ago, CreepingDeath said: From The Ringer: https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/12/2/20991345/winners-losers-week-13-andy-dalton-bengals-jets-lamar-jackson-tom-brady ... There have only been 10 field goal blocks in the league total this season, and two of them were Titans game-winners. And half of them (5) were made by the Titans. Edited December 3, 2019 by Denali Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nine Posted December 3, 2019 Report Share Posted December 3, 2019 It’s definitely crazy how good the FG block unit has been. Two big wins can be directly attributed to blocked kicks...which has to be some sort of record. And of course, Kern has been absolutely spectacular this year, consistently pinning opponents deep in their own territory every time he steps on the field. I don’t even mind the largely unremarkable performance of the PR/KR units. It ain’t much...but at least they’re avoiding the huge, mind-numbing mistakes that were such an issue early in the season. The only big negative has been the sudden and unexpected demise of the kicking game, which has been a glaring issue all season and played a significant and direct role in two losses. CreepingDeath, rns90, IsntLifeFunny, and 1 other 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callidus Posted December 3, 2019 Report Share Posted December 3, 2019 5 fg blocks in a season feels like it has 2 be a record or on pace 4 one. Anyone remember like 4 years ago when a interception or a blocked kick felt like it was the first one in forever. Now its a common occurrence. heyitsmeallen, and Eighteen 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreepingDeath Posted December 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2019 33 minutes ago, Callidus said: 5 fg blocks in a season feels like it has 2 be a record or on pace 4 one. Anyone remember like 4 years ago when a interception or a blocked kick felt like it was the first one in forever. Now its a common occurrence. You could have used “1” like 3 times in that post and didn’t. Eighteen, Stan17, and Supernope 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callidus Posted December 3, 2019 Report Share Posted December 3, 2019 (edited) 22 minutes ago, CreepingDeath said: You could have used “1” like 3 times in that post and didn’t. I try and alternate between using numbers for word and real words. Don't ask me why. As much as being correct in my english means nothing 2 me on this forum it is a strange rule I try and follow. I did type it and corrected it though. If that makes you better Edited December 3, 2019 by Callidus Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stan17 Posted December 3, 2019 Report Share Posted December 3, 2019 54 minutes ago, CreepingDeath said: You could have used “1” like 3 times in that post and didn’t. I thought I was about to have to be the asshole haha! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamlngEnvy Posted December 3, 2019 Report Share Posted December 3, 2019 These are the types of things that lead to dark horse SUPER BOWL RUNS Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
No1TitansFan Posted December 3, 2019 Report Share Posted December 3, 2019 I remember when they drafted MIchael Griffin they talked about how he had blocked all these kicks in college and that he would be playing a lot of STs, which he did; don't think he ever blocked a single one on the pro level. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Passepartout Posted December 3, 2019 Report Share Posted December 3, 2019 They have been elite over in the ST despite Ryan Succop's injury! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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