After re-watching the Packers game, here are three plays that made me go hmmm, for various reasons.
Today we bring you a “Special Teams” Edition of three plays:
Kickoff Coverage
Special teams coordinator Mo Drayton said yesterday the Packers “shuffled some pieces around” on the kickoff coverage teams. Whatever they did, it worked. Note how many Packers are within 10 yards of the returner as he reaches the 20. Everyone except Crosby is in the picture. Looking at kickoffs earlier this season, you would be lucky to see four or five Packers in the area. Note EQ at the top of the screen closing in from the outside, but Barnes beats him to the returner to get credit for the tackle.
Blocked Field Goal
Something is still not right with Mason Crosby. And I assume it’s Crosby, because I’m not seeing much wrong with the snaps or holds. He doinked (but made) and extra point, and here he gets a field goal attempt blocked. He hits the ball so flat here it didn’t even require a jump from the guy who blocked it. In the slow motion shot, look at the position of the ball when his hand hits the ball. It’s actually perfectly horizontal and parallel to the ground. That is not normal.
Punt Comparison
Ok, so Mo Drayton says that Bojo “made an adjustment” (but wouldn’t say what it was) that likely prevented his end zone punt from being blocked. That sounds like a challenge to me, so let’s take a look. Here I compare that punt to one from the fourth quarter. He doesn’t take fewer steps,but possibly shortened the steps a bit – it’s hard to tell for sure. Even so, I think it’s not unusual to do so when kicking out of your own end zone. What he also does, and this may seem nonsensical, is that he doesn’t take a straight path with the ball in his hands – he actually angles towards the outside rusher to his left. When he catches the ball, his feet are on the outside of the “C” and ends up in the middle of it when he kicks the ball.The only explanation I can think of is that by doing so, he didn’t give the outside rusher room to dive at his feet. Instead, he has to veer off to avoid hitting him. Could this have been the “adjustment? Let me know what you think. Also, note EQ showing his gunner chops on both punts (and he did the same on a 1st quarter punt).
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“Jersey Al” Bracco is the Editor-In-Chief, part owner and wearer of many hats for CheeseheadTV.com and PackersTalk.com. He is also a recovering Mason Crosby truther. Follow Al on twitter at @JerseyalGBP.