NFL Head Coach Commends Patriots For ‘Brilliant’ Field Goal Block
One of the NFL’s best head coaches was thoroughly impressed by the Patriots’ unique field goal block last weekend.
New England employed a never-before-seen strategy to block a Jason Sanders kick in last Sunday’s Dolphins-Patriots meeting at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots effectively set Brenden Schooler in motion right before the ball was snapped, and the budding star special teamer soared in to swat the pigskin with relative ease.
The play design drew a rave review from Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, who worked primarily on special teams before taking the Baltimore job in 2008.
“I hadn’t seen that,” Harbaugh told reporters, per Pro Football Talk. “I thought it was a really great play, really well executed. They were able to time up the snap operation perfectly well.”
Harbaugh added: “It doesn’t need to be ruled out because all you have to do is change the tempo of your snap count so it’s more of a surprise play. I think now people, if that’s something a team might do against them, they’ll just change the timing of their snap count. But what a good idea that was. They got it, it was a great play. I thought it was brilliant.”
Even the Dolphins had to tip their caps to one of their fiercest rivals after the impressive block. Miami defensive lineman Christian Wilkins called it “one hell of a play” by Schooler and company.