Tag: blocked

Former NFL head coach says Saints got away with foul on game-winning FG block

Former NFL head coach Jay Gruden says the Saints got away with a foul on their game-winning field goal block. Check the tape for yourself:


There’s no love lost between Jay Gruden and the New York Giants — he coached against them with Washington from 2014 to 2019, going 4-7. The second-to-last game he coached was a 24-3 loss to Big Blue. But the former NFL head coach put the Giants’ close loss to the New Orleans Saints under a microscope when studying this week’s games, and he says the Saints may have gotten away with a penalty on their game-winning blocked field goal.

Gruden highlighted two Saints defensive linemen on the field goal try, Payton Turner and Nathan Shepherd, who pulled and pushed down the left guard and center, creating a gap for Bryan Bresee to leap through, arms extended for the block. That could count as a block in the back or defensive holding, but obviously no penalty was called this time.

“This referee is saying ‘Oh yeah that’s a flag, I got it,'” Gruden said, noticing the umpire’s hand dive into his pocket to grab a penalty marker. But the official decided to keep the flag where it was, and the play stood as a game-winner for New Orleans.

It’s not like referee Clete Blakeman and his crew hadn’t thrown many flags that day. They had fouled the Saints six times for a loss of 40 yards. But they did hit the Giants a dozen times for a staggering 112 penalty yards. They lived up to their reputation as one of the NFL’s most flag-happy officiating crews. So maybe the Saints did get away with one here. Either way, they got a win, and that’s what will be remembered.

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Packers TE Josiah Deguara makes ‘major miscue’ on blocked PAT vs. Steelers

Packers TE Josiah Deguara made a “major miscue” on the critical blocked PAT against the Steelers.

Green Bay Packers tight end Josiah Deguara made a critical error while in protection on a blocked extra point during Sunday’s 23-19 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Deguara, lined up as the widest protection player to the left of the field goal protection group, allowed Steelers cornerback Patrick Peterson to get around the corner and block the extra point following Jayden Reed’s 35-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

“We gotta get our eyes on our work and make sure that we punch the near shoulder of the widest rusher,” coach Matt LaFleur said Monday.

Deguara hesitated and didn’t get nearly enough of Peterson, who flew past mostly unaffected. With no player threatening inside his right shoulder, Deguara’s job is to make sure the outside rusher is forced wide and away from the kick.

LaFleur described the mistake as a “major miscue” in a game filled with missed opportunities.

The block kept the game at 17-13, and the lost point in the first half ended up being huge in the fourth quarter as the Packers drove the field and were in field goal range on the final drive. Instead of attempting a game-tying field goal, the Packers had to go for a touchdown from the 16-yard line, and Jordan Love was intercepted as time expired. The Steelers had seven players lined up in coverage defending the end zone.

Deguara, now in his fourth year, has played 24 snaps on field goal protection this season and 61 in his career.

Here’s the blocked extra point:

WATCH: Saints linebacker Zack Baun blocks a Titans punt

WATCH: Saints linebacker Zack Baun blocks a Titans punt

This is why Zack Baun made the team. The New Orleans Saints’ strong side linebacker doesn’t get to play many snaps on defense with the team running so much nickel personnel, but he continues to make his presence felt on special teams.

Baun blocked a punt from the Tennessee Titans — with Steve Gleason in the building — on Sunday to set the Saints up with excellent field position, though it was officially recorded as a 1-yard punt by Titans specialist Ryan Stonehouse. Derek Carr drove the New Orleans offense down into field goal range, where rookie kicker Blake Grupe booted a 33-yard try right between the uprights.

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Watch: Brayden Coombs’ special teams block two punts against Vikings

Entering Week 8, the Lions hadn’t blocked a punt since 2007. Over the last two games, Brayden Coombs’ special teams unit has blocked three.

Entering Week 8, the Lions hadn’t blocked a punt since 2007. Over the last two games, Brayden Coombs’ special teams unit has blocked three.

Early in the season, the hype surrounding Coombs centered around what he has been able to accomplish with Jack Fox, taking an undrafted free agent who was in a punter competition for a roster spot, and turning him into the best punter in the NFL in average yards per punt, net yards per punt, hang time, among other categories — all categories he still leads.

But, over the last two weeks, when he has called for a punt block, the Lions have been getting to the ball. And the part that really drives home that this isn’t just luck, is the fact that each block has come from a player lining up at a different spot.

In Week 8, Miles Killebrew was the player who got the Lions first block in nearly 13 years, but he was assisted by pressures by Jahlani Tavai and Jamie Collins. Tavai blew his guy off the ball and pushed him back into Killebrew’s lane, essentially occupying the assigned blocker, while Collins threatened the edge and forced the blocker wide

“You never know when it’s going to be you, whether the rush is designed for you specifically or not,” Coombs said to the Lions media after Killebrew’s block. “Like we talk about pressure burst pipes. As we’re creating pressure for the opponent, it might be designed to hit on one side of the formation, but the way that it breaks down, it might be somebody totally unexpected that comes free. So that’s why it’s really important that all 11 guys are out there doing their jobs, got the pedal to the metal.”

This week, Austin Bryant, who activated from the PUP list less than 24 hours before the game, lined up on the edge. When the edge blocker went low to cut block him, Bryant’s length and athleticism allowed him to power through the glancing block attempt, keep his feet, then use his length to get to the ball. Check out the full clip below:

Three possessions later, the Lions set a franchise record when Romeo Okwara got his hand on another punt.

Okwara lines up over the A-gap and his first step is too quick for the long snapper, who immediately grabs Okwara by the waist as he bursts by him. Okwara powers through the holding attempt and uses every bit of his length to deflect the ball. Check out the clip below (the replay gives a better perspective of how Okwara accomplished this):

Two games, three blocked punts, by three different players, all lining up at different spots. As Coombs said, if you get all 11 players to do their jobs then eventually the pipe is going to burst somewhere.

It’s fair to say, Coombs has his guys properly motivated, extremely prepared, and working hard for him on every snap. And it’s paying off.

Watch: Miles Killebrew blocks punt against Colts

Detroit Lions special teams stud Miles Killebrew blocks a punt against Indianapolis Colts.

The last time the Detroit Lions blocked a punt was December of 2007 when tight end Casey Fitzsimmons got one against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Nearly 13 years later, safety/linebacker — and special teams stud — Miles Killebrew ended the Lions streak by blocking a punt against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 8 of the 2020 season.

Killebrew is lined up one player in from the left edge (Jamie Collins), with Jahlani Tavai to his right. Tavai takes on the blocker in between them, and the Colts’ personal protector is supposed to pick up Killebrew.

But, before the personal protector can get to Killebrew, Tavai blocks his man into him, taking him out of the play and freeing up Killebrew for the attack. Killebrew doesn’t miss his shot, gets the block, and Collins recovers the ball.

Check out the full play here:

LOOK: Margus Hunt shows off ‘battle scar’ from blocked field goal vs. Bucs

New Orleans Saints DL Margus Hunt showed off an impressive bruise from his blocked field goal against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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Margus Hunt was a call-up from the New Orleans Saints practice squad for Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and immediately proved why he earned it by blocking a critical Bucs field goal. He just may have gotten more than he bargained for in doing it, sporting a nasty bruise on his right arm after the game. The kick struck him on the inside biceps muscle, and while it looks painful, he’s apparently shaken it off.

But those special teams plays have been something Hunt is known for throughout his football career, in the NFL and at college. Hunt, a 6-foot-8 Estonian immigrant, starred at SMU while recording 17 blocked kicks (including an NCAA-record 10 field goal blocks). He’s kept it up since entering the NFL, blocking five kicks in eight years, including his big play on Sunday.

He also wasn’t the only member of the Saints practice squad to show up on special teams. Veteran wide receiver Bennie Fowler impressed by recovering a muffed kick, setting the Saints up in terrific scoring position late in the game. Both players can be promoted to a game-day roster just once more this season before they have to be signed to the roster full-time, but these early highlights just might have the Saints thinking it’s worth keeping them around.

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WATCH: Ten Best Blocked Kicks in Notre Dame History

Notre Dame has blocked their fair share of punts and field goals over the years. See the ten best right here!

What is the best sound effect you hear during a football game?

There are a ton of solid ones but one of my favorites will always be the double-thud of a blocked kick.

Notre Dame put together their list of the ten best blocked kicks in program history.  Before we discuss, simply enjoy the ten kicks first.

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I wasn’t around for two or three, born too late to enjoy those live.  Watching the Crable block against Michigan is great because it’s the first of a pair of field goals to break Michigan’s hearts two years in a row, but the launching off of a teammate to do it looks so foreign compared to rule changes since.

The Glenn Earl block against Air Force was just silliness as well, especially considering he was supposed to be playing back, protecting against a fake.  For being far from a great the 2000 squad was incredibly fun, even if incredibly frustrating at times, too.

My favorite on the rest of the list may have to be when a young Reggie Brooks almost takes the ball from the punter himself.  He doesn’t have to lay out or anything, just tap the kick away, go run into the end zone to recover it and score.  Blanton’s against Utah is very much the same, it just happened to have a perfect hop for the scoop-and-score.

Fun list.