Jamie Collins XP Block

Concussion Protocol said:

If Belichick noticed this vulnerability in the Colts' kick-protection scheme (as he said he did postgame), would it have been wiser to keep this play in our back pocket for a more crucial moment in a future game? Obviously this would've been huge had Indy recovered the onside kick and scored a TD, so it wasn't completely wasteful.

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Wouldn't the fact that other teams now know the Pats have this in their arsenal pay dividends as well?

I can imagine the center, holder, and kicker, having this in their minds might disrupt their concentration enough to cause a bad snap, dropped hold, or shanked kick?

Concussion Protocol said:

If Belichick noticed this vulnerability in the Colts' kick-protection scheme (as he said he did postgame), would it have been wiser to keep this play in our back pocket for a more crucial moment in a future game? Obviously this would've been huge had Indy recovered the onside kick and scored a TD, so it wasn't completely wasteful.

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It was the potential difference between OT and a loss in the regular season. That win will almost assuredly have an affect on playoff seeding/making the playoffs at all.

Each regular season game is huge. That was exactly the right time to do it.

DarrylS said:

When you watch the replay he seems very casual prior to the snap...

Now the NFL world knows what we know about Jamie Collins..

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Truly magnificent. Collin's athleticism is impressive as well.

Maybe Collins will become like Lawrence Taylor in Tecmo Bowl, able to block every kick for the rest of the season.

In reality, this will probably be banned in the offseason.

It puts a smile on my face when I think about all of the XP and FG attempts going forward, with Collins standing in the middle motioning like he will vault the line.

Whether he does or not it will add some delicious drama, and extra pressure on the kicking team, during the kick.

Some more insights from Bruschi:

He's made a ton of big plays, but I'll talk about the one everyone marveled about -- the blocked PAT. This is also tremendous coaching by the Patriots special teams staff of Joe Judge and Ray "Bubba" Ventrone. Three things you need from this play: 1) A leaper with extraordinary athletic ability, and that's Collins; 2) An OL that stays low at the snap; 3) A "tell" from someone that gives your leaper an anticipatory key of when to start their approach. I haven't watched every Colts field-goal protection play, but the Patriots have, and the one I watched probably 15 times (because I was looking for the "tell") was Collins' block. Collins actually flinched pre-snap waiting for the "tell". And the "tell" was this: It was the holder. If you watch the play again, you'll see Collins' "tell" is the holder, that's what he's watching. The holder looks to Vinatieri, he focuses on Vinatieri, and when Vinatieri gives him the nod that he's ready, the holder turns his head to the long snapper, and the ball is snapped. So as soon as the holder turned his head, Collins took off and started his approach.

PP2 said:

Some more insights from Bruschi:

He's made a ton of big plays, but I'll talk about the one everyone marveled about -- the blocked PAT. This is also tremendous coaching by the Patriots special teams staff of Joe Judge and Ray "Bubba" Ventrone. Three things you need from this play: 1) A leaper with extraordinary athletic ability, and that's Collins; 2) An OL that stays low at the snap; 3) A "tell" from someone that gives your leaper an anticipatory key of when to start their approach. I haven't watched every Colts field-goal protection play, but the Patriots have, and the one I watched probably 15 times (because I was looking for the "tell") was Collins' block. Collins actually flinched pre-snap waiting for the "tell". And the "tell" was this: It was the holder. If you watch the play again, you'll see Collins' "tell" is the holder, that's what he's watching. The holder looks to Vinatieri, he focuses on Vinatieri, and when Vinatieri gives him the nod that he's ready, the holder turns his head to the long snapper, and the ball is snapped. So as soon as the holder turned his head, Collins took off and started his approach.

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If that's the case, then the Patriots better change their kicking cadence because that's exactly how they do it now. Allen looks back at Gostkowski and when he looks back at the long snapper, the ball is snapped. The Patriots' snap is just as predictable.

brownj12 said:

Kam Chancellor did it a couple of times last year, and as soon as people here saw it they were calling for Collins to do it.

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Kam whiffed on his first try and got flagged on his second so he never actually got credit for a block unlike Collins.

The Gr8est said:

Wouldn't the fact that other teams now know the Pats have this in their arsenal pay dividends as well?

I can imagine the center, holder, and kicker, having this in their minds might disrupt their concentration enough to cause a bad snap, dropped hold, or shanked kick?

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Or he tries to stand up quickly to prevent it and gets bull rushed into the kicker.

What's the penalty if JC had touched an Offensive lineman? If it's just moving the PAT attempt five yards up there's little penalty risk. Or even if the following kick off is 10 yards up, who cares? Nobody returns kicks anyways.

Of course, the type of injury that could happen flipping head over toe 11 feet up in the air would be something to consider...

The Gr8est said:

It puts a smile on my face when I think about all of the XP and FG attempts going forward, with Collins standing in the middle motioning like he will vault the line.

Whether he does or not it will add some delicious drama, and extra pressure on the kicking team, during the kick.

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for the rest of the season, Collins could just stand there five feet away from the long snapper and just yell out loud "I'm going to jump over you, b*tch!" over and over just to mess with them.

I wonder if the jest are burning up the phone lines with their boy goodell trying to squeeze in a rule change that will make this illegal before the game on Sunday

It would be a nightmare for the NYJFL if Collins were to block the game winning field goal attempt for the jest

bresna said:

If that's the case, then the Patriots better change their kicking cadence because that's exactly how they do it now. Allen looks back at Gostkowski and when he looks back at the long snapper, the ball is snapped. The Patriots' snap is just as predictable.

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How many teams have someone with the necessary leaping ability?

It's risky because, I believe, it is a personal foul costing 15 yards if the leaper contacts a lineman, making a tough FG attempt into a gimmee.

tasmlab said:

What's the penalty if JC had touched an Offensive lineman? If it's just moving the PAT attempt five yards up there's little penalty risk. Or even if the following kick off is 10 yards up, who cares? Nobody returns kicks anyways.

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There's an interesting twist on XP penalties under the new rules. Let's say the Collins penalty is a 5 yarder (I don't know what it is).

The offense then has two choices:

• Have the ball marked at the 20 (five yards in from the 25) and attempt to kick a PAT.
• Have the ball marked at the 1 (half the distance from the 2) and attempt a 2pt conversion.

So the problem with the defense committing a penalty on a PAT kick attempt is that they give the offense the opportunity for a significantly easier 2pt conversion.

On FG and extra point attempts the OL tends to get extra low so that they cannot be pushed backwards toward the holder. That's what gave the opportunity.

The OL's adjustment would have to be to block more upright, which leaves them more open to bull rushes. So just the threat of this happening again could help our FG block unit in the future.

Palm Beach Pats Fan said:

On FG and extra point attempts the OL tends to get extra low so that they cannot be pushed backwards toward the holder. That's what gave the opportunity.

The OL's adjustment would have to be to block more upright, which leaves them more open to bull rushes. So just the threat of this happening again could help our FG block unit in the future.

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And that fully explains why BB would choose to reveal his hand now rather than keep it for the playoffs.

It is the gift that will keep on giving as the possibility of it will put added stress on the FG and XP teams.

I'm guessing every team team is now seeing who their best leaper is and if they can use this strategy too.

QuantumMechanic said:

There's an interesting twist on XP penalties under the new rules. Let's say the Collins penalty is a 5 yarder (I don't know what it is).

The offense then has two choices:

• Have the ball marked at the 20 (five yards in from the 25) and attempt to kick a PAT.
• Have the ball marked at the 1 (half the distance from the 2) and attempt a 2pt conversion.

So the problem with the defense committing a penalty on a PAT kick attempt is that they give the offense the opportunity for a significantly easier 2pt conversion.

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Interesting. With the score the way it was, there was little risk of a 2 pt conversion since it would've dropped the differential from 6 to 5 at the time. Smart.

tasmlab said:

Interesting. With the score the way it was, there was little risk of a 2 pt conversion since it would've dropped the differential from 6 to 5 at the time. Smart.

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Yes! 4th quarter, up by 5 points is the ideal situation for a chancy PAT block ploy. The 1 point risk from a failure doesn't much matter, while the 1 point reward from a success is huge. Perfect situational football.

On the flip side, this is why the Colts' fake punt was so egregious in concept as well as execution. It was an awful, awful situational decision.

patchick said:

Yes! 4th quarter, up by 5 points is the ideal situation for a chancy PAT block ploy. The 1 point risk from a failure doesn't much matter, while the 1 point reward from a success is huge. Perfect situational football.

On the flip side, this is why the Colts' fake punt was so egregious in concept as well as execution. It was an awful, awful situational decision.

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This bears repeating.

The Gr8est said:

How many teams have someone with the necessary leaping ability?

It's risky because, I believe, it is a personal foul costing 15 yards if the leaper contacts a lineman, making a tough FG attempt into a gimmee.

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Exactly. There's only one Jamie Collins.

You're right that it's very risky. If there is contact, it would be a leaping penalty (not a personal foul) which is 15 yards and an automatic first down.