[ad_1]
FOXBORO — The Patriots were in desperate need of a spark late in the third quarter, as the offense continued to sputter and they trailed by two touchdowns.
Then, as the Dolphins prepared to attempt a 49-yard field goal, Matthew Slater – New England’s longtime special teams ace – spoke a game-changing play into existence as his unit jogged on to the field.
“He’s like, ‘You’re going to go block this,’” Patriots special teamer Brenden Schooler said.
The unit had practiced a specific field goal block design all week, and Schooler was the man for the job. The second-year player explained that the Patriots’ special teams coaching staff – Joe Judge, Cam Achord and Joe Houston – had pinpointed a weak spot in Miami’s field goal operation.
Schooler pounced on his opportunity. He literally came out of nowhere, lining up toward the left sideline and timing the snap perfectly with a running start as he got into the backfield and untouched and dove to successfully block Jason Sanders’ attempt.
The Patriots recovered the football at Miami’s 49, and it ignited new life into them.
“That was a crazy moment,” Patriots special teamer Chris Board said. “Really electric. Definitely needed at the moment. It gave us a chance to kind of come back.”
Schooler felt confident about the play after continued reps during the week.
“Just had the right opportunity, counted up my steps properly and just timed it up well, and everybody else on the field did their job well so I can go out there and execute mine,” Schooler said. “Trying to make a play for the team, get us a little spark going. It was a testament to those guys to dialing up a great block.”
One that Schooler admitted he was initially unsure about when he was approached about the idea.
“When they drew it up and told me what I was doing, I was like, ‘All right, I trust you guys but I’ve never seen anything like this before,’ so it’s awesome. …
“I’ve never seen it before, so that was new for me. I think it was new for a lot of guys on the team, but like I said, we trusted our coaches and we’re going to go out there and compete and execute to the best of our ability.”
Schooler did just that.
“As soon as the ball was snapped and I felt myself and the momentum carrying, I knew I was going to get there and just wanted to make sure I got a hand on the ball or something where I stopped the ball and hopefully one of us picked it up, and get the offense a little spark going,” he said.
The Patriots didn’t initially reap the benefits of Schooler’s block, as Mac Jones threw an interception on the ensuing drive. But the field position Schooler’s play provided helped the Patriots on their next drive, when Jones found Hunter Henry for a touchdown to cut their deficit to 17-10.
The Patriots ultimately fell short in their comeback, but not because of Schooler and their special team unit. Sanders missed a 55-yard field goal late in the fourth that may have had something to do with Schooler, who lined up like he was going to try the block again, and thought that pressure affected the kicker.
Both Schooler and Board praised the coaching staff for how they came up with the plan.
“It says a lot about Joe and Cam and Joe and about the staff, just how they’re prepared and kind of saw the opening, and it was just beautiful to see we actually executed it,” Board said. “It’s one thing to draw it up, it’s another thing to actually execute it, so I was definitely glad it happened. Unfortunately we didn’t end up winning, but it definitely helped us, for sure.”
[ad_2]
