Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis have turned blocking field goals into an art form
Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis have turned blocking field goals into an art form originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Blocked field goals don't just happen. It's not just a matter of guessing when and where to jump and hoping for the best.
A lot more goes into it.
The Eagles beat the Rams Sunday because Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis, two of the NFL's best interior defensive linemen, are students of the game, students of blocking field goals.
I think it's just a credit to them and who they are as people, who they are as team players," Eagles special teams coach Michael Clay said Tuesday. Jalen Carter studies field goal protection very well. He understands it. Same with J.D.
We have our meetings on Fridays, talk about who we want to attack on their field goal team and everybody's interested in it."
The Eagles came back from 19 points down to beat the Rams 33-26 Sunday largely because Carter and Davis both blocked 4th-quarter field goals.
It was the first time in 50 years - to the day - the Eagles blocked two field goals in the same game and the first time as far as available records go - which is 1978 - that any NFL team has blocked two field goals in a fourth quarter.
It was also the first time any team has had field goals blocked on consecutive drives since 2008, when the Giants blocked David Akers field goal attempts on two straight possessions in a 20-14 Eagles win at Giants Stadium.
The two blocks were the product of a lot of things coming together. Clay said assistant special teams coach Joe Pannunzio and defensive line coach Clint Hurtt are both involved in working with the field goal block unit, and advance scout Terrence Braxton also plays a big role in letting the coaches and players on field goal block understand the possible weaknesses in the field goal units they're about to face.
Who really gets a lot of this credit is Joe P. and Clint," Clay said. On Wednesday, they like to give a little five-minute spiel on field-goal block before I get to them on Friday. And we watch a lot of film, but Terrence Braxton in scouting, he does the advance, and he says, Hey, this side of the line gave up a little leakage right there.'
So able to just confirm what our eyes are seeing. You watch so much film, sometimes the film lies to you, but to have somebody else with fresh eyes helps us out and again, kudos to those guys."
But ultimately it comes down to Davis and Carter, who study opposing kickers and blockers during the week and even as the game is progressing.
It's so rare for starting interior linemen to take such an interest in special teams, but when you play for Kirby Smart at Georgia it's hammered into you from the start just how important special teams are.
And Carter and Davis have carried that passion for special teams with them into the NFL.
J.C. is such a cerebral player when it comes to field goal block," Clay said. He does things that some people don't have a knack for but he does in terms of figuring things out, whether it's the film that we watch on Friday or during the game.
I think he caught something (Sunday) and I don't want to spill any of his secrets out there in the world, but I think he caught something where he could get that jump. Then his technique with J.D., we call it a V-technique to try and uproot those guards."
Carter blocked Joshua Karty's 36-yard field goal attempt with 8:46 left, and on the Rams' next possession, with the Eagles up by one point, Karty lined up with 0:03 on the clock at the Linc to attempt the game-winning 44-yarder.
Clay stood on the sideline truly believing the Eagles could block another one.
Yeah, I have such faith in those guys in that field-goal block team," he said. They take so much pride in it and for me I kind of stand right there and about the first three steps, if I see some good penetration, maybe 2 yards, I'm like, All right, we got a real chance at it.' Because J.D. is 6-7 and J.C. is a freak athlete.
And when I could see that field-goal protect kind of get pushed back a couple yards, I'm like, All right, we got an actual chance.'"