FOXBORO, Mass. — Where is Brenden Schooler from?
That question has been reverberating throughout the NFL since the New England Patriots’ 24-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday night, and it has a double meaning.
Schooler sprinted from an unusual outside position in the third quarter to block Jason Sanders’ 49-yard field goal attempt. This sensational attempt on a unique play had many wondering how he did it and how the special teams scheme came about.
As a result of this play, Schooler’s profile was raised to a new level. He is in his second NFL season after stops at Oregon, Arizona and finally Texas. Schooler, a safety/wide receiver in college, joined the Patriots roster as an undrafted free agent in 2022 and played exclusively on special teams, recording a team-high 14 tackles as a rookie.
Some of his teammates call him “Sunshine” because of his long hair that flows from the back of his helmet. It is named after a character from the movie “Remember the Titans.”
In fact, this play was the beacon of the Patriots’ 0-2 start. The Patriots will face the New York Jets on Sunday (1 p.m. ET) at MetLife Stadium in a key AFC East game, 1-1.
Textbook FG Block 🗣️@sakura_sakura | #Forever
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“I don’t think I would have thought of that. So, it’s a credit to the coaching staff, because when they wrote it up and told me what we were doing, I thought, Inside I thought, ‘I trust them, but I didn’t do it.’ I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Schooler said.
“It was great to see the new and innovative plays they came up with and actually go out there and execute them.”
Schooler’s performance earned him the respect of players around the league, including Dolphins defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, the head of the field goal protection unit, who said he had no choice but to block him. there were.
“I saw the whole thing develop. He came from a distance and put in some great times,” Wilkins said. “I’ve never seen anything like that on a football field, and it was just a bad play…I just put my hat on and I’m like, ‘Well, yeah.’ I mean, if you’re going to stop guys like that, you have to do more. I want you to.”
Matthew Slater, the Patriots’ longtime special teams captain, praised the coaches for “seeing what we believed were weaknesses,” adding that it was “an amazing design, something we actually saw.” It was something I had never experienced before,” he added.
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Slater then saluted the 6-foot-1, 210-pound Schooler.
“Most importantly, you need the right player to do it, and School is a player with tremendous length and tremendous speed. His ability to turn is phenomenal. And his Quickness. I think he’s probably the only one in the team that can do that, so we picked the right player,” he said.
Mr Schooler said Mr Slater told him before the snap: “You’re going to stop this.”
The first key was timing. He began his run toward the line of scrimmage from outside the numbers on the field, closest to the Patriots’ sideline.
Schooler declined to say whether he was looking at specific indicators before revving the engines for takeoff.
“The moment the ball was snapped and I felt the momentum on the carry, I knew we were going to get there,” he said. “We just wanted to have a place where we could get our hands on the ball or stop the ball. Hopefully, one of us could pick it up.”
Special teams coordinator Cam Accord explained how the idea came about.
“You’d say that’s just out-of-the-box thinking,” he relayed. “As the game progresses, there are things you’re looking for, whether it’s the snapper, maybe the way the player sets up, the hand movement, the head of the holder. We go through the process and give you an edge. I’m just looking for keys and details that could lead to. That’s not something you can do every week.
“The normal motion of a field goal unit from snap to kick is between 1.27 and 1.34.” [seconds]. Therefore, you need acceleration and speed to turn the corner and reach the blocking point (usually about 5 yards in front of the holder). ”
The Accords also credited safety Kyle Dugger with occupying Wilkins to create a rush and free up Schooler.
“That’s forgotten — if he didn’t do it.” [do that]Wilkins is going to block [Schooler] It’s off the edge. So everyone can trust it, believe it’s going to work, let everyone down, and then get out of there. [Schooler] It was just a matter of timing. It was really good for him to come off the edge and lay it out for us. ”
Acord added, “Sometimes the best ideas come at 1 a.m. when you’re just drawing or doodling.”
Patriots safety Adrian Phillips, now in his 10th NFL season, saw this play and remembered how former New England linebacker Jamie Collins Sr. jumped over the long snapper in 2015 to prevent an extra point. He said he remembered.
“When things like that happen, it’s a copycat league, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we see this around.” [the NFL] — like eagles [QB] It’s an undercover situation,” he said. “You look at it and you’re like, ‘That’s crazy.'” You also know that this is probably going to change the game a little bit. ”