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http://mmqb.si.com/2014/10/27/nfl-week-8-ben-roethlisberger-steelers-record-passing/
Don Wright/AP
Big Ben Goes Boom
Ben Roethlisberger's ridiculous numbers—522 yards, six TDs—stood out on perhaps the greatest collective passing day in NFL history. Plus, a speedster from Pittsburg (the one in Kansas) wins it for the Cardinals, why the Seahawks are still in trouble, a new No. 1 in the Fine Fifteen and much more
By Peter King
Rams mentions:
The Chiefs, who improved to 4-3, sacked Austin Davis seven times on Sunday. (Ed Zurga/AP)
11. Kansas City (4-3). The Chiefs have won four of five, and I don’t know how you block that defensive front. Justin Houston (three sacks in the rout of St. Louis, a league-high 10 for the season) led a seven-sack marauding at Arrowhead yesterday.
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I think—and I know this is a week old, but I just love the inside-football nature of it, and wanted to share it with you—that the most interesting thing I learned about football in the past few days came from St. Louis punter Johnny Hekker. You recall the Rams’ special-teams-prompted win over Seattle eight days ago, with the Stedman Bailey 90-yard return for touchdown on the misdirection-punt-team play. But the derring-do fake punt with 2:55 left in the game was significantly more risky, and I loved it.
The background: The Rams hadn’t stopped Seattle on its most recent three series, and with the score 28-26, all Seattle needed was a field goal in the final three minutes to escape with a win it probably didn’t deserve. St. Louis had fourth-and-three at the Rams’ 18. Now, what Seattle should have recalled is St. Louis coach Jeff Fisher being a special-teams risk fiend, with a smart special teams coordinator, John Fassel, who never met a kicking-team idea he didn’t like—and the fact that two years ago in San Francisco the Rams used a fake punt from their own end zone for Hekker to throw a 21-yard pass.
As Hekker trotted onto the field, he was stunned to hear the code word for a fake punt (a pass to the left of the formation) and pass to running back Benny Cunningham, the wing man on the punt formation. “I had absolutely zero idea it was going to be called until I was running out onto the field and got the call,” Hekker said from St. Louis. “I like it that way. Not a lot of time for me to think about it.”
I watched the play on NFL Game Rewind a few times after speaking with Hekker, and there couldn’t have been more than 12 to 15 seconds that elapsed from the time he was jogging onto the field until he took the snap near the Rams’ 5-yard line. You probably shouldn’t play poker with Hekker. His body language didn’t give anything away once he was trotting on the field, or lining up to take the punt snap. “It was pretty easy,” Hekker said. “Just throw and catch. I played quarterback in high school, so it’s nothing I’m not used to. One thing I like about the way we play is we really value the importance of special teams. I know it can win games, but it can lose them too—just look what happened to us against Philadelphia [when the Rams got a punt blocked for a touchdown].” I know they’re not winning enough, but I love the Rams’ special-teams imagination.
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To read the entire article click the link.
http://mmqb.si.com/2014/10/27/nfl-week-8-ben-roethlisberger-steelers-record-passing/
Don Wright/AP
Big Ben Goes Boom
Ben Roethlisberger's ridiculous numbers—522 yards, six TDs—stood out on perhaps the greatest collective passing day in NFL history. Plus, a speedster from Pittsburg (the one in Kansas) wins it for the Cardinals, why the Seahawks are still in trouble, a new No. 1 in the Fine Fifteen and much more
By Peter King
Rams mentions:
The Chiefs, who improved to 4-3, sacked Austin Davis seven times on Sunday. (Ed Zurga/AP)
11. Kansas City (4-3). The Chiefs have won four of five, and I don’t know how you block that defensive front. Justin Houston (three sacks in the rout of St. Louis, a league-high 10 for the season) led a seven-sack marauding at Arrowhead yesterday.
-------------
I think—and I know this is a week old, but I just love the inside-football nature of it, and wanted to share it with you—that the most interesting thing I learned about football in the past few days came from St. Louis punter Johnny Hekker. You recall the Rams’ special-teams-prompted win over Seattle eight days ago, with the Stedman Bailey 90-yard return for touchdown on the misdirection-punt-team play. But the derring-do fake punt with 2:55 left in the game was significantly more risky, and I loved it.
The background: The Rams hadn’t stopped Seattle on its most recent three series, and with the score 28-26, all Seattle needed was a field goal in the final three minutes to escape with a win it probably didn’t deserve. St. Louis had fourth-and-three at the Rams’ 18. Now, what Seattle should have recalled is St. Louis coach Jeff Fisher being a special-teams risk fiend, with a smart special teams coordinator, John Fassel, who never met a kicking-team idea he didn’t like—and the fact that two years ago in San Francisco the Rams used a fake punt from their own end zone for Hekker to throw a 21-yard pass.
As Hekker trotted onto the field, he was stunned to hear the code word for a fake punt (a pass to the left of the formation) and pass to running back Benny Cunningham, the wing man on the punt formation. “I had absolutely zero idea it was going to be called until I was running out onto the field and got the call,” Hekker said from St. Louis. “I like it that way. Not a lot of time for me to think about it.”
I watched the play on NFL Game Rewind a few times after speaking with Hekker, and there couldn’t have been more than 12 to 15 seconds that elapsed from the time he was jogging onto the field until he took the snap near the Rams’ 5-yard line. You probably shouldn’t play poker with Hekker. His body language didn’t give anything away once he was trotting on the field, or lining up to take the punt snap. “It was pretty easy,” Hekker said. “Just throw and catch. I played quarterback in high school, so it’s nothing I’m not used to. One thing I like about the way we play is we really value the importance of special teams. I know it can win games, but it can lose them too—just look what happened to us against Philadelphia [when the Rams got a punt blocked for a touchdown].” I know they’re not winning enough, but I love the Rams’ special-teams imagination.
-------------
To read the entire article click the link.
http://mmqb.si.com/2014/10/27/nfl-week-8-ben-roethlisberger-steelers-record-passing/
