jbird5150
Footballguy
Choke or partial block? YOU DECIDE! From Larry Mayer's Q and A section:
Q: There was some mention that Hunter Hillenmeyer partially blocked the missed field goal at the end of Monday night’s game. Has that been confirmed?
A: There’s no mention of a deflection in the official statistics, but I asked Hunter Hillenmeyer after the game and he told me that Neil Rackers’ errant 40-yard field goal attempt in the final minute of the fourth quarter did in fact graze off his fingertips.
Figured since we didn't have enough Bears threads, this would help.
Discuss.
Q: There was some mention that Hunter Hillenmeyer partially blocked the missed field goal at the end of Monday night’s game. Has that been confirmed?
A: There’s no mention of a deflection in the official statistics, but I asked Hunter Hillenmeyer after the game and he told me that Neil Rackers’ errant 40-yard field goal attempt in the final minute of the fourth quarter did in fact graze off his fingertips.
Figured since we didn't have enough Bears threads, this would help.
Discuss.
And it's not just a distinction for statistical purposes. Kicks that are "fully" blocked can be recovered and advanced by the kicking team. If it's third down, the kicking team can just fall on the ball and retry a kick on fourth down. Saw this happen in 2003 Steelers vs. Browns.Deflected kicks (i.e., touched but ball advances past the line of scrimmage) cannot be recovered by the kicking team unless the defense touches the ball after the initial deflection (Leon Lett on Thanksgiving...).
