Now for the bigger and bolder decision, the play that ignited Seattle’s comeback, punter Jon Ryan’s 19-yard touchdown pass to Garry Gilliam on a fake field goal. Ryan had been lobbying for the call during the week of practice, after special teams coach Brian Schneider’s staff identified the weak link in the Packers field goal block team.
Reserve linebacker Brad Jones was recklessly aggressive coming off the edge on film. He consistently darted hard to the inside in an effort to get the block, and often went to unnecessary lengths to do so. Against Dallas in their divisional game, he lined up on the left side three times and on the right once, and on one attempt he tried to leap over a blocker only to get stonewalled.
1. Take the snap and roll out to Jones’ side with either Garry Gilliam (left side) or Luke Willson (right) as a receiving option. If the linebacker covers the receiver, Ryan should run. If not, throw it.
2. If Jones isn’t on the field, take a delay of game penalty and then kick the field goal.
“Kickers are head-jobs anyway,” Ryan said within earshot of Hauschka, “so you don’t want to screw them around.”
Jones showed up on the left side, which meant undrafted rookie tackle Garry Gilliam would get the throw if necessary. Gilliam, a converted tight end out of Penn State, hadn’t caught a touchdown since high school.
“I broke the huddle like, Please be on my side, please be on my side,” Gilliam says. “And then [Jones] was.”
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Robert Klemko wrote: