This is a man I have been waiting to hear from since the Falcons blew a 20-point lead to the Cowboys last Sunday — a game that included a critical blunder on an onside kick that led to the game-winning field goal for Dallas.
The onside kick that set up the comeback!@dallascowboys NEVER QUIT.
(via @thecheckdown) pic.twitter.com/4RtilBgsa3
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) September 20, 2020
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As you can see in the video, about four or five Falcons sat and watched the ball slowly pass the 10-yard marker before attempting to pounce on it. The problem is… they don’t have to do that. At any point, one of the Falcons could have jumped on the football, ending the game and sending Atlanta home 1-1. Instead, they let the ball roll until the Cowboys could recover it, and the rest is history. Such a boneheaded play left the entire fan base, including Falcons’ owner Arthur Blank, wonder whether the players even knew the rules.
Atlanta’s special teams coordinator, Ben Kotwica, answered those questions today, stating that he reiterated to the players just before the onside kick to attack the ball.
Ben Kotwica says his players knew that they could recover the ball prior to it going 10 yards, but that by doing so there was a risk in making it playable for the other team. He clearly states, though, "We should have aggressively gone for the ball."
— William McFadden (@willmcfadden) September 24, 2020
Ben Kotwica says that injuries that occurred during the game may have changed the personnel that was on the field during the onside kick.
— William McFadden (@willmcfadden) September 24, 2020
At the end of the day, Kotwica puts the blame on himself. However, if what he said was true, it’s really on the players to make the play.
Ben Kotwica on the onside kick against the Cowboys: "I'm responsible for it and for anything the unit does." He said the players should have aggressively went after the football. Same time, players, and Kotwica, believed that ball wasn't going 10 yards once it was kicked.
— Jason Butt (@JasonHButt) September 24, 2020
But one of the most puzzling comments Kotwica made was about the onside kick itself, stating it was one of the best he’s ever seen.
Ben Kotwica says he's seen a lot of different onside kicks, but he can't recall seeing a kick specifically like that one, which moves laterally to start and then "like a putt" slopes downhill towards the 10-yard point. "That was as good an onside kick as I've seen."
— William McFadden (@willmcfadden) September 24, 2020
I’ll agree; the onside kick was unique, but that doesn’t mean it was good. Frankly, it was one of the worst I’ve ever seen. The Falcons had a full three seconds to jump on a ball that was moving at about two feet per second. There was nothing good about it; it just forced the players to think, which they were unable to do in the moment.
At this point, it is what it is. Yes, it was an inexcusable miscue, but the Falcons have to move on. The rest of the season is still in front of them, and it’s possible that with a win this week, they could find themselves atop the NFC South.
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Photo: Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire
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