There’s a belief, supposedly supported by statistics, that calling a time out to ice the kicker doesn’t really hurt the kicker, and thus doesn’t help the effort.
But it can nevertheless have a very specific benefit to the defense.
Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul explained during Monday’s PFT Live that the meaningless kick coming after coach Tom Coughlin called a last-second time out helped Pierre-Paul adjust his approach to the ball on the next try, changing the path from over the guard to over the center.
And on the next try, Pierre-Paul blocked the kick.
So, basically, icing the kicker with a late time out will now be in vogue again. At least until a kicker misses the kick that is wiped off the board by a time out and makes the next one.