If Super Bowl XLVII comes down to a last-second field goal from Ravens kicker Justin Tucker, then Tucker hopes 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh tries to ice him.
Tucker says coaches who call timeout before a field goal are actually helping him by giving him more time to prepare.
“If anything, it gives you a little bit more time to pick out your aiming point,” Tucker said. “I don’t think it really has any bearing on what happens in live game action anyways.”
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll found out the hard way in the playoffs that icing the kicker can backfire, and Tucker himself was in the center of a controversy during the playoffs when he took an on-field practice kick that the officials should have stopped him from taking. Tucker said, however, that he doesn’t think his on-field practice kick against the Broncos really helped him make the next kick.
“That didn’t really have any bearing on what happened the next play,” Tucker said. “It doesn’t have any bearing at all. It was just another opportunity to swing the leg more than anything. It’s really no different other than kicking the ball into the net on the sideline. It’s just aiming at a different target.”
Whatever the circumstances, if the 49ers end up using a timeout and giving Tucker another opportunity to swing his leg, he’ll gladly take it.