Flutie just drop-kicked an extra point!

[CoachC.]

Are you kidding me?!?!

[BillyT92679]

there hasn't been a drop kick since Don Hutson

[Max997]

that was great, i just happened to switch to that game when he did that

they also said this is probably his last game

[joelatte]

Leave it to the little guy to pull another rabbit out of the hat.

[JT]

Just saw it...unreal.....good for Flutie!

[BillyT92679]

i miss 1999

[mor911]

We're 9-7, I'm happy. The Flutie kick was entertaining.

[Grover]

Good for him! It was great fun to watch, and how 'bout that Belicheck? He actually showed he was willing to have some fun out there by permitting Flutie to do it! Great job!

I sure hope it's not Flutie's last game like the announcers were saying.

[McD]

He practiced that here quite a bit....I was hoping he'd do it in a game here.

[The REAL Sabres]

Leave it to the little guy to pull another rabbit out of the hat.Huh?

He practiced that here quite a bit....I was hoping he'd do it in a game here.Plus he's done it in the CFL where it's not rare by any means.

[billsrdue2002]

Note to Donahoe: Remember when you let Flutie go in favor of Rob Johnson and I called you up on the phone and told you it was a mistake. I told you that Flutie would be playing in the NFL longer than Johnson and that Flutie would still be playing in the NFL longer than you would be the GM of the Buffalo Bills.

I hate to say that I told you so, but I told you so.

[gibbons]

Can you imagine the Bills doing that and how many things would've gone wrong trying it?

[CoachC.]

This is funny......

"Flutie might have been there the last time it happened," placekicker Adam Vinatieri joked.

According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame web site, the league's last drop kick for points was on Dec. 21, 1941 — two weeks after the bombing of Pearl Harbor — when Ray "Scooter" McLean converted for the Chicago Bears to beat the New York Giants 37-9 in the NFL championship game.

[ticatfan3]

Flutie converts first drop kick since 1941

New England Patriots

Associated Press

1/1/2006 4:14:46 PM

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) - For 21 years, Doug Flutie's career has been defined by one play. Now the ''Hail Flutie'' has its historic bookend.

The 43-year-old Patriots backup converted the NFL's first successful drop kick since 1941, making an extra point in the fourth quarter of the Miami Dolphins' mostly meaningless 28-26 victory Sunday over New England.

''I think Doug deserves it,'' said usually dour Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who broke into a wide smile when his sprightly quarterback split the uprights off one bounce. ''He is a guy that adds a lot to this game of football, has added a lot through his great career - running, passing and now kicking.

''He's got a skill and we got a chance to let him use it, and I am happy for him. First time since '41,'' said Belichick, a football historian who last month brought out a leather helmet in his media session. ''It might be 60 years again, too.''

According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame website, the league's last drop kick for points was on Dec. 21, 1941 - two weeks after the bombing of Pearl Harbor - when Ray (Scooter) McLean converted for the Chicago Bears to beat the New York Giants 37-9 in the NFL championship game.





''Flutie might have been there the last time it happened,'' placekicker Adam Vinatieri joked.

The ball was more round until 1934, making the bounce more predictable. And the rules were changed to require the kicker to be behind the line of scrimmage, relegating the drop kick to a riskier version of a place kick or extra point.

But when ESPN broadcaster Chris Berman mentioned to Belichick that he'd seen Flutie drop kick, the coach called his quarterback into his office and asked if he could do it.

''I said, 'I could do it,''' Flutie said. ''There's no real application for it, but I could do it.''

A native of nearby Natick, Flutie won the Heisman Trophy at Boston College after connecting with Gerard Phelan on a 48-yard touchdown pass to beat Miami as time expired. That is his signature play - and one of the most memorable in college football history.

With the Patriots already happy with their playoff seeding, Tom Brady sat out most of the game so Matt Cassel, who's usually No. 3 behind Flutie, could get some snaps. He hit Tim Dwight for a nine-yard touchdown with 6:10 left, and Flutie came onto the field with the kicking unit.

''It sort of screwed me up,'' said Dolphins coach Nick Saban, who needed a timeout to get things straight. ''I couldn't figure out what was going on. They had a quarterback in, four tight ends and a receiver and there was no kicker.''

Flutie took his position for a regular shotgun snap, then retreated to the 12 yard-line to await the ball; he caught the ball, dropped it to the grass and kicked it off the short hop straight through the uprights. After getting a hug on the field by his teammates, Flutie ran off to embrace Belichick.

Even Saban appreciated the moment.

''I was kind of pleased to know that somebody can still drop kick,'' Saban said. ''Man, when I was a kid we all practised that. Thought it was a lost art.

''But,'' he added, ''you know Flutie showed his age on that one.''

The 1984 Heisman winner went into the USFL and the NFL, but only achieved stardom in the Canadian Football League, where he was a three-time Grey Cup champion and six-time Most Outstanding Player. He returned to the NFL in 1998 and played three years with Buffalo and four with San Diego before returning to New England for a second stint with the Patriots.

He hasn't said he will retire, but the impression that this is his final season was reinforced by Belichick's post-game valedictory.

''It's possible, but I'm not going to rule anything out,'' Flutie said. ''But if that ends up being my last play, it wouldn't be bad.''

[MattM]

I personally found the whole thing a big diss of Miami, who was trying to actually win the game. If I were the Fins, I'd remember this all training camp and next year when they play the Patsies.

[zanthrax54]

i miss 1999



WORD.

[The REAL Sabres]

I personally found the whole thing a big diss of Miami, who was trying to actually win the game. If I were the Fins, I'd remember this all training camp and next year when they play the Patsies.Miami has beaten New England 2 out of the last 3...

[FinNasty]

It was the wierdest and crazyest thing I have ever seen...

I kinda saw it as a small slap in the face... but it wasnt that big of a deal. They obviously werent taking the game seriously when they pulled their starters... and it was definatly entertaining...

However, I am sure the Fin players wernt too fond of it...

[BostonTim]

I personally found the whole thing a big diss of Miami, who was trying to actually win the game. If I were the Fins, I'd remember this all training camp and next year when they play the Patsies.

There is no way I can talk you out of wanting to feel "dissed". But you weren't. That play was in the Playbook for LAST week and it was there because, as a historian, Bill new what a rareity it was and decided he'ld like to let Doug give it a try. The Pats players out there tried their best to win right down to the last play.

At the time of the drop kick. the Pats were down 25-19. That meant that whether they missed and got 0; made it and got 1; or went for and made 2, they still needed a touchdown to take the lead and nothing les would let them tie. So it wasn't a big deal which they did, and the coaches sheet says go for 1 I think. Coach C might correct me if I'm wrong on that. Two would have left them going for 1 at the last play but i don't think you chase the points there.

Anyway, the kick was strategically designed to have fun, relax the players, induce commaraderie, and get them in a good mindset for the playoffs. I personally think it was a great FOOTBALL move, not just the sideshow it also happened to be. It can be said that that play inspired them back into the game which they almost tied. I gaurantee that Saban felt no disrespect but I won't gaurentee he won't use it as a tool. they all blow things out of proportion if they can use it as a weapon.

I thought it was terrific.

Cheers, BostonTim

[CoachC.]

At the time of the drop kick. the Pats were down 25-19. That meant that whether they missed and got 0; made it and got 1; or went for and made 2, they still needed a touchdown to take the lead and nothing les would let them tie. So it wasn't a big deal which they did, and the coaches sheet says go for 1 I think. Coach C might correct me if I'm wrong on that. Two would have left them going for 1 at the last play but i don't think you chase the points there.

I'm not a believer in the "chart," Tim. I hate it. I think it causes coaches to do things they don't have to do simply because of the math.

Until late in the game (when you must go for two if you need it), going for one or two should be based a little bit on the math, but much, much more on the feel of the game. There are a lot of other variables to consider - not just what the current score is. I think it's like chess. You have to think ahead to how the game has been played and thus may be played for the remainder. So, I say you should almost always go for one until you absolutely need to get two.

But, what you said makes sense. The score was 25-19 after the TD with only 6:10 left. So, missing a 1-point kick doesn't hurt all that much because, providing the defense stops them (which is obviously what Bill B. was counting on), you still win with a TD and an extra point (26-25). So, heck, why not try it?

[cobra commander]

Doug Flutie Is One Of A Kind!!!

[sotampacane]

As long as this is the last I ever have to see that little cancer in a real game then I'm happy he had his last "look at me" moment.

Good riddance Doug. You suck.

[sahlensguy]

A classic from "The Longest Yard" -

Bogdanski: What the hell was that?
Paul Crewe: That was a dropkick.
Bogdanski: Dropkick?
Paul Crewe: Dropkick.
Bogdanski: How much is that worth?
Paul Crewe: Three points.
Bogdanski: Three points?
Paul Crewe: Three points.
Bogdanski: For that? Bull****!

[joelatte]

Originally Posted by joelatte
Leave it to the little guy to pull another rabbit out of the hat.
Huh?


Huh?

Plus he's done it in the CFL where it's not rare by any means.

The Hail Mary pass from his colllege days. You're familiar with Flutie history?

[The REAL Sabres]

The Hail Mary pass from his colllege days. You're familiar with Flutie history?Yes. You said "another" referring to the topic of this thread I assumed.

[DropTheGloves]

When you assume you make an .....:)


That was an amazing play by the magical Flute.