Cleveland Browns: Shades of Jim Thorpe, Scottish Hammer brings back drop kick
When the Cleveland Browns needed an onside kick, they turned to Jamie Gillan who brought the drop kick back to the NFL
Almost unnoticed, Jamie Gillan of the Cleveland Browns is bringing the drop kick back to American football. It happened first versus the Patriots when the Browns needed an onside kick. Gillan drop-kicked the ball instead of using a tee and the Browns almost recovered the ball.
If you are under age 90, you may have never seen a dropkick at any level of competition. To attempt a drop kick, the team lines up in field goal formation, but without the holder. The kicker lines up like a punter and catches the hiked ball from the center. He then drops the ball and kicks it as it hits the turf or a split second afterward.
The tactical advantage is that Gillan is a rugby player and is inherently an expert in drop kicking. He can put a crazy spin on the ball making it very difficult to catch. Plus he can go either left or right, and thus the defense is not able to know where the ball is going until the last split second. This could be a fantastic play and might allow the Browns to recover an onsides kick or two.
Related Story. Gillan wins Special Teams Player of the Month. light
In rugby, drop kicks are used for the kick-off to start the half or after scores, but the coolest thing is that players can actually drop kick the ball on the run in order to score a drop goal, worth three points. hoot, Gillan probably figures that American football is too easy because the ball is held on a tee for him. Where’s the challenge in that?
Jim Thorpe was one of the most famous players to use the drop kick in the 1920s. Thorpe and other star kickers were able to drop kick field goals from 50 yards away. Fans are invited to try it and report back to DPD on the results. It’s not easy.
The drop kick faded away circa 1934 when the NFL changed the shape of the ball to make it more pointed. It was easier to pass, but harder to drop kick. Hence the drop kick faded into oblivion.
On occasion, players have tried it on a broken play. On November 28, 1948, Joe Vetrano of the San Francisco 49ers drop kicked an extra point after a muffed snap against our Browns. The next successful kick was 57 years later, on New Year’s Day of 2006 when Bill Belichick let Doug Flutie made a drop kick for an extra point in honor of his impending retirement at age 43.
Justin Tucker of the Ravens actually deserves credit for being the first to resurrect the drop kick in an actual game, Week 3 versus Kansas City. Some Ravens fan will undoubtedly complain that your humble correspondent should devote more time crediting Tucker rather than Gillan.
Well, probably so, but this is a Browns publication, so ask your own fanzine authors to write about Tucker. We’re going to talk about the Browns and the Scottish Hammer.
The funny thing is that John Harbaugh worked with the NFL and the officials to make sure it was legal, and it was permitted during the game, but the NFL later ruled that some aspect was illegal. We don’t know what the Browns have done differently to make it legal, or perhaps they will get flagged next time.
However, traditionalists should love this. This is a classic play from the NFL’s earliest history, and if Gillan and other kickers can find a way to bring it back, they should definitely be allowed.
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Leave it to the Scottish Hammer to find a way to import the drop kick to America.