You never think about the holder unless things go wrong. Logan Cooke flipped the narrative in Week 5 vs. the Eagles.
In the National Football League, there are a few positions that fans do not even think about until something bad happens.
Holding for place kicks is one of those positions.
That is considered a routine part of the game, almost an automated task you could imagine pulling off yourself while watching games from your couch. But it is a lot harder than it looks, and there are a lot of moving parts. From making sure the field goal unit is set, to catching the snap cleanly, to placing the ball down on the right spot and spinning the laces away from the kicker, and finally getting the angle of teh ball right based on the kicker’s personal preference.
It is also something I did for four years in college, so I know what it looks like when it goes right … and how it looks when everything goes haywire.
That brings me to Jacksonville Jaguars punter — and holder — Logan Cooke, who had a starring role in Jacksonville’s stunning 19-17 win on Sunday.
Jacksonville lost long snapper Ross Matiscik to a shoulder injury early in Sunday’s game in London against the Philadelphia Eagles. That forced Liam Coen and the Jacksonville coaching staff to turn to defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton to handle the snapping duties against the Eagles.
While Hamilton’s first long snap Sunday, on a punt, was perfect things were less accurate after that.
Before diving into these clips, let’s talk about the holding operation. Cooke holds for Cam Little, a right-footed kicker. What happens before the snap is this: Cooke will take his spot around seven yards behind the ball, get into his stance, put his left hand down to mark where the ball will be placed, and then brace his left elbow against his left leg as a guide. Cooke does this so that after he catches the snap, he brings the ball back with both hands and the left leg stops that movement, enabling him to place the ball where Little expects it.
You can see that in the image below, as Cooke has his left elbow pinned to the inside of his left leg, waiting for the snap. In a clean operation he’ll catch the snap, pull the ball back with both hands, drive his left elbow into his left leg to guide him, place the ball down with his left hand, and spin it with his right to get the laces out:
That’s when everything goes as it should.
But when it does not, the holder needs to work a little magic.
Following a Jacksonville touchdown Hamilton, Cooke, and the Jaguars field goal unit came into the game to attempt the extra point. Hamilton’s snap was high, but watch how Cooke is able to catch the snap, get the ball placed and then … GET HIS LEFT FOOT OUT OF THE WAY BEFORE CAM LITTLE KICKS IT:
Even though Cooke has to adjust to catch the high snap, he gets the ball down where Little is expecting it. However, the adjustment Cooke makes to catch the snap moves his left foot a bit, and into the path of Little’s swing. So Cook lifts that foot up a bit, giving Little a clear path to the football.
On a field goal attempt later in the game, a similar situation played out: A high snap, a great adjustment from Cooke, and a final move with his left foot to clear the path for Little:
Here is a better look at it:
The kicking operation did seem to impact how Coen handled some fourth-down decisions on Sunday. At the end of the half the Jaguars faced a 4th-and-goal from the Philadelphia 1-yard line, and rather than try a field goal to make it a 14-10 game, Coen left his offense on the field.
A jet sweep was stopped for a six-yard loss.
Midway through the fourth quarter Jacksonville again faced a 4th-and-goal decision, now trailing 14-10, and Coen kept the offense on the field. A Trevor Lawrence pass fell incomplete.
There was another high snap later in the game, following an incredible touchdown reception from Parker Washington Jr. Hamilton’s snap was high, but Cooke still managed to get the ball down, but the timing may have been off as Little pulled the kick to the left.
That looked for a moment as if it would be a deciding factor in this game, as the Eagles responded with a field goal in the closing minute to take a 17-16 lead. But on the ensuing kickoff, Jaguars returner Ameer Abdullah ripped off a 53-yard return, getting Jacksonville into field goal range for Little.
And giving Cooke one more chance to pull off something special as well.
Once again, Hamilton’s snap was high, but Cooke got the hold down, Little split the uprights, and the Jaguars had a stunning 19-17 win:
But when it comes to Cooke, holding is one of those specialties that you do not think about until you have to. And usually, in those situations, it is because something has gone terribly wrong.
But sometimes, iit is because a holder has dome something rather special.
Like Cooke did Sunday in London.