Australian punter Michael Dickson puts NFL in a spin after using rugby-style drop kick
Australian rookie punter Michael Dickson has continued to amaze the NFL by introducing a drop kick to American football.
Dickson, playing for Seattle Seahawks against Chicago Bears, stunned the crowd at Chicagoâs Soldier Field and an audience of 10 million American TV viewers on the Monday Night Football broadcast (local time) when he was called on to perform a drop kick kick-off.
ESPN commentators Joe Tessitore and Jason Witten were left scratching their heads watching the Sydney-raised Dickson.
âA drop kick kick-off?â Tessitore asked.
âWe are going to send our stat folks into overdrive here, but Iâm going to put it out there.
âYou tell me the last time you ever saw a drop kick kick-off in the NFL?â
âI donât know if itâs ever happened, Joe,â Witten, a star tight end for Dallas Cowboys for 15 years, replied.
The Seahawksâ 19-season veteran kicker Sebastian Janikowski usually kicks off and uses a tee, but coach Pete Carroll is known for using non-traditional methods.
Carroll gambled with Dicksonâs method, which is common in the rugby codes and almost extinct in Australian rules football.
Dicksonâs first went deep into the Bearsâ territory.
With just 14 seconds to go in the game and the Seahawks needing a touchdown to tie, the Australian attempted a short drop kick, hoping his team would recover, however the Bears held on for a 24-17 win.
âFake punt drop kick field goal next??â
Twitter lit up during the match following Dicksonâs drop kick, while the 22-year-old had some fun replying to tweets.
Fake punt drop kick field goal next??
â Michael Dickson (@mdcksn) September 18, 2018
https://twitter.com/SpikeFriedman/status/1041887999502368768
Dickson, who was labelled a potential rookie of the season even before making his NFL debut, led all punters after his maiden appearance last week against Denver Broncos with 57.5 yards net average per punt.
He continued that form early against the Bears with booming pinpoint 40, 54, 53 and 55-yard efforts in his first four punts.
Midway through the second quarter against the Bears, he showed he was human when he shanked his fifth punt and it only travelled 10 yards over the sideline.
Drop kicks are particularly effective when used for field goals in rugby league and union.
This was illustrated only last Saturday when South Sydneyâs Adam Reynolds landed three field goals in the Rabbitohsâ thrilling 13-12 NRL semi-final win over St George Illawarra.
Legendary. đđđ
Re-live all three thrilling field goals by Adam Reynolds.#9WWOS pic.twitter.com/TuxHyEgZS8
â Wide World of Sports (@wwos) September 16, 2018
Dickson, a former Sydney Swans Academy member, had seven punts for an average of 36.9 yards. He was drafted by the Seahawks in the fifth round of this yearâs NFL draft.
He earned All-American honours as punter with the University of Texas in US collegiate football last year.
âABC
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