Matt Orzech’s snapping was the quiet backbone of Trey Smack’s perfect afternoon.
After a shaky outing the week before, Orzech bounced back in a big way in this seven-kick game, and the difference showed up immediately in the snap-to-hold operation. Even when the ball was aimed a little toward the body, the spin was consistent enough for holder Whelan to catch it by the laces and get it down cleanly. That made for smooth holds, cleaner strikes, and a lot less drama than last week.
The first kick was the closest call of the day. Orzech’s snap was a bit slow, and the snap-to-kick time came in at 1.32 seconds, the slowest of the afternoon.
Karl Brooks [94] widened his arm on the right side, but it didn’t really change the rusher’s path, and the play ended up tighter than it should have been. Orzech’s snap-to-holder time on that one was 0.36 seconds, also his slowest of the day.
From there, the operation settled in.
Kick 2, an extra point, followed the same script: a snap slightly to the body, a clean catch by Whelan, and a good kick. Brooks was a little late off the line on the right side and only got a hand on the nameplate as the rusher flashed by.
The 41-yard field goal on Kick 3 was just as clean, and this one had a little more difficulty built in because it came from the right hash rather than dead center. That meant the ball had to travel slightly back to the left, toward the rusher, but the snap, hold, and kick all stayed steady. The snap-to-holder time was 0.28 seconds, and the snap-to-kick time was 1.24 seconds.
Kick 4, another extra point, was the other real pressure moment. Orzech delivered a great snap and Whelan handled it well, but this time a rusher was able to split Aaron Banks [65] and Anthony Belton [71] and get very close to the block. It was Orzech’s second-slowest snap-to-holder time, and that helped make it a close one.
The next extra point was more routine, though Brooks still had to deal with a rusher dipping past him. He got a hand on the nameplate, but the edge pressure wasn’t enough to matter. The snap-to-kick time was 1.26 seconds, and the snap-to-holder time was 0.30 seconds, which made it tough for the edge to have much of a chance.
Kick 6, a 51-yard field goal, again showed how steady Orzech was with his placement and spin. The ball came to the body of Whelan, who caught it by the laces in the same spot he had been getting all day.
Brooks got a little more of the rusher this time as he tried to dip past, but it still wasn’t close to a block. The snap-to-holder time was 0.28 seconds, and the snap-to-kick time was 1.23 seconds.
By Kick 7, a 38-yard field goal, there was nothing left to worry about. Orzech put down a perfect snap right over the hold point, Whelan handled it cleanly, and Smack finished the day without a miss.
There was no rush left to threaten the play. The Patriots had given up at that point.
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