K.Parrish kicks 66 yards from JAX 35 to NYJ -1. K. Wilson to NYJ 23 for 24 yards (J. Stanford).
Reading that description in the play-by-play of Saturday's Jets-Jaguars game, you're likely thinking, "Just another play on special teams."
But sometimes, knowing who kicked it, who returned it, and the details of the yardage are simply not enough.
This special teams play was truly special.
With just over one minute left on the clock in the first half, CB Kyle Wilson was back deep for the Jets, ready to catch the kickoff, accelerate downfield and quickly find a hole to sprint through.
LB Nick Bellore and CB Darrin Walls were two of the 10 guys assigned the task of blocking for Wilson.
Walls dashed straight down the right side of the field and forced a Jaguars player toward the sideline.
"He's supposed to make this guy change his angle down the field," head coach Rex Ryan explained to the media as he broke down some game video following Monday's midday practice.
Meanwhile, Bellore crossed the field from left to right and eagerly waited for his moment to crush an unsuspecting Jacksonville special teamer.
Running full steam, our No. 54 found their No. 54, LB Andy Studebaker, and delivered a hammering blow to the linebacker, resulting in a pancake block.
It was one of those hits that words simply cannot do justice.
"That's awesome when you can hit someone like that," Bellore said. "It's just a clean play. It's what we all look for."
Bellore on that play is called "the trapper." And after watching the trap set for Studebaker, it's easy to understand why.
"It usually has the potential for a pretty big play if it's run right," the third-year LB said. "It's a group effort for something like that to happen. We have guys setting up the blocks. Everything has to align to be able to line someone up like that, so that worked out well."
Pounding the opposition on special teams has become Nick Bellore's specialty since joining the Green & White as an undrafted free agent out of Central Michigan in 2011.
"I have to set the tone on special teams," he said. "That's my job description, and it has been the last two years, so that's what I'm doing to be on the team year in and year out."
While the majority of Bellore's contributions are expected to continue to come from special teams plays, however, the recent ankle injury to LB Quinton Coples could lead to some additional playing time on defense.
Bellore plays inside linebacker while Coples plays on the outside, but "Everything is kind of a chain reaction," he said. "Guys who are special teamers with a little bit of defense, our job is to be ready when something like that happens, as unfortunate as it is."
He's ready to step up from a special teams player "with a little bit of defense" into a special teams player with a lot of defense, if given the chance.
"I feel more and more comfortable every year, and obviously it's the third year in the system so things are really starting to click," Bellore said. "We have a lot of good vets that will teach you little things that you can't necessarily find in the playbook. Everything has been going well." Just as the veterans are teaching the young linebacker some things that won't show up in the playbook, the game video teaches us some things that won't appear in the play-by-play. Like Bellore's backbreaking block.
