Brenden Schooler justified his spot on the New England Patriots' roster and then some Sunday night.
The second-year safety plays exclusively on special teams for the Patriots, but he's very good at his job -- as he demonstrated with a highlight-reel field goal block against the Miami Dolphins on NBC's "Sunday Night Football."
As Miami's Jason Sanders attempted a 49-yard field goal late in the third quarter, Schooler sprinted along the line of scrimmage and timed his rush perfectly to scream around the edge and block the kick.
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It was a unique play design and perfect execution by Schooler, who admitted the team practiced the block attempt in practice earlier in the week.
"(Special teams coaches Joe) Judge, (Joe) Houston, and Cam (Achord), they dialed up a really good scheme for that block and saw a weak point on their field goal operation," Schooler said after the game. "We worked it during the week and felt pretty confident about it going into the game."
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Schooler attempted the same play again in the fourth quarter, and while he didn't get the block, Sanders may have heard footsteps, because he missed the 55-yard attempt.
"Once you get a block like that, it's hard for anybody to kind of dial in and stay focused," Schooler added. "So, once you get pressure on a kicker like that, it’s a little bit easier to get him rattled."
If you give Schooler credit for Sanders missing the 55-yarder, the special teamer helped swing six points in New England's favor on Sunday night. The Patriots couldn't capitalize, however, failing to score any points following the blocked kick and the Sanders miss in their 24-17 loss.
Still, Schooler's efforts earned him "Stock Up" recognition in Phil Perry's "Stock Watch" report for Week 2. See below for the six players/position groups featured in Perry's Week 2 Stock Watch, and check out the video above for Perry's full breakdown of each player.
Stock Up
- Brenden Schooler, ST
- Christian Gonzalez, CB
- Hunter Henry, TE
Stock Down
- Patriots offensive line
- Patriots defensive line
- Demario Douglas, WR