CHARLOTTE — Surely St. Louis head coach Mike Martz couldn’t take credit for the Rams’ latest act of trickery, could he?
St. Louis led Carolina 14-10 on Sunday with less than a minute remaining in the first half when then Panthers lined up for a 47-yard field goal.
What transpired next could seemingly happen only to the Panthers. And occur only for the Rams.
The snap flew over the holder’s outstretched arms, a Rams defender picked up the ball and ran for 15 yards, then pitched to his teammate, who sprinted the final 29 yards for a momentum-swinging touchdown 41 seconds before intermission.
“We practiced that all week,” Martz joked after the game. “Aren’t I a good coach?”
Martz certainly is, but for a change, this eye-catching play had three central characters, and none were members of the Rams’ offense.
Todd Sauerbrun, Carolina’s punter, had been a bright spot in a season full of of burned-out bulbs for the Panthers. That is, until Sunday.
Deep-snapper Jason Kyle sent the ball spiraling back to Sauerbrun, who was set to hold for kicker John Kasay at the Ram 37. But the ball slid through Sauerbrun’s fingertips and rolled all the way back to the Carolina 44-yard line.
Sauerbrun raced back to dive on the ball, but he got knocked to the ground. Rams’ defensive back Dré Bly swooped in and soon began his trek toward the end zone.
“I feel like I didn’t do my part,” Sauerbrun said.“I made the low-light reel today, and I’m not proud of it.”
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Bly, a former North Carolina standout, had one thought on his mind once he scooped up the loose ball: score a touchdown.
But before Bly could make it to the end zone, he began to stumble near the 30-yard line. Bly saw Kasay coming in to make the tackle, but he also caught a glimpse of teammate Dexter McCleon out to his right.
“I just wanted to scoop it and get as far as I possibly could,” Bly said.“Once I realized I couldn’t go any farther, I just wanted to lateral it back to Dexter.”
Bly is a self-professed risk taker. In practice a month ago, he picked off a slant pattern and tried to pitch to linebacker London Fletcher before getting tackled.
Fletcher was looking to block for Bly, though, and couldn’t handle the lateral, much to the coaches’ chagrin.
Bly didn’t let that miscue faze him on Sunday.
“That’s me — I have that confidence,”Bly said.“I live and die by taking chances, and it worked out for the good. I was just hoping and praying that Dexter was going to catch the ball.”
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Bly would have never gotten his hands on the ball if not for McCleon’s initial effort. The fifth-year player out of Clemson gave Sauerbrun a firm, two-handed shove in the back to prevent the Panther punter from picking up the loose ball.
McCleon crashed hard to the turf himself as a result.
“I wasn’t even thinking about picking the ball up,” McCleon said. “I just wanted to tackle him or keep the ball alive because I knew my guys were coming.”
McCleon quickly picked himself off the ground and followed Bly’s path, which put him in prime position for a pitch.
Bly’s risk provided a worthy reward for McCleon in the form of his first professional touchdown.
“I got my first NFL touchdown, finally,” McCleon said. “Hopefully it’s a sign of things to come and I can get back there soon.”
If you ask Martz, he can probably figure out a creative way to make that happen.
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Contact Bret Strelow at 704-797-4258 or bstrelow@salisburypost.com
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