Icing the kicker
Encyclopedia
In the sport of American football
or Canadian football
, the art of icing the kicker or freezing the kicker is a tactic employed by defending teams to disrupt the process of kicking a field goal just prior to the snap. Typically, either a player or a coach on the defending team will call time out just as the kicker is about to attempt a game-tying or game-winning field goal
. This is intended to distract, frustrate, annoy, and make the kicker nervous, increasing the likelihood of him missing the kick.
One variant of this tactic, attributed to former Denver Broncos
coach Mike Shanahan
, is to call time out from the sidelines just before the ball is snapped. This prevents the kicking team from realizing the kick will not count until after the play is over. However, this has the potential to backfire, as the kicker could miss the first attempt that does not count, or it could be blocked, but he could make the second attempt, as demonstrated in a game between the Arizona Cardinals
and Dallas Cowboys
during the 2008 NFL season
.
Under league rules, a team can only call one time out between plays. Teams that attempt to call two consecutive timeouts are penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct
, and the offense is awarded an automatic first down. This happened in the 2007 NFL season
, when Joe Gibbs
of the Washington Redskins
attempted to call a second timeout in the closing seconds of a game against the Buffalo Bills
. Since only eight seconds remained, and the Bills trailed by just two points, the Bills elected to have Rian Lindell
kick a game-winning field goal from 36 yards; he had made the earlier 51-yarder before the penalty as well.
, and Craig Wood, a biostatistician and the Henry Hood Center for Health Research Pillar Award winner, which was published in 2004 in the journal Chance. Berry and Wood looked at every field-goal attempt made in the 2002 and 2003 NFL seasons, including playoffs, and concluded that, for "pressure kicks" – those made with 3 minutes or less remaining in the game or overtime period which would tie the game up or put the kicking team in the lead – in the 40-55 yard range, icing the kicker caused the percentage of successful attempts to drop by about ten percent for an average kicker on a sunny day. On shorter kicks, the effect was found to be negligible. However, the statistical signficance of the difference found – which amounted to four kicks out of 39 attempts – has been questioned, and an examination by Nick Stamms of STATS, Inc.
found that "pressure kicks" (defined as above except within two minutes, not three) in the NFL regular season from 1991 to 2005 showed an insignificant difference between non-iced kicks (457 out of 637, or 71.7%) and iced kicks (152 out of 211 or 72%).
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
or Canadian football
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
, the art of icing the kicker or freezing the kicker is a tactic employed by defending teams to disrupt the process of kicking a field goal just prior to the snap. Typically, either a player or a coach on the defending team will call time out just as the kicker is about to attempt a game-tying or game-winning field goal
Field goal (football)
A field goal in American football and Canadian football is a goal that may be scored during general play . Field goals may be scored by a placekick or the now practically extinct drop kick.The drop kick fell out of favor in 1934 when the shape of the ball was changed...
. This is intended to distract, frustrate, annoy, and make the kicker nervous, increasing the likelihood of him missing the kick.
One variant of this tactic, attributed to former Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
coach Mike Shanahan
Mike Shanahan
Michael Edward "Mike" Shanahan is the 28th and current head coach of the Washington Redskins of the National Football League. Shanahan also holds the title of Vice President of Football Operations with the Redskins, giving him full control over player personnel with the team. Shanahan previously...
, is to call time out from the sidelines just before the ball is snapped. This prevents the kicking team from realizing the kick will not count until after the play is over. However, this has the potential to backfire, as the kicker could miss the first attempt that does not count, or it could be blocked, but he could make the second attempt, as demonstrated in a game between the Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
during the 2008 NFL season
2008 NFL season
The 2008 NFL season was the 89th regular season of the National Football League, themed with the slogan "Believe in Now."Super Bowl XLIII, the league's championship game, was at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on February 1, 2009, with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming out victorious over the...
.
Under league rules, a team can only call one time out between plays. Teams that attempt to call two consecutive timeouts are penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct
Unsportsmanlike conduct
Unsportsmanlike conduct is a foul or offense in many sports that is not necessarily a violation of the respective sport's rules of play, but violates the sport's generally accepted rules of sportsmanship and/or participant conduct...
, and the offense is awarded an automatic first down. This happened in the 2007 NFL season
2007 NFL season
The 2007 NFL season was the 88th regular season of the National Football League.Regular-season play was held from September 6 to December 30....
, when Joe Gibbs
Joe Gibbs
Joe Jackson Gibbs is a former American football coach, NASCAR Championship team owner, and two time NHRA Pro Stock team owner. He was the 20th and 26th head coach in the history of the Washington Redskins...
of the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
attempted to call a second timeout in the closing seconds of a game against the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Since only eight seconds remained, and the Bills trailed by just two points, the Bills elected to have Rian Lindell
Rian Lindell
Rian Lindell is an American football placekicker for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. He was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2000...
kick a game-winning field goal from 36 yards; he had made the earlier 51-yarder before the penalty as well.
Effectiveness
A study was undertaken by Scott Berry, a statistician and the former chairman of the Statistics in Sports section of the American Statistical AssociationAmerican Statistical Association
The American Statistical Association , is the main professional US organization for statisticians and related professions. It was founded in Boston, Massachusetts on November 27, 1839, and is the second oldest, continuously operating professional society in the United States...
, and Craig Wood, a biostatistician and the Henry Hood Center for Health Research Pillar Award winner, which was published in 2004 in the journal Chance. Berry and Wood looked at every field-goal attempt made in the 2002 and 2003 NFL seasons, including playoffs, and concluded that, for "pressure kicks" – those made with 3 minutes or less remaining in the game or overtime period which would tie the game up or put the kicking team in the lead – in the 40-55 yard range, icing the kicker caused the percentage of successful attempts to drop by about ten percent for an average kicker on a sunny day. On shorter kicks, the effect was found to be negligible. However, the statistical signficance of the difference found – which amounted to four kicks out of 39 attempts – has been questioned, and an examination by Nick Stamms of STATS, Inc.
STATS, Inc.
STATS LLC is a global sports statistics and information company – the company name originated as an acronym for "Sports Team Analysis and Tracking Systems". It was founded on April 30, 1981 by John Dewan, who became the company's CEO...
found that "pressure kicks" (defined as above except within two minutes, not three) in the NFL regular season from 1991 to 2005 showed an insignificant difference between non-iced kicks (457 out of 637, or 71.7%) and iced kicks (152 out of 211 or 72%).