The 2011 season has been full of surprises for kickers. Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey had his own coach ice him, and Billy Cundiff booted the worst kick of his career with a Super Bowl appearance on the line.
Now enter Lawrence Tynes. Consider the roller coaster of emotions the Scotsman experienced at the end of Sunday night's Super Bowl. Tynes' Giants, down 17-15, stormed down the field to enter the red zone in the waning minutes. With the Patriots down to one timeout, the Giants had the opportunity to run out the clock and set Tynes up for a chip-shot winner.
He stayed calm on the sidelines.
"I'm just sticking to my routine and you know what, it was at the end of the game, I was approaching it just like I was the two kicks in the third quarter," Tynes said.
The Giants entertained the idea of staying out of the end zone until the final play while advancing the ball as far as the half-yard line. With second and goal on the 6-yard line, Eli Manning handed the ball off to Ahmad Bradshaw.
"I thought Ahmad was gonna take the knee," Tynes said. "That would have been pretty sweet if he kneed it."
Tynes would have, in all likelihood, kicked a game-winning pooch shot and been the hero. Instead, he watched Bradshaw accidentally fall into the end zone. The Patriots had backed off Bradshaw on purpose, and his momentum brought him into the end zone.
"It was like he wanted to [knee it] and then he just fell forward," Tynes said.
The Patriots' plan to let the Giants into the end zone worked, and the ball went back into Tom Brady’s hands. The Giants' defense held firm and contained Brady in the final minute for a 21-17 win.
Tynes made light of the situation.
"I'll be honest with you, that was the right play because you give Tom Brady the ball ... all they need was a field goal if we kicked a field goal, so I think you score right there a touchdown," he said.
Come on, it would have been nice to have been the hero, right? Tynes probably does not care. He's got a second ring.
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