Falcons saved by smooth kicking operation, Younghoe Koo’s game-winning kicks

“It’s definitely a process because I have my own routine,” long snapper Liam McCullough said. “Bradley has his own routine, and Koo has his own routine. We have to work those three separate routines together into one routine to put the ball through the uprights.”

McCullough has a pre-snap process that requires him to line up and get set. Then get his hands set around the football and set his feet.

“Making sure my target line is set for Bradley,” McCullough said. “Then of course, that I give him a good location on the snap to make his job easy. Make sure the laces are out for him. Then he’s got to get the ball down the way that Koo likes it.”

After all of that goes into the snap, Pinion has to execute his role.

“There’s a lot of the trust factor that’s involved between me, Liam and Koo,” Pinion said. “We rely on each other to get our jobs right. I have to rely on Liam to get me a good snap with good rotation and laces out. Koo has to rely on me to hit the spot with the correct lean and everything along those lines. Then we both trust Koo that he’s going to put it through the uprights.”

They are ready to adjust if necessary.

“If any one of us messes up, we have to make up for the other person,” Pinion said. “It’s all about an in-unison (trio). There is a lot of practice. There’s a lot of trust that’s built between the three of us. When we go out there, we rely on each other to get those jobs done.”

During the opening media portion of practice, the trio stretches and warms up with the team. Then they retreat to the faraway field to refine their mechanics.

“It’s every day,” Pinion said. “Every time where Koo kicks, me and Liam are working on our part of the operation. It’s just the fine little details. Whether it’s getting the spot right or the direction of the snap. Whatever it might be. It’s just those little details that really make a unit great.”

The Falcons really would be reeling if not for the field-goal operation. Koo has made three game-winning kicks this season.

He booted a 25-yard field in the final minute to lift the Falcons to a 25-24 win over Green Bay on Sept. 17, a 37-yard field goal at the buzzer to defeat the Texans 21-19 on Oct. 8 and a 51-yard field goal to give the Falcons a 16-13 win over Tampa Bay on Oct. 22.

“It’s been a journey, but at the end of the day, all I wanted was an opportunity,” Koo said. “It is nice to have some stability in this unit where can actually build that trust over time and know what to expect. If there is something going on, we can refine it further and try to get to that perfection as much as possible.”

Overall, Koo has made 20 of 21 field-goal attempts, including all three from 50 yards or more.

“We talk about one-play down, and that play is directly correlated to us putting points up on the board,” Falcons special-teams coordinator Marquice Williams said. “It starts with our snapper making sure that he has the right velocity on the snaps.”

The Falcons study video of every kick.

“They’re not always perfect,” Williams said. “So, we’re always looking at the process, we’re looking at each individual technique, and what I appreciate about all three of those guys is that they are very transparent when it comes to the operation.”

Falcons coach Arthur Smith enjoys having a smooth operation and a clutch kicker.

“Yeah, it’s huge because we’ve seen he’s come up big in times when his number is called,” Smith said.”

Smith recounted the final stages of the wins over Green Bay, Houston and Tampa Bay.

“Technically (we) weren’t in the red zone when we got down there to win in Tampa, but that is a huge benefit,” Smith said. “He’s a very good player and a big part of this team. He’s a reason why we win a lot of times.”

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