Shead, Seahawks catch Arizona short-handed on blocked punt
Nov 23, 2014, 8:53 PM | Updated: 9:44 pm
DeShawn Shead spoke through a swollen upper lip as he described one of the most significant plays of Seattle’s 19-3 win over Arizona.
His blocked punt in the third quarter helped swing field position and ultimately extend Seattle’s lead, and as he explained afterward, it wasn’t even by design.
“They only lined up 10 guys on the field,” Shead said of the Cardinals’ punt team. “So it wasn’t a called block, it wasn’t a blitz. I seen that they only lined up 10 people so I just took advantage of it. I had nobody to block me so I knew I was going to go in there and block the kick.”
Shead came unblocked off the right edge, and by the time the personal protector could get a hand on him, it was too late. The only thing that didn’t go right for the third-year defensive back on the play was getting kicked in the face by punter Drew Butler on his follow-through.
“I think his foot got up under there and hit me in my lip,” Shead said, “busted my lip.”
The Seahawks took over at Arizona’s 24-yard line and kicked a field goal four plays later to extend their lead to 12-3.
Seattle had called for a punt return as opposed to a block, which meant that Shead broke the huddle thinking he was going to merely try and hold up his man. But that changed when he noticed something wasn’t right – the player that was supposed to be lined up across from him wasn’t on the field.
“I didn’t say nothing to anybody,” he said. “I just knew that I was going to go ahead and try to get a block.”
He did, and he came away with a token of his first career blocked punt.
“I’ll take a busted lip for a blocked punt any day of the week,” he said.