I wonder if this was a Fassel thing or idea? What else does he have up his sleeve?
Zuerlein and Fassel have been working on this kick for seven years now.
It became something they have been perfecting because of the new rule changes.
The slow roller allows your players to be involved in a risky and unpredictable play because the ball is never so far down the field that your players are not near the opportunity.
A slow roller let's your players be close to the ball. Even if the defender tries to pounce on the ball because the ball never outpaces a defender off the line you still have a chance on a muff or a pouncing tackle to get the ball loose.
If you look at the mechanics and understand the variables this is a brilliant drawn up onside kick.
The "k" has less friction with the turf so spin is optimize.
It's on turf (very important for predictability) at a home field so its has been practiced ad nauseum so its basically a "putt" that Greg has been able to practice from the same two spots over and over again depending on which side of the field the opponent is defending.
It's like practicing the same putt over and over on the carpet of your house. You get a feel for the spin, the action and the amount you have to kick it to slowly roll ten yards.
Critical elements of the kick:
1. Slow enough for your players to stay with it if there is a play under ten yards.
2. On turf for predictability.
3. Must go at least ten yards if untouched.
4. Something that many have not seen before so you end up staring at it like it's a novelty.
5. Must be performed with new "k" balls so you get good action and uniform predictability.
6. Your team gets to practice it over and over again because its such a simple and predictable kick to recreate.
I know some have promoted the pound the sucker as hard as you can approach, but you have to acknowledge that that type of kick is surrendering to unpredictable outcomes because it is hard to recreate the same mechanics and results in practice over and over again.
Great job by Fassel, Zuerlein and Goodwin. Planning and practice in this case made perfect.