INDIANAPOLIS — Brian Mason has a reputation for blocking punts.
The Colts special teams coordinator has always had a knack for it, dating back to his days as a college coordinator at Cincinnati and Notre Dame.
Mason is excellent at identifying a weakness, building a pressure to attack that weakness and unleashing his rushers to get to the punter for a huge play.
Which is what made Segun Olubi’s game-changing block against the Raiders on Sunday so unique.
“Getting the punt block was not some special, designed thing,” Mason said. “They got in a nontraditional punt formation.”
A typical punt formation includes two wings off the ball and a personal protector in the middle of the formation.
Las Vegas lined up without a wing on the right side of the formation, where Olubi is an edge rusher for Indianapolis.
“They just got into something weird, and we wanted to make sure we protected ourselves in the best way possible,” Olubi said. “Being able to identify where they might be weak and capitalize on that.”
The Raiders had shown the look on film four times before. Based on its own research, Las Vegas likely knew the Colts would come with a block at that spot on the field, and the gimmick formation is a way to dissuade a punt team from sending pressure.
It also left the Raiders vulnerable to Olubi.
“I just knew that the guy that was supposed to block me, where his coach had put him, that was a tough spot,” Olubi said.
Raiders tight end Ian Thomas was on that side of the line.
He wasn’t in a tough spot to block Olubi. Instead, Thomas faced a task that was almost impossible. Olubi has been a critical member of the Indianapolis kicking game for years, and he attacked Raiders punter AJ Cole with a ferocity that was impossible to overcome.
“Segun had a teach-tape, perfect get-off wide on the edge,” Mason said. “He was able to dip, so, it made it really difficult for that wing to be able to block him from the angle that they were at. He won his one-on-one matchup.”
A simple way to get arguably the most game-changing play of Sunday’s win.
Before Olubi’s block, the Raiders looked like they might make it a fight, if not a victory for the Colts.
Olubi got the offense rolling.
And once it started, Las Vegas didn’t have any way to stop it.
Joel A. Erickson covers the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Segun Olubi’s blocked punt changed the game vs the Raiders
