Question about field goals...

[Bluefoot]

The aforementioned NFL play happened on a Monday Night during the 2002 season. Denver tried a very long field goal, only because it was the last play of the 1st half and it was kicked by Jason Elam. Baltimore's Chris McAllsiter caught the short kick 2 yards in front of the goalpost and brought it out while Denver stood around. Ray Lewis leveled a devistating block to spring his returner free for a 108 yard TD return of a missed FG - the longest play in NFL history.
The old Baltimore Colts in the 1950's used to have a tall receiver, namded RC Owens, who was famous for catching "Alley Oop" passes, ala Randy Moss, that were thrown up high - for grabs. A few times, he was stationed in front of the goal posts on opponents long FG attempts to return missed kicks. A very few times, he was able to jump up and knock the ball to keep it from going over the crossbar - a "blocked" FG. However, now, NFL rules prohibit this practice. A defender could, however, bat a FG attempt (from his end zone) over the crossbar, and the kick would be good. I don't know why someone would do this, but in theory, one could kick a very long successful FG if the defense "helped" him get the ball over the goal in this manner.