The Green Bay Packers offense has been in search of consistency through three games, but unlike in past seasons, the play of the punt coverage unit hasn’t been magnifying those mistakes or missed opportunities by the offense. Instead, they’ve been putting the defense in positions to be successful.
The success behind the Packers punt coverage unit, of course, begins with punter Pat O’Donnell. In three games, O’Donnell is ranked ninth in punting average and second with nine punts inside the 20-yard line, and he has just one touchback per PFF.
But also playing key roles in this unit’s success are gunners (or fliers as Rich Bisaccia calls them) Rudy Ford and Keisean Nixon, which was on full display in Tampa Bay this past Sunday.
“You guys can feel those guys getting down there, both Keisean (Nixon) and Rudy (Ford),” LaFleur said of the punt team’s fliers via SI. “They can cover up a lot of … mistakes in your coverage lanes, fanning the field. They forced a lot of fair catches. Obviously, Pat had an amazing day punting the football. Just their ability to get down and win their one-on-ones or win a double-team on the outside made a huge difference in our punt unit.”
As LaFleur mentions, Ford and Nixon’s ability to get downfield with their speed and beat the jammers has helped erase some issues with lane integrity in coverage. It has also resulted in a number of fair catches, which obviously doesn’t even allow the return man the opportunity to pick up yardage.
Ford forced three fair catches in Tampa Bay, and Nixon downed a punt at the 2-yard line.
Currently, the Packers punt coverage unit has forced six fair catches, which is tied for the second most in the NFL. Out of seven punts by O’Donnell on Sunday, Bucs return man Jaelon Darden had only three return attempts. Overall, the 8.3 yards per return that this coverage unit has allowed ranks 14th.
The value of this was evident against the Bucs. In a close game where both offenses struggled to move the ball, one miscue from the punt coverage unit could have flipped the field position battle and been the difference between winning and losing. It’s certainly fair to question whether or not the Packers win a game like this last season, given their special teams issues.
Changes to the special teams unit as a whole began with the hiring of Rich Bisaccia, but we’ve also seen how the organization views special teams shift as well. Prior to the regular season beginning, GM Brian Gutekunst mentioned that the Packers went “out of character” this offseason in an effort to improve the special teams unit.
What he meant by this was in the past, the Packers had prioritized offensive and defensive contributions when making additions. But this offseason, the Packers made several special teams specific additions, or in other words, signing players whose primary responsibilities come on special teams.
Both Ford and Nixon are examples of this, as is Dallin Leavitt, who is tied for second on the team in special teams snaps while playing on four different units, and he’s also tied for the team lead in tackles.
From Week 1 to Week 2 to Week 3, we’ve seen improvements from the Packers’ special teams unit overall, and collectively as a group, they rank 14th by DVOA – a far cry from where they’ve been ranked in previous years.
If the Packers are going to rely more heavily on their defense to lead them to victory this season, that group also has to be put in positions to be successful. And for the most part, the punt coverage unit has done just that.
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