Tag: Danny Crossman

Dolphins turning to rookie Malik Washington to handle return duties

With Braxton Berrios done for the year, the Dolphins are turning to Malik Washington to make plays in the return game.

The Miami Dolphins will be without Braxton Berrios for the rest of 2024, but they’re hoping sixth-round rookie Malik Washington can provide a spark in return game instead.

“He did a good job in the preseason, got a good history,” Dolphins special teams coordinator Danny Crossman said of Washington on Thursday.  “Sadly, with Braxton getting injured, we felt really off to a strong year in the return game and decision-making and some of the things that he was able to do. But with Malik and some of the other guys that we’ve talked about over the years, we think we still have some quality players on the roster.”

Washington, 23, returned four kickoffs and 10 punts in preseason, averaging 28.8 yards on kick returns and 8.4 yards on punts. That included a 45-yard kick return and a 28-yard punt return during the Dolphins’ preseason finale against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

However, that yardage was largely picked up against backup special teamers and Washington muffed the first punt kicked his way in August. It wouldn’t be surprising if there are growing pains for the rookie, who is tasked with replacing a sixth-year veteran who once earned All-Pro honors.

Behind Washington on the depth chart for kick return duties is running back De’Von Achane, who returned one kick for 32 yards in Week 3 against the Seattle Seahawks.

The Dolphins also have Tyreek Hill, who earned All-Pro honors as a rookie for his return skills, but hasn’t returned a kickoff in nearly eight years.

“I’m washed up in that department, bro. For real, I’m done,” Hill said with a laugh. “No, if the team needs me to go back there and return punts, obviously I’ll go back there. In critical situations I’m always trying to get the ball in my hands. I always want to be that playmaker. That’s just my mindset so for the past few weeks I’ve been practicing catching punts anyways, so if my number is called, I’m going to go back there.”

For now, though, it’s Washington who will be tasked with keeping the Dolphins, who rank fourth in average punt return yards and 13th in kick return average, on track.

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New Dolphins CB Siran Neal explains why he signed with the team

Here’s why Siran Neal chose to sign with the Dolphins.

The Miami Dolphins have been ferociously signing free agents over the last few weeks to fill some of the large holes that were left by players who were leaving the team this offseason.

One of the recently signed free agents is cornerback Siran Neal, who will mostly be making an impact on the third unit of the game – special teams.

According to ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques, Neal ranks 12th in special teams tackles and first in special teams forced fumbles since he entered the league in 2018.

Why did Neal, who the numbers show has been one of the best gunners in the league, decide to sign with Miami?

“The decision to sign with the Dolphins – basically with the NFL, it can be a little tricky,” Neal said. “It’s all built off relationships. Coming from Buffalo, I love Buffalo, shoutout to Buffalo for everything they gave me throughout the past six years. It furthered our relationship. Just getting the opportunity to come down and talk to Danny (Crossman) about everything, he was more excited to have me than I’ve ever seen before. When I came through the door, his face lit up. That’s one thing he did as soon as I walked into the door. I just knew he saw me that he was happy to see me. He did everything in his willpower to have me. That’s one thing I loved about it.

“Once I saw that, I knew if he would go to war for me, when it’s time for the kickoff or it is time for the season to start or even during OTAs when we have to report back, I’m going to do whatever I have to do to fight for him.”

Crossman and Neal have a relationship that goes back a while, as they were both in Buffalo in 2018. At the time, Neal was just a rookie, and Crossman was in his final season as the team’s special teams coordinator.

While it was only one year, it’s clear that Crossman made an impact on the cornerback.

“Danny is my boy,” Neal said. “I had Danny my rookie year when I came in with Buffalo. Danny is really a passionate coach too as well. He really loves the game. He really loves being that coach and really loves his players. That’s one thing that me and Danny over the years, we kept in contact and kept a close relationship through this whole process. Every time we played him, like I told him yesterday, I always wanted to make him smile and see what he’s going to say at the end of the game. That’s one thing that I took under my sleeve. I knew every time I played him, he was going to give me his best and I was going to give him my best.”

At this point, Miami’s top two gunners on the roster last year, Justin Bethal and Keion Crossen (who missed all of 2023 with an injury), are still free agents. If the Dolphins don’t bring one of them back, there may be a lot of pressure on Neal to perform in his role, but he’s going to be ready for the challenge with the backing of his coordinator.

Mike McDaniel says firing special teams coordinator Danny Crossman ‘never really crossed his mind’

He was kept on-staff while Josh Boyer was let go.

Throughout the 2022 campaign, the Miami Dolphins struggled in a number of areas, including punt/kickoff returns and field-goal kicking.

Jason Sanders finished the season making 81.3% of his field goal attempts and a career-low 93.2% extra-point percentage. Miami, as a team, was also tied for the worst punt-return average in the league (5.8 yards per attempt and second-worst in kickoff-return average (18.9).

With all that said, the Dolphins retained special teams coordinator Danny Crossman for the 2023 season.

At this year’s combine, head coach Mike McDaniel said that firing Crossman “never really crossed my mind.”

On a positive note, Thomas Morstead’s punting unit, despite being in the bottom 10 in attempts, was tied for ninth in punts downed inside the 20-yard-line.

Crossman and Sanders are both entering 2023 with clear things they need to fix, but, for now, they have the confidence of their head coach.

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Special teams coordinator Danny Crossman is staying with the Dolphins

There will be continuity in at least one phase of the game.

New Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel is continuing to build his staff just days after being hired for the job.

According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Dolphins special teams coordinator and assistant head coach Danny Crossman will remain with the team in his at least his special teams coordinator role. This is just the second hire to McDaniel’s staff, as Crossman joins tight ends coach Jon Embree.

Crossman has been with the Dolphins since 2019 but has been a special teams coordinator in the NFL since 2007. Miami had one of their less stellar seasons on special teams, including kicker Jason Sanders’ drop in field goal accuracy from converting 92% of the time in 2020 to 74% in 2021, which was the fourth-worst for any team.

Hopefully, Miami’s punting, kicking, and returning units can turn it around in 2022 now that Crossman has received a vote of confidence from his new coach.

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Bills see big improvement in Rick Gosselin’s special teams rankings

Buffalo Bills special teams unit sees big improvement in 2019 NFL season.

It appears Heath Farwell’s hiring paid off for the Buffalo Bills.

Sports Illustrated’s Rick Gosselin, a highly-respected special teams analyst of 47 years conducts a review of the NFL’s 32 specialist units each season, rankings them 1-32.

In 2019, the Bills finished in the No. 12 spot with 341 total points. While outside the top-10, it’s a massive improvement from 2018. Last year in Danny Crossman’s final year as the Bills special teams coordinator, Buffalo was ranked second-last.

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