Tag: Heath Farwell

Jaguars’ special teams coordinator Heath Farwell explains why team cut their kickers on Tuesday

After cutting both of their kickers on Tuesday, Jaguars’ special teams coordinator Heath Farwell explained his choice to start from scratch.

The Jacksonville Jaguars were briefly without the services of a kicker on Tuesday before claiming second-year leg Riley Patterson off waivers on Wednesday. They struggled to find a competent solution to their kicking needs and despite the outstanding play of rookie James McCourt against the Atlanta Falcons last week, the team decided to keep rolling the dice to find a long-term answer at the position.

Special teams coordinator Heath Farwell explained the Jaguars’ decision to continue looking for their next kicker in a press conference on Wednesday, telling reporters that they had been eyeing Patterson from afar for some time.

“They both did a really good job for us,” He said of what he saw from his kickers against Atlanta. “James [ McCourt’ had a good game, had a good practice yesterday, and we still really like where he’s at. Jake [Verity], unfortunately, wasn’t able to finish up exactly what we wanted, but both those guys did a really good job for us. With that being said, part of our job of getting this roster as good as we can is to evaluate other rosters and see what’s best available.

“We had been watching several kicker battles as well as other positions to figure out if we can upgrade our roster in any way. Riley [K Riley Patterson] is a guy that we’ve targeted for a while. He was a guy we were hoping would become available. We are fortunate that he did, and here we are. We’re excited to have him.”

With as many moving pieces as there are in the Jaguars 2022 rebuild, there is some irony in the team’s relentless pursuit of a contributor at the game’s most underrated position. A good kicker has a chance to lead his team in scoring in a given season, and if Jacksonville can find a good one, it might keep them in contention against some of the better opponents on their schedule this season.

Watch for Farwell to keep assessing his options as he tries to get his unit in shape before the regular season starts on September 11th.

Report: Sean McDermott, Heath Farwell disagreed on final kick vs. Chiefs

Report: #Bills’ Sean McDermott, Heath Farwell disagreed on final kick vs. #Chiefs:

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There is still no official word from anyone with the Buffalo Bills as to what happened on the final kickoff against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC postseason.

The Bills were eliminated by the Chiefs despite having the lead in the game with 13 seconds left. As things turned out, Kansas City went on to tie the game in those few ticks of the clock… and then KC won the contest in overtime.

One of the most controversial moments, amongst the numerous that took place in the series of events that unfolded, was the kickoff.

With 13 seconds remaining, Bills kicker Tyler Bass booted the ball in the end zone for a touchback. Buffalo evidently did not opt for a squib kick which likely would have ticked some seconds off the clock.

At least, head coach Sean McDermott did not want to do this.

Reportedly we have some slight context into those seconds  via NFL blog Go Long run by league insider Tyler Dunne.

Speaking to some players anonymously, a laundry list of items were aired out. Via the report, it was said that McDermott wanted the Bills have Bass kick the ball into the end zone.

Heath Farwell, who has since left his post as Buffalo’s special teams coordinator, reportedly wanted Bass to squib kick the ball. There was some sort of disagreement.

A final note via Go Long went on to say that Farwell discussed the situation with McDermott on the sideline then talked to the kick coverage team. But the message never got to Bass to squib it.

While this is an anonymous report from players, it was noticed by onlookers that something like this might have gone on in those few moments.

Siran Neal was a defender on the Bills’ kick coverage team. He was spotted putting his arms in the air wondering what happened when the ball was kicked into the end zone. This does add some weight to the report.

While perhaps Buffalo still doesn’t have full answers as to what happened with the Bills, this might be as close as the team gets to pulling the curtain back.

Publicly, all we’ve heard from McDermott is that “execution” did not happen.

Which amounts to not giving much of an answer at all.

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6 things to know about new Bills special teams coordinator Matthew Smiley

Good hire for the sitcom quota in the #Bills locker room & more: 6 things to know about #Bills ST coordinator Matthew Smiley:

The Buffalo Bills saw Heath Farwell depart the team on Wednesday, taking the same post with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Turns out, they had a replacement in mind.

Quickly after news of Farwell joining the Jags was announced, the Bills promoted Matthew Smiley to be their next special teams coordinator.

With that, here are six things to know about Smiley:

Report: Jaguars hiring Heath Farwell as special teams coordinator

Farwell spent the last three seasons in the same role for the Buffalo Bills.

There were a lot of letdowns from the Urban Meyer experiment, but perhaps one of the greatest was the Jacksonville Jaguars’ struggles in the special teams department in 2021. Meyer’s teams have historically been known for great special teams, but it was a problem last season. New coach Doug Pederson hopes to rectify that, and he’s off to a good start.

According to a report from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Jacksonville has agreed to hire Heath Farwell as the team’s new special teams coordinator, a role he has held for the last three seasons in Buffalo.

A 10-year NFL veteran who played for the Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks as a linebacker and special teams ace, Farwell was a special teams captain during his time in Seattle. His coaching career has exclusively centered around working with special teams, as he was an assistant for the Seahawks and Carolina Panthers before taking on a coordinator role for the Bills.

Under his leadership, Buffalo’s special teams unit has placed in Rick Gosselin’s rankings for the last two seasons. This is a very solid hire for Jacksonville as Pederson continues to flex his connections to build an impressive staff.

Matthew Smiley named Buffalo Bills special teams coordinator

The #Bills already have a replacement at special teams coordinator:

The Buffalo Bills have quickly announced who their new special teams coordinator is.

Only a short time after it was reported that Heath Farwell would be leaving the Bills, Buffalo’s assistant special team coach in Matthew Smiley has been promoted to the coordinator role.

Farwell left the Bills to take the same position with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Check back for updates…

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Heath Farwell leaves Bills to become Jaguars special teams coordinator

Heath Farwell leaves #Bills to become #Jaguars special teams coordinator:

The Buffalo Bills only just found a new offensive coordinator. Now they’ve got to find a someone else to guide their special teams unit.

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Heath Farwell has left the Bills to become the Jacksonville Jaguars’ special teams coordinator. He held that same role with the Bills.

In 2021, the Bills ranked No. 8 in Rick Gosselin’s annual rankings of special teams units. Each year, they are held in high regard, but Farwell leaves a sour taste in the mouths of many in western New York upon his departure.

In the Bills’ disaster finish against the Kansas City Chiefs in the postseason, special teams played a huge role.

Kicker Tyler pass booted the ball out of the end zone for a touchback with 13 second remaining. That left enough time for the Chiefs to roll down the field and tie the game and eventually win it.

Following the season, Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott was clearly in no mood to discuss what went wrong in that special team moment.

Both following the game and during his end of season press conference, McDermott only cited “execution” as to what went wrong.

Farwell leaves might give us some idea of what might have went wrong in that pivotal moment.

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Buffalo Buffalo Bills special teams unit ranked among NFL’s best

#Bills special teams unit ranked among NFL’s best:

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The Buffalo Bills’ special team unit under Heath Farwell finished in the top 10 for the second consecutive season in Rick Gosselin’s annual rankings.

In Gosselin’s rankings, the league’s 32 teams are ranked in 22 kicking-game categories and assigned points according to their standing. One point is awarded to the best team and 32 points for the worst. Just like in football, the low man wins. The Baltimore Ravens finished at No. 1 ranking first in five of the 22 categories.

Buffalo’s final score was eighth at 316.5. Their unit ranked behind Baltimore, Indianapolis, Seattle, Kansas City, New Orleans, Dallas, and Detroit. The Bears and Giants complete the top 10. Buffalo is one of six teams to finish in the top 10 for two years in a row.

Among the 22 categories making up the rankings, the Bills finished in the top five in nine. Buffalo dominated the league in kickoff coverage (18.0 yards per return), punt coverage (5.6 yards per return), kickoff starting point (26.6 yard line), opponent starting point (23.7 yard line), extra point percentage (100%), blocked kicks (2) and takeaways (3).

Surprisingly the Bills didn’t finish as the most penalized special teams unit, that honor went to the Jets and their 20 penalties for 191 yards.

Field goal percentage was not among the categories. Bills kicker Tyler Bass would have finished 12th in the NFL with an 87.5% conversion rate with 28 makes on 32 attempts. Still Bass was just one of five kickers this season to convert every single one of his extra-point attempts. He had the second-most extra points made with 51, trailing just the Buccaneers.

Notable the Bills kickoff returns didn’t tail off despite two different returners in Isaiah McKenzie and Marquez Stevenson. Buffalo’s average starting point was at the 26.6 yard line, just a little bit more than a fair catch.

When the Bills returners had a chance to return the kick, McKenzie narrowly outplayed Stevenson with 24.3 yards per kickoff return to 23.6 yards per return, respectively. Meanwhile, Andre Roberts – who the Bills let walk after consecutive Pro Bowl seasons – had 27.3 yards per kickoff return while playing for the Texans and Chargers. Roberts led the NFL with 30.0 yards per return in 2020.

Buffalo punter Matt Haack did not land in any top five for punting categories. Last season with Corey Bojorquez’s leg, the Bills finished first in average punt (50.8) yards and fourth in net punting (44.0) in Gosselin’s rankings.

Farwell was hired by the Bills in 2019 and has brought the unit into the top 10 for consecutive seasons. He was an assistant special teams coach with the Panthers and Seahawks before being hired. In 2018, Football Outsiders ranked Buffalo as the worst special teams unit in the NFL while Pro Football Focus tabbed the Bills’ as the second-worst. Quite the turnaround he’s been able to accomplish.

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What Sean McDermott said about Bills punter Matt Haack

What Sean McDermott said about #Bills punter Matt Haack:

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The goal for a regular season finale each year is typically one of two things.

First, win, as usual.

Second, avoid hiccups.

The Buffalo Bills did only one of those two things against the New York Jets in their finale on Sunday.

The Bills (11-6) beat the Jets (4-13) by a 27-10 final. There were a few bad spots, none brighter than what happened at punter.

Buffalo had multiple shanked kicks from Matt Haack. He also went on to lose a snap.

All in all, it was a poor game for Haack in a season where he hasn’t been overly impressive. But that begged the question, were Haack’s efforts against the Jets the one that broke the camel’s back?

It doesn’t sound like it. On Tuesday, Bills head coach Sean McDermott reflected on Haack. He supported his punter.

“I think he’s done some really good things for our football team,” McDermott said via video conference. “There were plays we all obviously want back. I’m sure that he wants some of those back. I love the fact that he’s a resilient competitor and I can’t wait to watch him moving forward.”

It might seem like a quick fix to switch Haack out. Just find a guy that can kick the ball better, right?

Not so fast.

While Haack’s main duties are to punt, he also has chemistry built up with other specialists. Longer snapper Reid Ferguson knows exactly how he likes the ball snapped.

Speaking of which, Haack is also the holder for place kicker Tyler Bass.

It’s not just a plug-and-play type of move even if there is someone in house.

Punter Jamie Gillan was signed to Buffalo’s practice squad a few weeks ago and is still there.

Even when asked about Gillan, McDermott beat around the bush. The coach even said ask general manager Brandon Beane why Gillan is there instead.

Haack currently has McDermott’s full backing and that’s probably the team’s best bet. Inspiring hope in him could turn the mental aspect of things around for Haack.

One has to assume it’s at an all-time low.

In terms of those extra intangibles, special teams coordinator Heath Farwell previously touted those exact things with Haack as well. Speaking to the Buffalo News last month, those were some of the first things the coach mentioned.

“(Haack) is coming on nicely, as far as punting. He’s been unbelievable for Bass. He is the best caddie, as I call him, in the league as far as he’s an elite holder. That helps Bass be who he is. He’s a big brother to him. And he’s coaching him up and helping him out. He has a great feel for everything. We just love him in the room. I can’t say enough good things about him,” Farwell said.

After the season ends, this question will likely surface again. But for now, Haack is safe.

And the Bills will need him to play like it in the playoffs.

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Bills’ Tyler Bass reacts to winning kicking battle

Buffalo Bills kicker Tyler Bass on winning his job as a rookie in 2020 training camp.

After the Bills took the field for a training camp scrimmage last week, the big news out of it came via the team’s premiere special teams battle. Rookie Tyler Bass ousted veteran Stephen Hauschka to take the Bills’ kicking crown ahead of the 2020 regular season.

But that’s not how the 2020 sixth-round pick is thinking of it, and that’s probably a good thing we think.

While yes, Bass did beat out a proven NFL placekicker in Hauschka for the job, he said on Sunday speaking to reporters via video conference from Bills training camp that the work has only just begun for him. Really, it hasn’t even started yet in his eyes.

“I had to earn everything I had there, nothing has been handed to me in life, and I had to earn that. I came to camp with the same mentality, I knew I wasn’t the number one guy coming in, and I had to earn that right and the respect. Now that I have the job, I still feel like I haven’t proven anything, I’ve haven’t even played a game yet. I’m still going to do everything I can to be the best I can be to help this team and take it one day at a time,” Bass said.

In helping him win the job, Bass pointed to his past as a motivator. Out of high school, the Georgia Southern product had to walk-on in college. He’s really been an underdog and had to prove himself for awhile now. That’s even how Bills special teams coordinator Heath Farwell described the latest gig Bass has won, too.

“He earned the job; he worked his butt off and we take everything into account when picking this position and he won the job. Nobody handed it to him, and we made it as hard as we possibly could. He excelled at everything we did and everything we evaluate,” Farwell said.

But the Bills sound like they’re being honest with themselves in picking Bass, though. As a rookie, they know it won’t be all gravy for the new guy and he’s going to get a little slack from the team it sounds like.

“I have a really good understanding with him and what he’s about and what’s important to him. I just trust him out there, he does everything right and we’re going to have some ups and downs throughout the season, that’s a part of football,” Farwell said.

Even if Bass remains in Buffalo for numerous years as their kicker, undoubtedly the most interesting part of his tenure will be the start. Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the first of his professional kicks will be in front of… no fans, or very few. Perhaps that could be a way of easing him into his NFL career?

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How Bills’ kicking battle is going down during quarantined training camp

Buffalo Bills special teams coordinator discusses kicking battle with Stephen Hauschka, rookie Tyler Bass.

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Don’t envy Buffalo Bills special teams coordinator Heath Farwell this training camp.

When the 2020 preseason was cancelled due to safety concerns in regard to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, bubble players, undrafted rookies and everyone in between certainly had cause for concern. Those guys really need the exhibition snaps to show what they can do.

But some of those situations for say… a cornerback, can be simulated in practice. How about a kicker, though? There’s really nothing like a stadium setting, and Farwell is in charge of making the Bills’ tough kicking decisions this training camp.

At punter, it’s former kicker Kaare Vedvik coming for Corey Bojorquez and his job. At placekicker, rookie sixth-round  pick Tyler Bass is hoping to upend Stephen Hauschka. Farwell, chatting on Sunday via video conference from Bills training camp, knows he has some hard choices to make, namely at kicker.

“There’s a big difference,” Farwell said, discussing Hauschka and Bass. “One is… a 13-year veteran with leadership ability, consistency, and a proven record to make them in games and make them in big games. The other kid is ultra talented. young leg, is hungry, he’s a big talent, but is unproven to this point without a preseason game.”

So, what can the Bills do? Well really, just the best they can… and hope for the best.

“We’ll try to put him in all those stressful situations… bringing them up at the end of practice, bring them up in the middle of practice, get everyone around them, put pressure on them if we can,” Farwell said. “Put them against each other, back-to-back kicks. A lot of the times we’ll give them the same exact kick and there’s a reason for it. Let’s see… kind of going back-and-forth… we do that with the punters, too. It’s like, how can we put them in those pressure situations? You see the guy in front of you make a good punt, or a good kick, and what can you do?”

Earlier this offseason, Bills general manager Brandon Beane discussed the kicking battle. In doing so, he mentioned some vfor them. Make a kick with your teammates watching? Shorter practice today, maybe no meetings, the GM suggested.

All are good ideas, but it’s still going to be difficult. It appears the Bills want a kicker with better leg strength. That’s what Bass has and what Hauschka has lacked, recently. While Hauschka is the record-holder for consecutive kicks made over 50 yards, he’s dropped off since earning that in 2017. In 2019, Hauschka was 1-for-5 from beyond 50 yards.

Unfortunately for Hauschka, what seems to have changed came via an injury.

In December 2018, Hauschka caught a blindside hit from Jets defender Henry Anderson. He was fined and Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott had a candid moment in response to what happened, claiming there’s “no place in football” for such incidents.

Hauschka has struggled since taking that hit. But the veteran offers consistency in closer kicks. He made four from inside 50 during Buffalo’s playoff loss to the Texans.

Earlier this offseason, Farwell did say it was Hauschka’s job and Bass has to earn it. At this point, with no preseason games, we might not have any hint of which way the Bills are going to go with their pick, but regardless, if it’s not the right one, it’s going to be a criticized decision.

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