Tag: muffed punt

Rashid Shaheed made a very rare, but very costly mistake vs. Falcons

An All-Pro punt returner can’t make mistakes like this, and Rashid Shaheed isn’t known for them. But it was a costly error against the Falcons:

An All-Pro punt returner can’t make mistakes like this, and Rashid Shaheed isn’t known for them. But the New Orleans Saints specialist’s muffed punt was a costly error against the Atlanta Falcons. Shaheed made the bad call to try and field a Falcons punt inside his own 5-yard line, but an awkward angle put him too far in front of it, and he couldn’t make a clean catch.

Instead, the ball glanced off of him and  into the end zone where a flock of Falcons fell on top of it. That’s a worst-case scenario. So rather than take over inside their own territory  with a chance to take the lead, the Saints offense had to fight uphill against a deficit when they finally got on the field.

Hopefully Shaheed learned from this mistake. His coaches trusted him to go back in the game and receive the ensuing kickoff, so they clearly expect him to bounce bac. Now it’s on him to prove that faith is warranted.

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Chiefs WR Mecole Hardman on muffed punt vs. Broncos: ‘I got greedy, I got selfish’

#Chiefs WR Mecole Hardman took accountability for his muffed punt against the #Broncos, telling reporters that he “got greedy”

Mecole Hardman’s struggles on punt returns are well documented, even if he has made some incredible plays for the Kansas City Chiefs on punt returns. The team’s Week 8 loss to the Denver Broncos was defined by miscues in every phase of the game, but Hardman’s muffed punt late in the game was one of the more egregious mistakes that led to the bad defeat.

Hardman spoke to the media after the contest and was contrite in his response to a question about the mistake that cost Kansas City a chance to keep the game close. In his comments, he left no doubt that he only has himself to blame for the special teams turnover.

“I got greedy; I got selfish,” He explained. “Trying to make a play down there. Should have been a fair catch or let the ball bounce. That’s [a] problem, like the reason that we probably lost the game. I just let that thing go or fair catch it and secure the catch. I believe we were still down eight—five.

“That’s probably the one [play] that cost the game for us. I’ll probably take responsibility for that one. I definitely take responsibility actually for losing that game. Because you never know,[I] let that ball go, I catch it at the five-[yard-line] or wherever it was, and we go down to score and that’s it. So I’ve just got to be more smart.”

Kansas City has been on the lookout for a contributor who can help buoy the punt return unit and seemed to have thought that Hardman was ready to jump back into the fray after the Chiefs acquired him via trade earlier in October.

Now, the team may have to reconsider their approach on special teams. General manager Brett Veach would be wise to assess his options on the trade market to find a player whom Kansas City can rely on in key situations on punt returns.

Special teams miscues ‘bugging the heck’ out of Pete Carroll, Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks have been struggling on special teams as of late and are working to tighten up the unit and rectify the miscues.

The Seattle Seahawks have had relatively consistent special teams play over the years, but things have looked a bit different in the last couple of games.

“Golly, it’s just bugging the heck out of all of us because we are really good on teams on 98% of it, but then we have a play that wrecks the game for you in a sense,” coach Pete Carroll said during his Monday press conference. “We really have had those almost disastrous plays that just don’t fit us at all.”

From muffed punts to botched returns and fumbles and Michael Dickson’s snafu in the end zone on Sunday, the struggles have been real.

“We are working hard, we made a big plea to the guys that we have to clean up every snap, not just some here or some there,” Carroll continued. “We’ve been really consistent with our coverage and the kickers are doing well, so it’s unfortunate. Mike’s decision last week and then this one, we just made a real error on the one that happened this week. Man, those are big plays.

“We are going to do everything in our power to fix it.”

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