Tag: returns

Thomas Morstead reacts to NFL eliminating surprise onside kicks

The surprise onside kick was already in danger, but now it’s extinct. Saints legend Thomas Morstead is just happy to have played a part in its memorable story:

Surprise onside kicks were already an endangered species in the NFL, but a new rules change is pushing them into extinction. As part of a new hybrid kick return model being trialed in 2024, teams must declare whether they’re trying an onside kick — something that’s really just a formality after previous rules changes made the play obvious.

Thomas Morstead became a New Orleans Saints legend for executing the team’s surprise onside kick, the “Ambush” play, to start the second half of Super Bowl XLIV. So for him this was a poignant moment. Morstead expressed his gratitude for having a place in NFL history as part of New Orleans’ championship-winning team.

Ironically, Saints special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi spearheaded the effort to change it while envisioning a model that will lead to more return opportunities (which you can read about here). Onside kicks were scarce in recent years, and successful recoveries were even more of a rarity, so this was a small sacrifice to make. As Morstead observed, “The game continues to change.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=4]

Jamal Agnew: ‘People are scared to kick it to us for a reason’

Jamal Agnew isn’t worried about the Jaguars’ punt return game lagging much longer.

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ special teams unit bounced back from a rough showing against the Houston Texans in Week 3 to put together strong performances in London. Brandon McManus was a perfect four-of-four on field goals, Logan Cooke averaged 50.9 yards on nine punts, and opposing punt returners managed just nine yards across the two games.

The only thing that was missing was the Jaguars having a dangerous return game of their own.

After Pro Bowl returner Jamal Agnew missed Week 4 with a quad injury, he returned in Week 5 but managed only five yards on two punt returns against the Buffalo Bills. So what needs to change to get the return game back on track? Not much of anything, according to Agnew.

“Just stay patient and don’t force anything,” Agnew said Friday. “People are scared to kick it to us for a reason. We don’t get a lot of opportunities and, when we do, we get everybody’s best on returns. Obviously, they know who I am. They don’t kick it to me like they kick it to everybody else.

“So we just got to stay patient. That’s one thing I’ve gotten used to in my career is just waiting for the plays to come and not trying to force anything. Ten yards, I’m fine with that. That’s a first down for the offense. The big plays will come, we’ve just got to stay patient.”

Agnew made a big impact earlier this season when he ripped off a 48-yard return in the fourth quarter of a Week 1 game against the Indianapolis Colts to spark a 14-point quarter for the Jaguars.

Agnew said that play was starting to feel inevitable after he saw the way the Colts were punting earlier in the game.

“All day they were shanking them, they were scared to punt to me,” Agnew said. “Kick return, they were booting them out of the end zone. I think it was [director of player engagement] Marcus Pollard, said ‘Hey, just wait for it, it’s gonna come.’

“I had a 10-yard one and then it was a plus-50 punt and it was on the ground and I knew ‘this is the play right here.’ Stayed patient for it, grabbed it, and made a play. That’s all it is in the return game, you get one opportunity, you gotta stay patient, and take advantage of it.”

Agnew will get another chance to break a big one against the Colts — who have allowed 150 punt return yards (third most in the NFL) — on Sunday at EverBank Stadium.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Special teams coordinator Frank Ross praises Tremon Smith’s return abilities

Ross has been familiar with Smith’s game for years and thinks he may have found the cornerback a niche on the #Texans’ special teams unit

The Houston Texans need all the help they can get to secure their second win of the season, and given the turmoil on their offense, it could come down to their special teams unit to put up points against the Cleveland Browns in Week 13. Special teams coordinator Frank Ross spoke to reporters on Thursday about punt returner Tremon Smith, and the role his speed could play in the Texans’ pursuit of success.

“I’ve been with Tremon [Smith] for multiple years,” Ross said. “The guy can run. The most impressive thing, specifically to the Miami game, he had a nice little return there, even when we were getting into a little bit of traffic, the ball was tight and [he] showed good ball security. If you do that, that’s goal number one, that’s rule number one. Impressed with that because sometimes in traffic there’s a tendency to let that thing flair away from your body. We’re always coaching that. Been good, has good speed, so hopefully we’ll get another chance with him this weekend.”

No team wants to rely on punt or kickoff returns for touchdowns to win games, but for Houston, the abilities of their talented returner could be a deciding factor that inches them closer to respectability before the season concludes. Smith showed blazing speed in college at the University of Central Arkansas and could put it to use against Cleveland if given the opportunity.

He will continue to compete against fellow defensive back Desmond King for reps in the return game and has a chance to cement himself in the role if he can prove that he is the better option on a week-to-week basis. In a year where the Texans will take any positive momentum they can find, Smith’s contributions may end up being one of the more pivotal developments in the franchise’s failed 2022 campaign.

Deonte Harris already outperforming his All-Pro rookie year

New Orleans Saints returns specialist Deonte Harris has taken on a larger role on offense while remaining effective on special teams.

[jwplayer bWUURGb4-ThvAeFxT]

Deonte Harris was sensational for the New Orleans Saints in his rookie season, leading the NFL in punt returns (36) and punt return yards (338) before earning recognition on the All-Pro list and a trip to the Pro Bowl. And he’s gotten even better in his second season.

First, let’s focus on the return game. Teams haven’t given Harris many opportunities to field punts (not helped the Saints defense being mediocre on third down), but he’s still averaging 26.5 punt return yards per game. That’s a step up from 2019, when he averaged 24.1. As the Saints improve on defense and force teams to punt more often, Harris should only get more chances to make a play in the kicking game. He’s on pace to rack up 424 punt return yards over 16 games.

Still, right now he has the second-most punt return yards in the NFL (106), behind Buffalo Bills return man Andre Roberts (124). He’s tenth in kick return yards (156), but Harris and Roberts (104) are the only NFL players with 100-plus return yards on both punts and kicks.

Harris has been more pedestrian on kickoffs, averaging 26.0 yards a pop on 6 kicks returned through the first four weeks. Last year, he averaged just 26.8 yards per kick return. But that isn’t a huge difference and could swing upwards with just one long return.

But the really impressive story here is on offense. Last season, Harris totaled just 55 yards from scrimmage during the regular season. He’s already eclipsed that with 85 scrimmage yards after four games in 2020. That projects to a total of 340 yards of offense, extrapolated over a 16-game season.

The Saints are still finding ways to get him the ball. Harris has been thrown to a few times on conventional wide receiver routes, but he’s also handled a few sweeps, pitches, and screens. Like Alvin Kamara, he’s patient with the ball in his hands and has a talent for anticipating how the play will develop. But Harris has enough muscle on his 5-foot-6, 170-pound frame to move the pile and enough agility to force a missed tackle for extra yards.

He did exit Week 4’s win over the Detroit Lions late with an injury, but The Athletic’s Katherine Terrell reported that it isn’t believed to be a serious issue. The Saints will have an extra day of rest before they play the Los Angeles Chargers on “Monday Night Football” before their bye week, so he should be expected to make more plays when the Saints return to the Superdome.

[vertical-gallery id=38711]

Deonte Harris got back up to speed quickly for Saints vs. 49ers

The New Orleans Saints needed rookie returns specialist Deonte Harris to make an impact against the San Francisco 49ers, and he impressed.

[jwplayer CfSwUW4z-ThvAeFxT]

The New Orleans Saints went into their game with the San Francisco 49ers with an aggressive mindset, and few players embodied that approach stronger than rookie returns specialist Deonte Harris. Harris returned quietly from a hamstring injury in the Saints’ Thanksgiving game against the Atlanta Falcons, picking up just 30 yards on two kick returns and a punt return, but his numbers versus the 49ers could not have been more different.

The rookie fielded five kickoffs to gain 155 yards, a season-high. He returned a pair of punts to pick up 37 yards, his third-best mark on the year so far and his highest since Week 7’s game with the Chicago Bears, in which he gained 46 punt return yards (and lost a 67-yard touchdown return to a phantom holding penalty). Combine all of his touches against San Francisco — including a 13-yard pickup on a screen pass and an 8-yard gain on an end-around handoff — and he gave the Saints 205 all-purpose yards on the day.

Saints coach Sean Payton credited Harris with his consistent production on kick returns, noting that the rookie was taking advantage of poor kicking by San Francisco rather than following a “green light” directive to try and make a play on every kickoffs, no matter the odds. It’s a sign of Harris’s intelligence that he saw an opportunity to help his team, and took it.

Where does this stand in recent Saints history? Harris has an argument to make as the best special teams returner in the Sean Payton era, because his 269 punt return yards this year trails just two other single-season performances going back to Payton’s hiring in 2006. Only Reggie Bush’s 2008 season (270 punt return yards) and Darren Sproles’ 2011 campaign (294) are above Harris’s output, and he still has three games to play. He needs 26 combined yards in those games to set the high-water mark for Payton’s tenure.

His next game comes on ‘Monday Night Football’ against the Indianapolis Colts, who will be without all-time great kicker Adam Vinatieri after his recent knee surgery. Vinatieri has not been handling kickoff duties for the Colts, with third-year punter Rigoberto Sanchez standing in. Harris will have opportunities to build on his impressive rookie season in front of a national audience.

[vertical-gallery id=24148]