Tag: rick gosselin

Broncos’ special teams ranked 7th by Rick Gosselin in 2023

After being ranked 25th by Rick Gosselin last year, the Broncos’ special teams units jumped up to 7th in 2023.

When he took over as the Denver Broncos’ new head coach last year, Sean Payton immediately made improving special teams one of his top priorities.

Payton brought in a new special teams coordinator (Ben Kotwica), a new assistant head coach with an extensive special teams background (Mike Westhoff) and a just-retired safety as a special teams assistant (Chris Banjo).

After completely reshaping the staff, Payton brought in a new kicker, a new punter and new returners. He even made a change at long snapper.

The result of those changes? Denver’s special teams units improved from being ranked 25th by Rick Gosselin in 2022 to 7th in 2023.

Gosselin sorts 22 kicking-game categories and assigns points to each team according to its standing (one for best, 32 for worst). The Broncos totaled 302 points this season, a notable improvement from 433.5 last year (fewer points equates to a better score).

The Broncos had the fifth-best special teams score in the AFC and the seventh-best in the NFL overall. There’s still room for improvement, but special teams took a huge step forward in Payton’s first season.

Follow the Broncos Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=482983128]

Packers fall 7 spots, rank 29th in Gosselin’s special teams rankings for 2023

The Green Bay Packers are back near the bottom of Rick Gosselin’s annual special teams rankings. Rich Bisaccia’s group ranked 29th out of 32 teams in 2023.

The Green Bay Packers are back near the bottom of Rick Gosselin’s annual special teams rankings.

After jumping from No. 32 (last) to No. 22 in Rich Bisaccia’s first season as special teams coordinator in 2022, the Packers fell back seven spots and finished 29th in Gosselin’s rankings for 2023.

Bisaccia’s special teams ranked above only the Washington Commanders, Miami Dolphins and Los Angeles Rams this season.

It’s nothing short of a disappointing finish for a perpetually dysfunctional special teams group now led by one of the NFL’s highest paid coordinators. The Packers had several veterans on special teams — including several hand-picked by Bisaccia — and still struggled.

Overall, the Packers committed an NFL-high 19 accepted penalties on special teams. The league average was 11.

Rookie kicker Anders Carlson ranked 24th in the NFL in field goal percentage and missed an NFL-high five extra points. Punter Daniel Whelan ranked 24th punting average, 29th in net punting and 26th in percentage of punts inside the 20-yard line.

The Packers covered kickoffs fine and got more production out of kick returner Keisean Nixon, but Nixon and Samori Toure both lost fumbles on punt returns. Bisaccia’s group also gave up a punt return for a touchdown in Week 3. Far too often, Nixon took the ball out of the end zone on kickoffs and was stopped short of the 25-yard line, which inflated his return yardage but hurt field position.

The Packers also ranked 29th in punt return average and 26th in opponent punt return average.

Green Bay did rank in the top 10 in average starting field position.

The Dallas Cowboys, who will host the Packers in the NFC Wild Card Round on Sunday, ranked 12th.

Packers in Gosselin’s special teams rankings

2023: 29th
2022: 22nd
2021: 32nd
2020: 29th
2019: 26th
2018: 32nd
2017: 16th
2016: 29th
2015: 17th
2014: 32nd
2013: 20th
2012: 12th

Despite coach change, Bills special teams ranked among NFL’s best in 2022

Despite coach change, #Bills special teams ranked among NFL’s best in 2022:

The Buffalo Bills made a controversial coaching change last offseason when the team moved on from Heath Farwell and promoted Matt Smiley to their special teams coordinator role.

While the Bills had a promising special teams rating the prior two years under Farwell, that only continued under Smiley in 2022.

Rick Gosselin’s annual special teams rankings are a comprehensive and well-respected breakdown of that aspect of the NFL game. In Gosselin’s ratings, the league’s 32 teams are ranked in 22 categories and assigned points according to their standing. One point is awarded to the best team and 32 points for the worst. Like in golf, the lower the score the better.

In 2022, Gosselin totaled Buffalo at 286 points. That landed the Bills at the fifth-overall spot in his rankings.

This year’s top-five were:

  • 5. Bills: 286
  • 4. Panthers: 277.5
  • 3. Ravens: 272
  • 2. Seahawks: 269.5
  • 1. Texans: 255

In the two years prior, Buffalo still fared well under Farwell. The Bills had back-to-back finishes at No. 8.

Farwell was hired by the Bills in 2019. He was let go after the 2021 playoffs when Buffalo had a weird final kickoff by Tyler Bass which eventually led to the “13 seconds” affair against the Kansas City Chiefs.

In February 2022, Farwell took the Jacksonville Jaguars’ special teams coordinator job. The Jags finished 11th in Gosselin’s rankings (322.5).

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbw1j59gmjw5gdj player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]

[lawrence-related id=113380,113375,113367]

Lions special teams ranked near the top in 2022

The Lions special teams ranked near the top in 2022 under coordinator Dave Fipp

Dave Fipp doesn’t typically get much attention as the special teams coach of the Detroit Lions. It’s understandable why, with so many recognizable former NFL players all over the coaching staff.

But Fipp has quietly emerged as one of the best special teams coaches in the league. His units have done very well in both of Fipp’s seasons in Detroit. The Lions special teams wound up among the NFL’s elite in 2022.

Longtime NFL analyst Rick Gosselin released his special teams rankings. It’s the 42nd year for Gosselin, a former Cowboys beat writer also known for his mock drafts, to compile his extensive special teams breakdown.

The Lions land at sixth in Gosselin’s rankings, which rank 22 different categories from 1-32 and tabulate the composite results. The fewer points, the better; Detroit finished with 292.5.

Interestingly, Gosselin notes the Lions had the fewest punts downed inside the opposing 20-yard line. Some of that is a function of head coach Dan Campbell’s aggressive nature in going for it on fourth downs near midfield.

The Gosselin rankings place the Lions lower than where Pro Football Focus graded Detroit’s special teams during the regular season. Fipp’s units earned the highest PFF overall special teams grade in 2022.

Assessing special teams involves some subjectivity, so when multiple evaluators come to the same conclusion, it’s a nice validation.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbx8sj47vkwrznr player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]

The Saints took a big step back in 2022 NFL special teams rankings

The Saints took a big step back in Rick Gosselin’s 2022 NFL special teams rankings. After finishing 1st, 5th, and 5th from 2019 to 2021, they’ve dropped to 20th:

The New Orleans Saints special teams squad had a rough go of it in 2022. Place kicker Wil Lutz had his worst year as a pro by connecting on just 74.1% of his field goal tries, lowest for a team in the NFL, and it took a while for Rashid Shaheed to emerge as their best option returning punts and kickoffs. The Saints struggled to cover their own kicks, too, with injuries sidelining some of their best gunners at different points throughout the year.

It all compounded for New Orleans to rank at No. 20 in Rick Gosselin’s 2022 NFL special teams rankings. Gosselin has been scoring every team’s performance in the game’s third phase for years and he’s seen as the foremost authority on special teams play around the league. So it’s concerning to see the Saints fall within the bottom-third of the league.

That’s a steep drop from their fifth-best ranking in 2021 and 2020. And it’s kind of surprising. The Saints were ranked first in the NFL back in 2019, the first year with special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi in the building. Rizzi added the assistant head coach title in 2022 so it’s possible his added responsibilities in that role led to some gaffes in the kicking game, but that’s impossible to prove from the outside looking in.

Hopefully things turn around in 2023. The Saints may release Lutz as a salary cap casualty, and punter Blake Gillikin is a restricted free agent (as is their special teams ace J.T. Gray). Six of their top seven players in special teams snaps played last year are pending free agents: linebacker Andrew Dowell (379 snaps), safety Daniel Sorensen (319), Gray (320), linebacker Kaden Elliss (278), running back Dwayne Washington (259), and linebacker Chase Hansen (197). Change feels inevitable there, but after a down performance it’s probably needed.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyahgz6p2j3xp7 player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]

[listicle id=120819]

Packers special teams finish dead last in Gosselin’s annual special teams rankings for 2021

The Packers finished dead last in special teams again in 2021.

For the second time since 2018 and the third time since 2014, the Green Bay Packers finished dead last in Rick Gosselin’s annual special teams rankings for the 2021 season.

The Packers finished below the Los Angeles Chargers for the final spot in the rankings, which used a number of relevant special teams statistics to rank the 32 teams by performance.

Maurice Drayton’s group finished worst in the NFL in punt coverage and kickoff starting point. The special teams did have two takeaways, which ranked fifth in the NFL, the only time the Packers finished in the top five of a special teams category.

The rest was mostly a disaster. Green Bay was 21st in punt return average, 30th in kick return average, 31st in field goal percentage, 25th in touchback percentage, 26th in kickoff coverage, 19th in net punting. 28th in punts inside the 20-yard line, 23rd in total field goals made and tied for last in points scored.

The Packers also had two giveaways and a blocked field goal.

A few games stood out from the rest: Mason Crosby missed three field goals in Cincinnati and two more field goals in Kansas City, and a near total collapse of the special teams almost cost the Packers a win against the Bears at Lambeau Field.

The group did improve slightly over the final few games, but it wasn’t nearly enough to keep the Packers out of the last-place spot.

The Packers haven’t finished above 16th in Gosselin’s rankings just once (2017) since 2012.

In 2018, the Packers failed to make the playoffs with the worst special teams in the NFL. In 2014, the failures of the last-place special teams helped keep the Packers out of the Super Bowl.

Packers in Gosselin’s special teams rankings

2021: 32nd
2020: 29th
2019: 26th
2018: 32nd
2017: 16th
2016: 29th
2015: 17th
2014: 32nd
2013: 20th
2012: 12th

[listicle id=75411]