Tag: Ryan Ficken

Film room: How Chargers’ special teams has been special this season

The special teams department has been a bright spot for the Chargers this season.

The Chargers finally seem to have a competent set of special teams for the first time in what feels like a decade, led by new special teams coordinator Ryan Ficken.

Some things have been working from the beginning, while Ficken has made some in-season changes that have upped the performance of the whole squad. In some areas, there’s still some room for improvement.

In this *special* film room, we’ll cover it all.

Ja’Sir Taylor has been a stud

Taylor has had a flash play in nearly every game, primarily as a gunner on the punt team. It all started in Week 1, where the rookie timed a tackle on Raiders punt returner Hunter Renfrow to perfection:

Taylor’s 4.39 speed is on display here: by working the inside leverage of the double team and burning past both Raiders blockers, Taylor gives himself an open lane to make the tackle on Renfrow. It comes with danger, too, however, as a missed tackle would leave Renfrow with a chance to break the play to the outside for a big return.

Let’s fast forward to the obvious play Taylor has made this season: his forced fumble via shove to a Broncos punt blocker that all but won the Chargers the game in overtime.

Taylor and Ficken said postgame that they had seen this look from Denver and talked about using it to LA’s advantage. The rookie executes this one, leaving Deane Leonard to fall on the fumble.

What I like about this play, beyond the fact that it won the Chargers the Monday night game, is that this same setup occurs in the Jacksonville game, with Taylor just barely failing to convert it into a turnover play.

Taylor’s blocker follows him down the field, coming within a yard or so of Jaguars punt returner Jamal Agnew. Taylor executes one final push as the ball arrives, but the blocker, cornerback Chris Claybrooks, manages to stumble just clear of Agnew as he hauls in the fair catch. This play came on the first Chargers drive of the game, and a turnover play could’ve turned the tide of what ended up being a 38-10 blowout loss for LA. We might’ve also been talking about Taylor’s performance much earlier.

The one (small) thing I’ve had an issue with when it comes to Taylor is that he seems to down the ball too early without giving JK Scott’s punts enough time to bounce further toward the goal line. He did it twice against Seattle, this one being more egregious:

It’s hard to tell from either the wide or end zone angles which way Scott’s punt would’ve bounced had Taylor allowed it to touch the ground, but footage after the play shows Taylor looking frustrated and having a brief conversation with Chris Rumph, who looked like he was ready to see how the ball bounced.

Later in this same game, Taylor and Leonard showed how quickly they learn:

This time, the bounce is perfect from Scott. Leonard is the gunner to the near side (bottom of the screen) and overruns the punt, which is fine because of the field position and returner’s clearout. Taylor arrives at the scene late from the top of the screen (circled), and almost downs it as both he and the ball round their path off. To his credit, he recognizes the bounce and teams up with Leonard to down it at the 2, eventually leading to the Sebastian Joseph-Day safety in this game.

This quarter-to-quarter development got me thinking: is there something from a previous week that made Taylor think the first two punts in the Seattle game were going to take bad bounces? And indeed, I found a clip from Week 2:

On this one, you can see Taylor recognizes that Chiefs punt returner Skyy Moore has no interest in fielding the incoming kick. As a result, Taylor turns towards the goal line, setting up to harness the loose ball before it crosses into the end zone for a touchback. Instead, Scott’s punt bounces backward, forcing Taylor to reverse course and losing the Chargers eight or nine yards of field position. In later weeks, you can see Taylor hesitate to commit to taking the goal line route, instead opting to trust his ability to track the ball on a single bounce to save those yards. Consider if Taylor plays this Chiefs punt the same way he does the ones in Seattle: he probably hauls it in at about the seven instead of Amen Ogbongbemiga downing it at the 14.

Deane Leonard supplants Michael Davis

We’ve mentioned Leonard a couple of times when showcasing these plays from Taylor, and the rookie tandem has by far been the best set of Chargers gunners to date. Before Leonard took over, L.A. had Michael Davis opposite of Taylor, which resulted in plays like this:

Davis doesn’t quite have the field awareness in this clip that the rookies have shown this season, and it hurts the team with a fair catch interference penalty here as Davis bumps into the Texans’ returner.

Davis also overruns a punt against Denver two weeks later, missing an opportunity to recover a muffed punt from Broncos returner Montrell Washington:

Credit to Essang Bassey (I think), who does a good job making sure Davis stays to his outside for this entire play to ensure that Davis can’t make a tackle on a potential return. But film from the Chargers’ other games shows that Taylor and Leonard engage with this blocker as they approach the return man, rarely allowing a play like this to go unpunished. You can even see Taylor get to this loose ball before Davis does, despite starting on the opposite side of the field because of the way he fights through and around his blocker. In the end, L.A. misses an opportunity to generate a turnover as Washington falls back on the ball.

Davis has also had a few issues as a kickoff coverage man, most evident in this same Denver game:

Technically, Davis does his job here. He absorbs a block, forces Washington to make a decision, and stalls for long enough that his teammates rally to the ball and stop Washington short of the 30. But Davis has to finish this tackle. He’s squared up on the rookie and is positioned to force Washington to the inside, but instead can’t quite wrap up and gets beaten by a spin move back to the outside.

Compare this to a play Leonard makes against Seattle in kick coverage:

Leonard perfectly splits two blocks as he runs his lane on the opening kickoff, leaving him free to stop Seahawks returner, Dee Eskridge, at his 19-yard line. Seattle miscommunicates about whose responsibility it is to slow the rookie down. Leonard has had a few plays like this littered on his tape and the Seattle game was his best performance to date. With another week of coaching during the bye week and a full week of work at gunner now that Davis is slated to start at corner, Leonard should round into form as an above-average gunner next to the already above-average Taylor.

Examining DeAndre Carter

Out of kickoff returners with at least eight returns this season, Carter is only 15th in average return yards out of 18 eligible players. This is after Carter was 8th in average return yards out of 38 players with at least ten kickoff returns last season in Washington, while former Chargers returner Andre Roberts was 5th. Something about the return game isn’t working, but is it Carter or something more systemic?

I tend to lean towards the latter. Carter is certainly leaving yards on the table occasionally, but sometimes he has nothing he can do. His primary lead blocker is failing him:

Here, if Zander Horvath sustains this block for even an instant, Carter has a seam between the rookie and Joshua Kelley. Nobody else on the Texans is in position to make a play, meaning Carter would be sprung free with only the kicker to beat on his way up the field. Instead, Horvath instantly gets beat by running back Dare Ogunbowale. Carter tries to cut back to what is now a closing lane, but Horvath’s momentum has brought him into Carter’s path, resulting in a tackle by the fullback that’s cleaned up by the Texans.

Later in this game, we have a similar problem, this time with Joshua Kelley:

Kelley turns his eyes upfield before seeing that Troy Reeder has missed his block on Texans linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin. Instead, the running back skirts past him to pave the way for Carter through what he perceives as a developing path to the sideline and into Texans territory. If he moves his head a few degrees to the right and recognizes Reeves-Maybin slinking past him and throws a block there instead, it gains Carter an extra 10-15 yards, even if he can’t spring it for a huge return. From the end zone angle, it looks like Kelley should see the linebacker – after all, you can see Reeves-Maybin get a bit skinnier as he gets past the running back.

In short: let Ja’Sir Taylor keep doing what he’s doing and get Deane Leonard in there next to him in the punt game. In the kickoff game, let’s not be so quick to blame Carter for the struggles – there’s still work to be done on the blocking front.

Studs and duds from Chargers’ Week 7 loss to Seahawks

Here’s who came through and who disappointed in the Chargers’ loss to the Seahawks.

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The Chargers dropped to 4-3 on Sunday following a 37-16 loss to the Seahawks.

Los Angeles mercifully hits their bye week next week, giving them a chance to heal and right the ship.

Here’s who has more work to do than the rest and who can feel good about their performance heading into the off week.

Stud: Asante Samuel Jr.

Apart from a touchdown to Marquise Goodwin, where Samuel slow-played the vertical route, the second-year corner was pretty much lockdown. ASJ got off to a hot start, driving on a Geno Smith pass to Tyler Lockett that resulted in a tip-drill interception for Kenneth Murray. With the game still in the balance, Samuel made a diving play to break up a Smith 3rd down pass and force Seattle into a 50-yard field goal. It looked as though Samuel had converted one of the crazier interceptions of the season, but the replay showed that he once again couldn’t quite bring it in. It’s been the narrative for most of the season: as soon as Samuel can finish those plays, he’ll be a premier corner.

Dud: Justin Herbert

Something is not right with Herbert. I don’t know if it’s the ribs injury, the playcalling, or something else, but Herbert is simply missing throws and making uncharacteristic decisions over the middle of the field. His interception when looking for DeAndre Carter was never open and he was lucky to not throw additional ones because of miscommunications or just plain misses on a few other throws. It’s hard to say things are all on Herbert because of the injuries at wide receiver and on the offensive line, but we’ve talked about this one or two other times this season. When you have a QB that’s in the upper echelon of talent like Herbert is, he needs to be able to elevate the team around him and grit out games like these. Last week, he was able to do that, just barely. This week, not so much.

Stud: Austin Johnson

Johnson has been one of the bright spots on defense this season as one of the more unheralded free agent signings of the offseason. A lot of attention was paid to the additions of JC Jackson, Khalil Mack, and Sebastian Joseph-Day, and rightfully so, but Johnson has been routinely ruining opposing runs up the middle this season. He continued that pace on Sunday, forcing Kenneth Walker into a few carries for loss or no gain. Walker primarily found success when he was able to get to the outside. Johnson also got home for his first sack of the season, a play that was a long time coming given his success as a pass rusher in recent weeks. While the run defense hasn’t looked as improved on paper as fans would’ve liked, we can take solace in knowing that Johnson is bringing the heat every week.

Dud: Wide receiver depth

Outside of Mike Williams and Keenan Allen, this team has no juice at wide receiver right now. Allen was held to 2 receptions for 11 yards as he worked back into the gameplan, but his presence was evident as Seattle allocated extra resources to defending him. Williams garnered nine targets today, tied for second with Gerald Everett behind Austin Ekeler. But beyond that, DeAndre Carter had three catches on seven targets. Jason Moore and Michael Bandy had one catch each. The Chargers need to do their homework during the bye week and find an NFL-caliber receiver to get on the field, especially with Williams going down with an ankle injury late in this game. Whether that’s Josh Palmer returning, one of the practice squad receivers stepping up, or signing a free agent directly to the active roster, the Chargers must make a move.

Stud: Bryce Callahan

Callahan had another standout game today, including two different plays where he was oh-so-close to picking off Geno Smith. The first came in the first quarter, where Callahan tracked the ball and got one hand on it to knock the ball away. If he timed a jump just a touch better, it looked like he could’ve gotten his other hand to the ball to make the play for an interception. The second came later in the game when Callahan just barely couldn’t tap his toes in the end zone as Smith tried to throw the ball away in a goal-line situation. The veteran did pick up a pass interference penalty against Tyler Lockett, but overall, Lockett was held to 7 catches for just 45 yards and Noah Fant had just one catch for 7 yards.

Dud: Run game

Seattle came into this game giving up 165.8 yards per game, second to last in the league, ahead of only Denver. And yet, the Chargers’ offensive line was dominated at the point of attack nearly all game, leading to just 53 yards on 15 attempts. Los Angeles behind nearly all game, forcing them to open up the passing attack early, but a 3.5 yards per carry average is far from what you want. If you subtract Herbert’s 22 yards on scrambles, L.A. took 12 carries for just 31 yards. Something was bound to break the wrong way for this rushing attack after looking improved against a series of terrible run defenses, but it’s a harrowing thought that losing Joshua Kelley brings that phase of the offense down to that extent.

Stud: Punt team

Credit to special teams coordinator Ryan Ficken for getting this unit into tip-top shape. After Ja’Sir Taylor essentially won the Chargers the game on Monday night last week with a heads-up play on Denver’s punt returner, he and fellow rookie Deane Leonard continued their phenomenal showings as gunners on Sunday. JK Scott punted five times for an average of 45.6 yards, downing punts at the nine, seven, and two-yard lines. Taylor’s downing of the punt at the 2 was the catalyst for Los Angeles’ safety that kept them in the game for a few minutes longer. It seems backward based on the Bolts’ historical tendencies, but the special teams unit is shaping up as either the best or second-best unit on this team any given week.

Dud: Injury bug

I wrote in my keys to the game that the main goal of Sunday’s contest, win or loss, was to escape to the bye week as healthy as possible, given the plethora of injuries LA has already suffered. Instead, they likely lost J.C. Jackson for the season to a non-contact knee injury that required an air cast and a cart ride to the locker room. Drue Tranquill and Chris Rumph were injured on punts – Tranquill returned, but Rumph (knee/hip) did not seem to. Mike Williams suffered an ankle injury in the fourth quarter that left him unable to put any weight on his right leg. Tranquill and Rumph’s at least looked like injuries that may heal up in time for the Week 9 showdown with the Falcons. But losing Jackson and Williams for any extended time would be disastrous for a team who has already seen Keenan Allen, Rashawn Slater, and Joey Bosa miss multiple games. SoFi Stadium is unlikely to change the playing surface soon, and I’m not suggesting every injury can be chalked up to the turf field, but it’s part of a larger, league-wide discourse about how unsafe turf is for the health of the players.

Chargers show why not to underestimate importance of special teams

The Chargers special teams units pushed them to victory over the Broncos.

In what was considered the most exciting yet boring game of the week, the Chargers didn’t beat the Broncos with their offense. Their defense? Yes, in the second half. However, their special teams play through all four quarters ultimately pushed them to victory.

Dustin Hopkins battled a hamstring injury to make four field goals, including the tying one in the fourth quarter and the winner in overtime. Hopkins, who missed last week’s win over the Browns with a quad injury, tweaked his hamstring on a PAT attempt in the second quarter.

Instead of being sidelined, Hopkins knew the game’s trajectory, and how Denver was stifling Los Angeles from finding the end zone, so he pushed through the pain to connect his field goals from 37, 31, 35, and 39 yards outs.

To take some of the pressure off of Hopkins’ leg, punter JK Scott handled the kickoff duties. His five kickoffs all went for touchbacks.

But arguably, the play of the game was made by two rookies, sixth-rounders Ja’Sir Taylor and Deane Leonard. Taylor lined up as a gunner on the outside as the Chargers punted the ball with the score tied at 16 apiece with under five minutes left in overtime.

Taylor beat his man on the outside, sprinting toward punt returner Montrell Washington, who was calling for a fair catch. As he got to Washington, safety P.J. Locke stood between himself and Taylor. Taylor pushed Locke into Washington right before he could make the fair catch.

The block knocked Locke into Washington, and he fell to the ground, unable to haul in the hanging punt from Scott. The football deflected off of Washington, and Leonard was there to recover the ball at Denver’s 29. That led to Hopkins, the hurt hero, making the game-winner.

After years of having special teams be the reason for some of their losses, the Bolts finally found a way to flip the script.

This speaks to Brandon Staley’s moves in this department by signing Hopkins halfway through last season, hiring special teams coordinator Ryan Ficken, adding All-Pro long snapper Josh Harris and Scott via free agency, and drafting and developing contributors on coverage units.

As the saying goes, defense wins championships.

However, if the offense stalls, like it did yesterday, special teams play can and will impact the final score of the game.

Report: Chargers signing long snapper Josh Harris

The Chargers are adding pieces to shore up their special teams.

The Chargers are adding pieces to shore up their special teams this offseason.

According to NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero, Los Angeles is signing former Falcons long snapper Josh Harris to a four-year deal.

The deal is worth $5.6 million deal with $1.92 million guaranteed.

Signed as an undrafted free agent out of Auburn in 2012, Harris spent his entire career with Atlanta before joining Los Angeles.

Last season, Harris made his first Pro Bowl appearance and was named second-team All-Pro.

Harris will take over for Matt Overton, who was the team’s starting long snapper in 2021.

Chargers re-signing kicker Dustin Hopkins

The Chargers are bringing back their kicker.

As the Chargers look to reshape their special teams under new coordinator Ryan Ficken, Dustin Hopkins will be a part of the plans next season.

Los Angeles re-signed Hopkins to a three-year contract on Sunday.

According to Sirius XM’s Adam Caplan, Hopkins receives three-year extension for $9 million with upside to $12 million, with more than $4.6 million guaranteed.

After being let go of by the Washington Commanders midway through the 2021 season, Hopkins was picked up by L.A. In 11 games, he converted 18 of 20 field-goal attempts and 30 of 32 extra-point tries.

Chargers hire Ryan Ficken as special teams coordinator

The Chargers have a new special teams coordinator.

After allowing time for the dust of the 2021 season to settle, it became clear that the Chargers needed help in the special teams department. Fast.

Los Angeles announced Thursday that Ryan Ficken will join the staff as the team’s new special teams coordinator. The hiring was initially reported by Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

Ficken replaces Derius Swinton II after just a single season.

Ficken has spent the last eight years as an assistant special teams coach with the Minnesota Vikings. Ficken also served on the Vikings staff as wide receivers and running backs coach from 2007-12. He was a graduate assistant at UCLA before starting his career coaching professional football.

Pelissero also mentioned the Vikings originally blocked Ficken from interviewing, but persistence from the Chargers resulted in him being allowed to pursue the opportunity.

On the offensive side of the ball, things were sound. Kick returner Andre Roberts ranked first in the league with a 32.8-yard return average. Placekicker Dustin Hopkins made 18 of 20 field goals and 30 of 32 extra points after he was picked up by the team in Week 8. 

However, Los Angeles ranked last in net punting last season. Starter Ty Long averaged 36.8 yards per boot on 47 attempts, pinning just 11 inside the 20-yard line. 

Under Ficken’s oversight on the Vikings, kicker Greg Joseph led the NFC and ranked fifth in the league with 33 made field goals. Punter Jordan Berry finished the season 13th in net punt average. Minnesota churned out a second-place finish in kick return average and scored twice on kickoffs.

Based on how highly the Chargers viewed Ficken and their efforts to draw him away from the Vikings, expect him to stabilize a unit that was wildly inconsistent and turn it into an asset. 

Vikings lose special teams coach Ryan Ficken to Chargers

Ryan Ficken is LA-bound.

The turnover continues for the Minnesota Vikings with special teams coach Ryan Ficken leaving the team to join the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling confirmed through sources on Thursday that the longtime Vikings assistant was headed to Los Angeles.

Ficken has served as an assistant of some kind for the last 15 years in Minnesota. So his exit is certainly a big deal for anyone that follows the team. There has been a lot of change recently in light of coach Mike Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman being fired.

On Wednesday, it was announced that former Vikings offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak was joining the Denver Broncos staff as a quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator.

One thing is certain: The Charges’ special teams could use a lot of work. The unit was among the worst in the league this season. Ficken has a great track record, and he’ll be a solid addition to a staff desperately looking to turn things around.

As for the Vikings, it leaves another vacancy on a team that’s going through a complete regime shift. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and soon-to-be-hired head coach Kevin O’Connell will have their hands full.

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Vikings announce a couple of staff changes

The Minnesota Vikings announced that Josh Hingst will be the Vikings’ Head Strength & Conditioning Coach. Minnesota also announced that Ryan Ficken was promoted to special teams coordinator.

Minnesota has had plenty of changes to its coaching staff and front office this offseason. The Vikings made some of those changes official on Monday.

The team announced that it has hired Josh Hingst to be the Vikings’ Head Strength and Conditioning Coach. Minnesota also announced that Ryan Ficken was promoted to special teams coordinator. Ficken’s hire has been reported by numerous outlets already, so it doesn’t exactly come as a shock.

Hingst was the Eagles’ strength and conditioning coach for eight seasons before coming to the Vikings. Ficken on the other hand, was an in-house hire: he finished up his 14th season with Minnesota in 2020. He spent eight of those as the Vikings’ assistant special teams coach.

Minnesota still needs to find an offensive coordinator this offseason after Gary Kubiak announced his retirement. So Vikings fans can expect even more changes to come in what has been a turbulent offseason already.