Tag: special teams

Special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi expects Blake Grupe to play vs. Lions

Saints special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi expects Blake Grupe to kick against the Lions, but the team signed a backup just in case he’s needed:

The New Orleans Saints typically make their coordinators available for media on Thursdays each week, which gave special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi an opportunity to address the recent signing of free agent kicker Austin Seibert.

It was previously reported that Seibert was signed as a backup plan should Blake Grupe’s recent groin muscle injury sideline him, but Rizzi doesn’t anticipate an absence for the rookie in Sunday’s game with the Detroit Lions.

“Yeah, I’m not going to make any great predictions, I don’t see any reason why he wouldn’t (play),” Rizzi said Thursday. “We’ll see as the week goes on. He’s got some more kicking he’s got to do this week. But Austin went today and he’s capable if we need him.”

Rizzi echoed the previous sentiment surrounding Seibert’s arrival, characterizing the pickup as an insurance policy: “The workout this week had nothing to do with a performance thing, it was more an insurance policy for us. We get a guy like Austin who’s an experienced player, a guy that’s kicked in the league for a few years. Actually has a game under his belt this year.”

Grupe was responsible for all 15 points the Saints scored against the Atlanta Falcons last week (while playing through an injury), so the team isn’t in a rush to replace him. He’s been limited on the injury report for each of the first two practices going into the Lions game so we’ll have to wait for a game status update on Friday. But it sounds like the Saints expect him to be active and busy come Sunday.

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Wil Lutz takes a victory lap on Dennis Allen after winning Player of the Month award

Wil Lutz enjoyed a victory lap on Dennis Allen after winning the award for AFC Special Teams Player of the Month in November:

It’s safe to say that Wil Lutz hasn’t forgiven Dennis Allen. The New Orleans Saints head coach traded the former Pro Bowl kicker to the Denver Broncos before this season, where Lutz has gone on to win recognition as AFC Special Teams Player of the Month in November. He previously won the award with the Saints as the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month in September 2018.

Lutz connected on all 11 of his field goal tries in November, leading the AFC, with his 36 kicking points ranking second-best in the conference. On the year so far he’s 24 of 26 on field goals with a success rate of 92.3%, which is his best rate since the 2018 season. He’s also hit 18 of his 20 extra point attempts. Lutz handles kickoffs in Denver, too, where he’s found 52 touchbacks on 56 tries (92.9%).

How does that compare to his replacement Blake Grupe? The rookie is 24 of 30 on field goals this season (and 7 of 9 in November) with a hit rate of 80%. He has connected on all 19 point-after tries, but his touchback rate is just 89.5% (51 of 57). His experience has been a bit of a roller coaster. Dennis Allen’s decision to make a change here hasn’t worked out for the better.

And Lutz is taking notice. After being announced as November’s AFC Special Teams Player of the Month, he had a bit of fun on social media. Keen-eyed Saints fans noticed Lutz had “liked” a series of online posts critical of Allen and calling for his job:

So that might suggest Lutz is in agreement with the “Fire Dennis Allen” movement spreading through Saints communities online. It would be easy to understand why he feels that way after Allen jettisoned him, but continuing to find success with the Broncos might help him look elsewhere.

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Saints add an undersized cornerback to their practice squad

The Saints added an undersized cornerback to their practice squad: Shemar Jean-Charles, who has played for the Packers and 49ers:

The New Orleans Saints made an interesting pickup for their practice squad in signing cornerback Shemar Jean-Charles, per NewOrleans.Football’s Brooke Kirchhofer. Jean-Charles is undersized by the Saints’ standards at a listed 5-foot-10 and 184 pounds, but they’ve been flexible with those thresholds in the secondary after rigidly sticking to a prototype of about 6-foot-1 and 201 pounds for several years.

So what sets Jean-Charles apart? The former Green Bay Packers fifth-round draft pick has appeared in 25 games through the last three years, though he’s played many more snaps on special teams (371) than on defense (43) between his time in Green Bay and, more recently, the San Francisco 49ers. He’s played on five of the six kicking units in his pro career and at Appalachian State in college. He may have gotten on New Orleans’ radar during joint practices with the Packers last summer.

It makes sense for the Saints to add another defensive back with injuries mounting in the secondary. Top corner Marshon Lattimore is on injured reserve for a few more games and other players like free safety Marcus Maye (shoulder) are banged up, too. If Jean-Charles’ path to playing is on special teams, that’s worth looking into as well. You can never have enough corners.

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Will Reichard continues to close in on college football history

Alabama kicker Will Reichard is only 21 points away from becoming the all-time points leader in college football history

Alabama kicker Will Reichard is already the football program’s all-time leading points scorer, but he’s likely got a bigger goal in mind: becoming the all-time college football leader in points.

A native of Hoover, Reichard joined the Crimson Tide in 2019 as one of the nation’s highest-rated kickers. Now in his fifth year with the team, Reichard has amassed a total of 509 points scored.

His freshman season in 2019 got things started with a total of 33 points, then 126 in 2020, followed by his career-high 137 in 2021, he came close last season with 130 and currently has 83 on the 2023 season.

How far away is he from history? Well, he currently sits at No. 3 on the all-time leading points list. He’s 13 points behind Louisiana Tech running back Kenneth Dixon, and Reichard is only 21 points behind the first-place spot, currently held by Navy’s Keenan Reynolds.

Only time will tell if Reichard will be able to surpass Reynolds, but with two regular season games, a conference championship, and a bowl game (with the possibility of a national championship appearance, if applicable), things look good for the Alabama native.

He only needs seven field goals, or 21 extra points, or any combination of the two. We can sit here and list out the possibilities, but all that’s important to know is that every time you see Reichard out on that field from now on, remember that he’s getting one step closer to making history.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama football as the 2023 regular season comes to a close.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on X @SpurrFM. 

Chiefs punter Tommy Townsend celebrates 27th birthday

#Chiefs punter Tommy Townsend celebrated his 27th birthday on Sunday, November 12.

The Kansas City Chiefs special teams unit has been one of the best in the NFL this season, and punter Tommy Townsend’s efforts to flip field position have played a large part in the squad’s success in 2023.

Townsend, now in his fourth year with the Chiefs, celebrated his 27th birthday on Sunday, marking yet another trip around the sun for the All-Pro punter.

A consistent presence for Kansas City on Sundays, Townsend has cemented himself as one of the league’s top punters in recent seasons and is known as one of the Chiefs’ most coveted assets on special teams.

In addition to his role as Kansas City’s punter, Townsend also serves as the team’s holder on field goals and has been stellar in his time helping Harrison Butker nail three-point tries since joining the Chiefs as Dustin Colquitt’s successor in 2020.

Though he won’t be on the field in Week 10 as Kansas City takes its bye, fans can expect to see Townsend back in action against the Philadelphia Eagles on November 20.

Commanders P Tress Way named NFC special teams player of the week

Tress Way wins yet another award.

On Wednesday, Washington Commanders punter Tress Way was named the NFC special teams player of the week for Week 9.

In Washington’s 20-17 win over the New England Patriots, Way punted five times, averaging 47.8 yards per punt, but most importantly, pinned New England inside its own 20-yard line four different times. His four punts inside the 20 were the most in the NFL in Week 9.

Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin mentioned Way’s importance to the win after Sunday’s game.

Per Washington PR, Way has moved into third place in NFC history for the number of times a punter has won this award. Also, Way and Matt Turk are the only two punters in franchise history to win multiple NFC special teams player of the week awards, and the pair are also the only two punters in team history to win at least one NFC special teams player of the month award.

Way, 33, has been Washington’s punter since 2014. He’s been named to the Pro Bowl twice and was a second-team All-Pro on one occasion.

Rams are getting crushed in the field position battle this season

The Rams have only had one drive start in opponent territory, which is two fewer than every other team in the NFL

It’s been a struggle on both offense and defense for the Los Angeles Rams this season, but the special teams unit hasn’t been any better. In Chase Blackburn’s first season as the Rams’ special teams coordinator, Los Angeles has had plenty of issues in that phase of the game.

From missed field goals to the return game, the Rams have had one of the worst special teams units in football. It’s a big reason Los Angeles is getting crushed in the field position battle. Obviously, field position isn’t all about special teams – turnovers on offense and takeaways on defense can also flip the field – but the Rams have consistently set up their opponents with short fields and failed to create short fields for their own offense.

According to Stathead, the Rams have only had one drive that started across midfield. Every other team in the NFL has had at least three drives start in opponent territory, and 30 of them have had at least five such drives; the Rams and Vikings are the only two teams with fewer than five.

On the flip side, only four teams have allowed their opponents to start drives across the 50-yard line more than the Rams. Los Angeles’ opponents have had 11 such drives, fewer than only the Cardinals, Panthers, Commanders and Colts.

The Rams’ average starting field position this season is their own 26.2-yard line, which is the fourth-worst of any team. The average starting position of their opponents is the 31.3-yard line, which is also the fourth-worst in the league.

That’s largely because of long returns allowed to their opponents, as well as Matthew Stafford’s costly turnovers. Teams have started drives at the Rams’ 10-, 1-, 8-, 14- and 9-yard line this season, though only two of those possessions turned into touchdowns.

If the Rams continue to lose the field position battle, it’ll continue to make winning games extremely difficult. Sustaining drives and marching 75 yards to score touchdowns consistently isn’t easy, nor is limiting the scoring output of opponents when they’re starting across midfield as often as they have against the Rams.

Chiefs Dave Toub comments on S Justin Reid’s potential future as an NFL kicker

#Chiefs Dave Toub comments on S Justin Reid’s potential future as an NFL kicker

The emergency kicker role for the Kansas City Chiefs was confirmed last season as starting safety Justin Reid filled in adequately. Reid converted an extra point attempt during Week 1 of the 2022 season following Harrison Butker’s ankle injury.

Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub hasn’t shied away from plugging in different players when needed in special teams roles. He mentioned last week the prospect of having Patrick Mahomes as the emergency punter and is behind Reid as the backup in-game placekicker. During his weekly press conference, Toub commented on Reid’s long-term future as a professional kicker while filling in for an ill Butker at practice on Thursday.

“If we knew that (Butker) was going to be out, we want another kicker,” said Toub. “I’d feel comfortable that Justin can come in, but we want a real kicker. He’s good enough to get us through a game. He can make an extra point and has good range (on field goals).”

Toub was immediately asked if Reid had a future as an NFL kicker later in his football career.

“If he wanted to be a kicker at the NFL level, I don’t think he could do it,” Toub said with a smile. “I love him. I love him, but he will understand why I’m saying that. He’s a good safety.”

Reid will have to settle for being one of the top players in the Chiefs’ secondary. Getting his thoughts on Toub’s assessment would be interesting.

Saints activate LB Ryan Connelly from injured list, bring back RB Jordan Mims

The Saints activated linebacker Ryan Connelly from the injured list, also re-signing running back Jordan Mims to fill out their practice squad:

Reinforcements are on the way: the New Orleans Saints brought back a few familiar faces on Tuesday’s update to the daily NFL transactions wire, with linebacker Ryan Connelly activated from injured reserve and running back Jordan Mims re-signed after being waived last week; both players were added to the practice squad, which is now back at capacity. Tight end/fullback J.P. Holtz was released from the practice squad to facilitate these moves.

Connelly suffered a preseason knee injury and tried to play through it in the season opener with the Tennessee Titans, but that only aggravated the issue. He had to sit out the next six weeks while recovering. But he’s back now, and he should be in line for a role on special teams much like he was before. The Saints have relied on Zack Baun (162 snaps), D’Marco Jackson (161), Nephi Sewell (136), and Ty Summers (117) heavily in the kicking game, but Connelly was playing ahead of Sewell and Summers prior to his injury.

As for Mims: he only played a bit part while coming off the practice squad, but he did well on limited snaps. He got in on the opening tackle against the Houston Texans kick return in Week 6, his first play in the NFL, and the team clearly sees some things they can work with in him. For now he’ll be buried on the depth chart behind Alvin Kamara, Jamaal Williams, and Kendre Miller.

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Dave Toub: QB Patrick Mahomes is the Chiefs’ emergency punter

Special teams coordinator Dave Toub says quarterback Patrick Mahomes is the #Chiefs’ emergency punter.

The Kansas City Chiefs avoided possible disaster before their Week 6 victory over the Denver Broncos on Thursday Night Football. All-Pro punter Tommy Townsend was dealing with a sore knee ahead of the game but was well enough to get through the game.

Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub has never shied away from utilizing any player on the roster for a role. He has gone to place-kicking enthusiast Justin Reid as an emergency backup for Harrison Butker. Toub revealed to reporters on Thursday his intentions to utilize Patrick Mahomes as the team’s backup punter if necessary in games.

“Yeah, we had a plan. We had a plan, and believe it or not, ’15’ (Mahomes) Is our backup punter,” Toub explained. “He could do it. I mean, he shows me all the time. You know he’s out there boom on Saturdays hitting punts. He can do it all, that guy. It’s unbelievable.”

Mahomes has often pushed for doing more outside of the quarterback position, whether in jest or for the team’s betterment.

“If we wanted him to, he could probably,” said Toub, reiterating the real possibility of Mahomes the punter being an emergency option.