Tag: special teams

Rams unsurprisingly finish last in 2023 special teams rankings

The Rams had the worst special teams unit in the NFL this season after ranking 29th a year ago

It’s pretty safe to say that the Rams’ offense and defense have both exceeded pre-season expectations this year. The offense scored the eighth-most points in the NFL, and while the defense ranked 19th, that’s actually not terrible considering the lack of proven talent on that side of the ball.

The special teams unit, however, has been atrocious. Based on DVOA, it’s one of the worst in NFL history, missing an NFL-high 11 field goals, as well as five extra-point attempts. Ethan Evans averaged only 38.4 net yards per punt because of the Rams’ awful coverage, and he also had one punt blocked.

No matter which area of special teams you look at, the Rams were one of the worst. That’s what makes it so unsurprising that they finished 32nd in Rick Gosselin’s annual special teams rankings after coming in 29th last year.

The Rams accumulated a league-worst 493 points in Gosselin’s rankings, which is based on where teams rank in 22 different categories, from kickoff returns to penalties. For example, if a team ranks last in a category, it gets 32 points. The fewer points, the better. The next-closest team was the Dolphins with 479 points, while the Texans finished first for the second straight season (236 points).

The Rams finished last in kickoff returns (16.1 yards), punt coverage (15.5 yards), points allowed (14) and opponent blocked kicks (3). In all, it was a complete mess in Chase Blackburn’s first season as the special teams coordinator.

There has been no consistency at kicker between Brett Maher and Lucas Havrisik, the Rams have gotten nothing out of their return specialists and the coverage on both kickoffs and punts has been terrible.

Don’t be surprised if sweeping changes are made to the special teams group in the offseason.

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

Where Marvin Mims stacked up against NFL’s returners in 2023

Among players with double digit-returns, Broncos rookie Marvin Mims ranked 1st with 16.4 YPR on punts and 4th with 26.5 YPR on kickoffs.

Denver Broncos wide receiver Marvin Mims had a limited role on offense as a rookie, but he made a big impact on special teams.

Mims was elected to the Pro Bowl by players, coaches and fans after he returned 19 punts for 312 yards and 15 kickoffs for 397 yards and one touchdown in his first season as a pro. Mims is now set to handle return duties for the AFC at the Pro Bowl next month.

“How cool for Marvin in his rookie year to be able to come in and be selected as a starter?” Broncos safety Justin Simmons said last week. “Well-deserved for him.”

Among players with double-digit returns, Mims ranked fourth in the NFL averaging 26.5 yards per kickoff return (first in the AFC). He averaged 16.4 yards per punt return, best in the league among qualified returners.

The three players above Mims on kickoffs were KaVontae Turpin (29.2 YPR), Velus Jones Jr. (27.2 YPR) and Raheem Blackshear (26.9 YPR). Here’s a quick look at where Mims stacked up among kickoff and punt returners in 2023.

Comparing Wil Lutz’s stats to Brandon McManus’ stats in 2023

Wil Lutz converted 88.2% of his field goals in 2023, better than Brandon McManus (81.1%). Lutz did miss two PATs (McManus was perfect).

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton made a somewhat surprising move last May when he released veteran kicker Brandon McManus.

McManus ranked second on the club’s all-time scoring list and he was the last remaining member from the Super Bowl 50 squad before being cut. The kicker was coming off a down year, however, and releasing him saved the Broncos $3.75 million in 2023 salary cap space.

McManus signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars a few days later.

Denver then had a kicker competition between Brett Maher and Elliott Fry last summer, but neither of them ended up winning the job. Before the start of the season, Payton traded a seventh-round draft pick to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for Wil Lutz, his former kicker.

The switch from McManus to Lutz saved the Broncos $2.05 million in 2023 cap space, so it made sense financially. In hindsight, it also made sense from a football perspective.

Lutz converted 88.2% of his field goals this season, better than the 81.1% conversion rate that McManus posted. Here’s a quick look at a few more of their stats.

WATCH: Chiefs pull off tricky fake punt, convert on fourth down vs. Chargers

The #Chiefs used a fake punt to convert on a fourth down against the #Chargers in Week 18.

The Kansas City Chiefs resorted to trickery to keep a drive alive against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 18.

Midway through the second quarter, the Chiefs’ offense stalled out on what seemed to be a promising sequence, and Andy Reid elected to send his punt unit out on fourth down.

Everything seemed normal until the ball was snapped and veteran running back La’Mical Perine took a carry for nine yards to get Kansas City back to first down.

Check out a video of the tricky conversion here:

While the Chiefs weren’t able to end this drive with a touchdown, they managed to march the ball near the goal line to set up kicker Harrison Butker with an easy field goal attempt.

Butker would nail his three-point try to give Kansas City a 10-point lead with a little over four minutes remaining before halftime.

Fans can expect Andy Reid to continue looking for unique ways to keep his offense on the field as the Chiefs rest their starters ahead of the AFC playoffs.

Anonymous NFL players rank Saints’ Darren Rizzi as a top-5 special teams coordinator

An NFL Players Association of anonymous players ranked New Orleans Saints assistant Darren Rizzi as a top-5 special teams coordinator:

An anonymous poll from the NFL Players Association surveyed more than 1,700 players, asking them to rate their offensive, defensive, and special teams coordinators on a scale from 1 to 10 — and the NFLPA has already released the top-five at each spot, with the full rankings to come in the offseason.

Just one New Orleans Saints coordinator made the cut for the top-five: Darren Rizzi, their special teams coordinator. A longtime assistant with the Miami Dolphins before he came to New Orleans, Rizzi is respected for his ability to connect to his players and put them in position to win. Rizzi interviewed for the Saints head coach job when it became available in the wake of Sean Payton’s departure from the team, and he added the title of assistant head coach in 2022 under Dennis Allen.

So what were the exact items on this questionnaire? NFLPA president JC Tretter told NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero that these were qualitative ratings with “all encompassing” criteria. Pelissero quoted Tretter as saying “Guys in the Top 5 list pretty clearly appeal to almost everybody in their locker room.”

Another former Saints assistant was also recognized by his players as a great coach: Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, who came up on the New Orleans staff working with the secondary under Allen and Payton. He’s repeatedly received interviews for head coach openings around the league and he might be in line to run his own team in the near future.

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Wil Lutz is one field goal away from tying Jason Elam’s franchise record

With one more field goal, Broncos kicker Wil Lutz will tie a single-season franchise record held by Jason Elam (31).

Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton made a surprising move this spring when he released veteran kicker Brandon McManus and replaced him with Wil Lutz.

In hindsight, it looks like Payton made the right decision.

Lutz has converted 88.2% of his field goal attempts this season, better than McManus (80.0%) with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Lutz also has a cheaper contract — switching from McManus to Lutz saved Denver $2.05 million.

“I think he’s doing well,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said of Lutz on Dec. 1. “He’s made some big kicks for us, and he’s been in some big spots … I think he’s doing a good job and I’m glad we have him.”

After a shaky start in Week 1, Payton said Lutz would bounce back, and the coach was right.

The 29-year-old kicker is just one field goal away from tying Jason Elam’s franchise record of 31 field goals in a single season (Brandon McManus and Matt Prater both converted 30 field goals in a single season).

Elam made 31 field goals in two different seasons (1995 and 2001) and to be fair to history, Elam did that during the 16-game era. Still, even with an extra game, Lutz’s numbers are impressive. Two field goals on Sunday would break Elam’s record.

Lutz has also had 88.5% of his kickoffs go for touchbacks this season, seventh-most in the NFL. McManus (75.6%) ranks 23rd.

McManus was one of the best kickers in franchise history and a key member of Denver’s Super Bowl 50 team, but Payton made the right move to switch to Lutz this offseason.

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Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker wins AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors

#Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker earned Special Teams Player of the Week honors after his six field goal performance against the Bengals.

The Kansas City Chiefs relied on kicker Harrison Butker to score the majority of their points in Week 17 against the Cincinnati Bengals, and his stellar six-for-six showing against the team’s bitter AFC rival earned him Special Teams Player of the Week honors.

Butker accounted for 19 of Kansas City’s 25 points in an effort that helped secure the Chiefs their tenth win of the 2023 season. The veteran kicker started his season with an impressive streak of 23 consecutive three-point attempts made before faltering against the New England Patriots and Las Vegas Raiders in Weeks 15 and 16 respectively, when he missed one attempt in each game.

His bounce-back showing against Cincinnati should have Butker back on track ahead of the playoffs and could be a good indicator that the Chiefs’ golden leg is back to his old ways.

Expect Butker to get another workout against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 18 if Andy Reid elects to rest Kansas City’s starters,

Packers lead NFL with 20 special teams penalties in 2023

No team has committed more penalties on special teams this season than the Packers.

No team in the NFL has committed more penalties on special teams this season than the Green Bay Packers.

Entering Week 15, the Packers have 20 penalties on special teams, including two declined penalties. The team’s 163 yards of penalties on special teams also lead the NFL.

Per PFF, 13 different players have committed a penalty for Rich Bisaccia’s special teams, including four accepted penalties each by Kingsley Enagbare and Dallin Leavitt. Enagbare and Leavitt (who is no longer on the roster) are two of just five players with an NFL-high four penalties on special teams in 2023.

Of the 20 penalties, nine have been holding penalties. Five other penalties have been of the 15-yard variety.

Monday night’s loss to the New York Giants represented the sixth game this season that the Packers have committed multiple penalties on special teams.

Bisaccia said one of the penalties — an illegal blindside block on rookie Anthony Johnson Jr. — was a poor call.

“The first one on Anthony Johnson was not a penalty,” Bisaccia said Thursday.

Bisaccia said Johnson wasn’t facing the end zone and should not have been called for an illegal block. However, Rudy Ford’s penalty was legitimate.

In the first quarter, Ford ran into the returner and was flagged for kick catch interference, a 15-yard penalty.

Penalties have played a big part in another disappointing season for the special teams. The Packers rank 19th in PFF’s special teams grade and 28th in DVOA entering Week 15.

Last season, the Packers finished with exactly 20 penalties on special teams, which ranked as the third-most. The NFL-high in 2022 was 23 special teams penalties (Carolina Panthers). The Packers lead the NFL in special teams penalties and penalty yards since Bisaccia arrived in 2022.

Chiefs Dave Toub praises the progression of rookie DB Chamarri Conner

#Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub praised the progression of rookie defensive back Chamarri Conner.

The Kansas City Chiefs have seen their depth tested on both sides of the ball this season and are constantly developing their rookie class. The impact each young player can make when an opportunity presents itself due to injuries is essential to the franchise’s long-term success.

Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub is consistently working with the younger developing players in his group. He looks more extensively at their abilities while they work towards fitting into their respective unit’s game plan. During Thursday’s pre-practice press conference, Toub expressed his excitement at the growth of rookie defensive back Chamarri Conner.

“He keeps getting better and better,” Toub explained. “I mean, that’s two games in a row. Now. He made beautiful tackles on punts and open-field tackles. So it tells you a lot about his football ability; he’s gonna be a great one down the road. I’m enjoying the fact that I got him right now.

“I know, eventually, he’s going to, you know, end up being in-depth as, you know, getting more and more reps on defense. He’s already getting a lot now, but he’s gonna get more and more as we go forward. He’s some he’s a player that should be excited about.”

Conner was a fourth-round pick in this year’s NFL Draft and has played primarily on special teams. The recent injuries on defense could eventually see him making the jump on more plays in Steve Spagnuolo’s system.