The Houston Texans won’t have the benefit of Brad Seely and his decades of special teams experience coordinating the transition unit in 2020, but there are still valuable pieces on the roster.
Pro Football Focus uncovered statistics that Texans punter Bryan Anger finished in the top-10 of the football analytics firm’s punt grade as well as ubiquitous stats such as net average and average hang time.
The Texans acquired Anger during training camp, cut the former Jacksonville Jaguar and Tampa Bay Buccaneer the end of preseason, and then signed him back to the active roster ahead of their Week 3 showdown at the Los Angeles Chargers.
An unheralded pickup last offseason, punter Bryan Anger brought stability to a position of need.
Anger finished in the top-10 in punt grade (T-9th), net average (T-1st) and average hang time (8th). pic.twitter.com/y8GeLRXlpL
— PFF HOU Texans (@PFF_Texans) June 14, 2020
Houston also has Ka’imi Fairbairn handling the kicking duties. The former UCLA Bruin connected on 20-of-25 field goals for an 80.0% field goal percentage, the second-best of his career. However, the extra point percentage was the lowest of his career at 88.9%. Fairbairn connected on an overtime field goal in the AFC wild-card that delivered the Texans a 22-19 win over the Buffalo Bills for the club’s first playoff win since 2016.
Long snapper Jon Weeks also returns for the Texans. The Pro Bowl long snapper gives Houston stability at one of the most critical yet unheralded aspects of the game.
The Texans also have role players on the rosters who provide consistency to the team’s coverage units. Linebacker Dylan Cole earned his first captaincy of his career in 2019, and the club also added a Pro Bowl special teamer in safety Michael Thomas.
Though Seely retired, the knowledge and cohesion he forged on the Texans may not be lost. If the club chooses to promote Tracy Smith, who has been Seely’s assistant since 2010 with the Cleveland Browns and has followed him at every stop between there and Houston, then all of the pieces the Texans have will continue the system; they won’t have to relearn a new one.
Seely was a coach that Bill O’Brien relied upon, but he still has two others in his inner circle still on the staff in associate head coach Romeo Crennel and offensive line coach Mike Devlin. Similarly, the loss of Seely may not be impactful to the special teams given the talent and experience already present.