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Special teams play significant role in NFL games
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Associated Press
NEW YORK -- Mike Westhoff screams at the top of his lungs during every
New York Jets practice, reprimanding his special teams unit for the slightest mistake with the intensity of a drill sergeant.
"He's always fired up and he also brings expectations of being perfect," Jets long snapper
James Dearth said. "He wants everything to be exactly how he coaches it, and he demands it."
But, it's only special teams, right? What's the big deal?
"I know this is only a metaphor, but I want a group of guys, a special teams unit," Westhoff said, "that if for some reason the other two units miss the plane, we'd still win."
Special teams are indeed special in the NFL these days, and it's not just about kickers and punters. Blocked kicks and field position are deciding games,
with even starters playing major roles on special teams units.
"My question I always ask the players is: 'OK, which play is not important? Pick one and tell me which one we're just going to show up," said Westhoff, a special teams coach for 23 years. "You can't have that anymore because the other guys are so good.
Reggie Bush was the second player taken in the draft (in 2006), and he's back there returning punts. There's a lot of good guys who are doing that stuff, so you don't have much room for error.
"It can become catastrophic."
And, at times, it has. According to STATS, there have been 23 blocked punts, field goals and extra points this season. That includes
Sean Morey's block of
Mat McBriar's punt that
Monty Beisel scooped up for a score that gave Arizona a 30-24 overtime victory over Dallas on Oct. 12.
A week later, San Francisco's
Manny Lawson blocked a field-goal attempt by the Giants'
John Carney and it was returned 74 yards by
Nate Clements for a touchdown. The 49ers lost, but that play made it a lot closer than it should've been.
Pittsburgh's
Andre Frazier blocked
Ryan Plackemeier's punt in Week 9, leading to a go-ahead touchdown that gave the Steelers a lead they wouldn't relinquish against Washington.
"Certainly, (special teams) have an impact, there's no doubt about that," Minnesota special teams coordinator Paul Ferraro said. "You don't have to look far to know that."
Ferraro speaks from experience. The Vikings have allowed six special teams touchdowns, tying the 1980
Detroit Lions for the most given up since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Will Blackmon's 65-yard punt return for a touchdown in Green Bay's loss at Minnesota last weekend was the fourth against the Vikings. That also ties an NFL single-season record, set by the Giants in 1959 and tied by the Falcons in 1992. And it's still only Week 11.
"There are three phases out there, and I don't expect our phase to be any less, in terms of outcome of the game, than offense and defense," Ferraro said. "We have to hold up our end of it and continue to get better."
Blocked kicks are an unofficial statistic, but according to STATS, there have been 369 of them this decade, with a high of 62 in 2002.
"I think any time you see your opponent making big plays, it catches your attention," Indianapolis special teams coach Russ Purnell said.
Long snapping has been an underappreciated skill to casual fans, but it becomes a major story line whenever a snap goes awry.
"Special teams have always been important, but people know snaps and holds have to be good to give a kicker a chance," Detroit placekicker
Jason Hanson said. "It should take 1.7 seconds from snap to kick and that means everything has to be perfect."
Trey Junkin's wayward snap cost the Giants a playoff victory against San Francisco in 2002, but there have been plenty of others. Just last month, Pittsburgh's
James Harrison, a Pro Bowl linebacker, was forced into duty in the fourth quarter against the Giants when regular snapper
Greg Warren injured a knee. Harrison launched the ball over punter
Mitch Berger's head for a safety that tied the game. New York scored the go-ahead touchdown on its ensuing drive.
"When I was younger and was a long snapper, I used to do all the offensive line work in practice," said Chicago's
Patrick Mannelly, a snapper for 11 seasons. "Long snappers are doing less and less of practicing that way because of the injury concern. If you lose your long snapper, you're in trouble."
Many coaches credit George Allen for being the godfather of special teams in the NFL. While with the Los Angeles Rams, Allen became the first to hire a full-time special teams coach in 1969 when he brought in Dick Vermeil. After Vermeil left in 1970 to coach at UCLA, Allen brought in Marv Levy to serve in the same role, and then many teams followed suit.
"People recognize the need, the importance of it, the need for field position and how you structure your time for meetings and practice," Purnell said. "Tony Dungy is in every meeting we have, and he makes his points known."
Chicago special teams coordinator Dave Toub, whose unit has been ranked at the top the last few seasons, agrees more teams are focusing on special teams.
"Every team just about has a full-time assistant working with the special teams coordinator," Toub said. "It's taken on a new importance, I think, for everybody."
Westhoff, who coached for 15 years in Miami, said Don Shula was always looking for ways to improve the Dolphins' unit.
"Don's biggest question to all of us that we had a tremendous fear of was, 'How come we're not doing it like that?" Westhoff recalled. "Oh, man. You wanted to die and your heart would stop."
Westhoff also credits former Cowboys and Dolphins coach Jimmy Johnson with being one of the key people making a case for there being three separate entities: offense, defense and special teams.
"He kept probably more players that were exclusive special teams players than maybe anyone did and maybe anyone ever has," Westhoff said. "Gosh, I used to swear when we played Dallas that he'd have five or six guys that probably didn't even know where the offensive and defensive meetings were."
Still, plenty of teams have mixed and matched starters on special teams, such as the Jets' Calvin Pace and Jerricho Cotchery; the Colts' Freddy Keiaho; and the Patriots' Rodney Harrison. Cleveland's Shaun Rogers, a starting defensive tackle, has 11 blocked field goals and a blocked extra point in his career, according to STATS.
"Special teams players are great athletes," Hanson said. "They're not just guys filling out a roster."
And they might just end up being the most important players on the field with the game on the line.
"Our league is extremely balanced and when you're balanced, what's the winning edge?" Westhoff said. "A key player, a quarterback or a running back? Eventually, special teams come into the conversation. It's such a big part of the game."
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AP Sports Writers Dave Campbell in Minneapolis, Larry Lage in Detroit and Michael Marot in Indianapolis, and freelance writer Gene Chamberlain in Chicago contributed to this story.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
This story is from ESPN.com's automated news wire. Wire index
07-09-2009, 06:13 PM
