Talking Special Teams

Two poor performances in two weeks have really put the focus on the Eagles' special teams.  This is one of my favorite topics, so let's dig into it a bit.

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#1 -- For fans without access to game film -- i.e., all of us -- it is really, really hard to evaluate the performance of the special teams.

Obviously, we can see the results.  If you go an entire season without a kickoff return of longer than 35 yards, then clearly you have a problem.  But without access to game film, we really have no idea what that problem is, since we see three things on the average special teams play:  1) the snap, 2) the ball in the air, and 3) the tackle.  That cuts out the whole "run down field and try to make/beat blocks" phase.  Which is kind of the important part.

#2 -- Special teams performance is very much a "weakest link" type of thing.

If nine guys fulfill their assignments on a play, but one guy slips and misses his block, the returner is likely to get plastered.  (Same thing happens when everyone misses his block.)  That's yet another thing that makes it hard to evaluate preseason special teams, since the coaches could be rotating in a guy who won't be there in a couple weeks.

#3 -- It's simply not true that the problems began when John Harbaugh vacated the special teams coordinator role.

This seems to be a popular theme on the message boards right now, but it's just not true:

 

Eagles fans have been complaining about the special teams for at least two years now (in hindsight, calling 2005 a "disaster" is almost funny, given how much worse things have gotten since then). 

Heck, the Eagles conspiracy theorist in me even wondered if the Harbaugh's move away from special teams was really as voluntary as suggested.  (Not one of the brighter points I've ever made.)

The problems clearly began in 2005 and have worsened ever since.  They certainly bottomed out last year, but to lay all this at the feet of Segrest just isn't right -- especially because of points #1 and #2 above.

#4 -- Akers is clearly a concern, but...

The league's made field goal percentage on kicks of 40-to-49 yards was 76 percent.  Those aren't gimmes.  Missing a 45-yarder in the first preseason game doesn't mean he's done.  (Although one more...) 

The other thing to point out about Akers is that he seems to be absolutely bombing the ball off the tee this year.  Yes, the missed field goals can be killers, but if Akers can give us five bonus yards every time he kicks off, that's going to add up.

#5 -- It's a little strange to say that the Eagles weren't aware / didn't try to fix the problem.

Reid went so far as to call the performance on special teams last year "horrendous."  They knew there was a problem.  That's why they went out and drafted or signed:

• DeSean Jackson
• Quintin Demps
• Luke Lawton
• Rocky Boiman
• Dan Klecko
• Kris Wilson
• And ...... Lorenzo Booker (heh)

They've also gone out of their way to let the bubble guys know that special teams performance will be an important deciding factor in final cuts.  Finally, Segrest has talked about using standouts like Quintin Mikell more on STs during the regular season than he was able to last year.

The kick return situation is unnerving, particularly given what happened last year.  But if the problems don't get fixed, it won't be for lack of bodies.

Comments

[johnnyshaka]

Two games with an essentially brand new special teams unit is hardly giving them a fair shake. I think you've hit the nail on the head with your comment about the unit being only as good as it's weakest player but at this point, these guys are still getting to know each other, the coaches, and the system...I'd cut them a little slack.

[Andrew]

Special Teams started bombing in 2005 with Akers and Johnson and Reed getting injured and when they let Ike Reese go and moved Keith Adams to a starting position he wasn't suited for.

Still, however, Reno F***ing Mahe was able to lead the league in punt returns that year, so blocking was still pretty good. If we had a returner that year who actually had speed, we would have had a couple of return touchdowns.

[Eric]

Wasn't Dexter Wynn leading the league in punt return average 3 years ago and we traded him to the Texans? I'm pretty sure he still did well for them too.

[Eric]

I guess it was kick return average and the Eagles waived him.

[Tracer Bullet]

Let's not forget that Akers was 2-for-10 beyond 40 yards last year as well. It may be too soon to replace him, but it is certainly time to give him some competition. As for Segrist, well, when your unit finishes 31st in the league, you don't get the benefit of the doubt. He needs to get this shit figured out, or he needs to get the hell out.

[Eagles Fan in San Fran]

In looking over the ST stats for 2007, the 2 things that jump out are:
1) The lack of big returns (zero KRs of 40+ yards and only 3 PRs of 20+ yards).
2) 6 fumbles on PRs (second most in the league - the Raiders had 7). Not sure how many we actually lost, besides the 2 in the GB game.

The punting, while not great (esp. in terms of net yards), was not that horrendous in “real” (field position) terms – I estimate that we were only giving up about 3 yards in field position on average per punt. And we only gave up one PR TD all year.

On KOs, Akers wasn’t that great and neither was the coverage, but, again in “real” terms, the advantage to the other team wasn’t huge – something on the order of about 4 yards better starting position for the opposition. Plus, we didn’t give up any TDs on a KO.

Finally, in terms of Akers, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt, since he hit everything inside 40 yards. And although he was only 2 of 10 from 40+, 3 of those misses were from 50+ while another 3 were at Giants stadium, which has historically been a “house of horrors” for him.

Thus, in total, we may well be just “off by a hair,” to borrow AR’s favorite phrase from 2007.

And given that: 1) Akers’ leg seems rejuvenated by his new workout regiment, 2) Rocco is no longer a rookie (in the truest sense of the word), 3) Jackson will handle PRs (he knows what he’s doing plus he did it well in college), and 4) AR brought in guys specifically for ST and has heavily emphasized it to the troops this spring), one would have to think/hope that ST will be, at the very least, “average” this year.

The one real question mark really is KRs – Booker seems very shaky and reportedly he’s never done this before (where’d I hear that one before?). Not sure what they do about that at this point, although perhaps the “conservative” route (JR Reed or Buck instead) might be best to avoid another GB-type fiasco.

BTW: Who WAS ranked #32 in ST by FO?

[Me]

As someone pointed out a few days ago, it's the team that was the former home of all those special teams standouts we signed in the offseason:

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/teamst.php

[Tracer Bullet]

On another note, why the hell do they always show us that "ball in flight" shot? Who gives a damn about seeing a football spinning end over end? It's cliched and it doesn't do anything to help fans understand the game. Networks often show an overhead shot of the entire field in instant replay, which is great because we can see the lanes develop. Why can't we get that shot in real time?

[Eagles Fan in San Fran]

"As someone pointed out a few days ago, it's the team that was the former home of all those special teams standouts we signed in the offseason"

As Homer would say, "Doh!"

Another "Doh!" moment from today's DN: "Demps is front-runner for Eagles' kick-return job"

Booker: "suddenly it seemed more relevant that Booker has never really been a returner at any level, though he has said he practiced it a lot as Leon Washngton's backup at Florida State."

vs.:

Demps: "Demps, a kick and punt returner at Texas-El Paso"

Add to that:
"Mikell, a past special-teams captain, left no doubt how he sees Demps' contribution there. "He adds so much to your return game in terms of speed and ability," Mikell said. "We need him on the field."

As a popular commerical out here says, "that's the biggest no-brainer in the history of mankind."

[Pat]

Regarding the FO ST ranks: for 2005, look closer. Look at the "weighted ST rank." See that beside the Eagles? It's a "2."

As in, by the end of the year, the Eagles were the second best ST in the league. This isn't surprising, considering all the problems in the beginning were injuries to specialists. Once he had patched around them, things were fine.

You might say "well, there's still 2006." Except, suspiciously, in 2006, Rory Segrest came in as a "quality control" guy for special teams. After the season, Harbaugh moves to the secondary, saying he wants to go somewhere he can move up from. It's just too suspicious (There were also injuries to specialists in 2006 as well - Bartrum).