oldschooler Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 [quote][size=5][b]Specialists ranked [/b][/size] By GEOFF HOBSON February 9, 2009 After routinely appearing in the upper half of the NFL specials teams rankings under head coach Marvin Lewis, the Bengals head into their second straight offseason looking to boost their kicking game. They followed up a No. 22 performance in 2007 with a No. 24 ranking this past season in large part because the Bengals finished last in punting with a 39.1-yard average and third-to-last in net punting. Rick "Goose" Gosselin of The Dallas Morning News annually compiles the league's special teams ranking using 22 different categories. He assigns points that correspond to the team's ranking in each category, so the team with the lowest score wins. The Bills won their third title in five years with 254 points, nearly 15 points fewer than runnerup Tennessee.[/quote] [url="http://www.bengals.com/news/news.asp?story_id=7493"]http://www.bengals.com/news/news.asp?story_id=7493[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschooler Posted February 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 [quote][size=5][b]Rick Gosselin's NFL special teams rankings[/b][/size] Bills struggled but still got their kicks The Bears slid to eighth in large part because of the diminished impact of Devin Hester. He went to the Pro Bowl after each of his first two years, scoring a combined 11 touchdowns on kick returns those seasons. But the Bears used Hester more as a wide receiver in 2008. He started eight games and caught 51 passes, and the increased workload made him a pedestrian kick returner. He averaged 21.9 yards on kickoffs and 6.2 yards on punts and did not score a touchdown on special teams for the first season in his three-year career. The league's 32 teams are ranked in 22 categories and assigned points according to their standing – 1 for best, 32 for worst. The Bills won with a composite score of 254 – 14.5 points better than runner-up Tennessee. The teams with the two top seeds in the playoffs, the Titans in the AFC and the New York Giants in the NFC, finished in the top four in special teams. Fellow division winners Carolina and San Diego also finished in the top 15, as did NFC wild cards Atlanta and Philadelphia. But Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh finished 20th and NFC champion Arizona 28th. The Cardinals had the lowest-ranked special teams ever in a Super Bowl, and the Steelers had the second-worst special teams for a champion after the 2006 Indianapolis Colts. The Cowboys checked in at 27th – their worst finish of the Jerry Jones era. The Bills led the NFL in only two special teams categories, punt returns and kickoff starting point. But Buffalo finished in the top five in five other categories and in the top 10 in yet another seven. Under the supervision of special teams coach Bobby April, the Bills scored touchdowns on a 98-yard kickoff return, a 63-yard punt return and a fake field goal attempt. Other notable statistics from the 2008 season: Oakland led the league with five special teams touchdowns, Chicago blocked four kicks, and Detroit forced five turnovers. Also, Atlanta allowed only 2.5 yards per punt return, the best figure of the decade. The Raiders, under the direction of Brian Schneider, staged the biggest jump in the rankings, from 26th to fifth. Oakland dominated the punting categories with Pro Bowler Shane Lechler, and Johnnie Lee Higgins returned three punts for touchdowns. Lechler is from Texas A&M, Higgins from UTEP. TEAM RANKINGS The NFL's 32 teams are ranked in 22 kicking game categories and assigned points according to their standing in each category (1 for the best through 32 for the worst). This is a composite score for those categories: Rank Team Points 1. Buffalo Bills 254 2. Tennessee Titans 268.5 3. Cleveland Browns 269 4. New York Giants 269.5 5. Oakland Raiders 274.5 6. San Francisco 49ers 283 7. New England Patriots 287 8. Chicago Bears 288.5 9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 318.5 10 (tie). Atlanta Falcons 324 10 (tie). San Diego Chargers 324 12 (tie). Carolina Panthers 329.5 12 (tie). Philadelphia Eagles 329.5 14. New York Jets 351.5 15. Seattle Seahawks 369 16. Jacksonville Jaguars 376.5 17. St. Louis Rams 377 18. New Orleans Saints 381 19. Detroit Lions 381.5 20. Pittsburgh Steelers 382.5 21. Houston Texans 383 22. Baltimore Ravens 389 23. Washington Redskins 394 [b]24. Cincinnati Bengals 421.5 [/b] 25. Minnesota Vikings 422 26. Green Bay Packers 430 27. Dallas Cowboys 431.5 28. Arizona Cardinals 433.5 29. Kansas City Chiefs 456 30. Miami Dolphins 463.5 31. Denver Broncos 472.5 32. Indianapolis Colts 481 KICKOFF RETURNS Best: Tennessee, 25.4 yards Worst: Green Bay, 20.1 yards Cowboys: 21st, 22.2 yards PUNT RETURNS Best: Buffalo, 15.5 yards Worst: Indianapolis, 6.0 yards Cowboys: 30th, 6.4 yards KICKOFF COVERAGE Best: Pittsburgh, 19.1 yards Worst: St. Louis, 26.2 yards Cowboys: 6th, 21.3 yards PUNT COVERAGE Best: Atlanta, 2.5 yards Worst: Minnesota, 14.9 yards Cowboys: 24th, 10.5 yards STARTING POINT Best: Buffalo, 32.4-yard line Worst: St. Louis, 23.8-yard line Cowboys: Tied for 19th, 26.4-yard line OPPONENT STARTING POINT Best: Jacksonville, 24.5-yard line Worst: Kansas City, 31.9-yard line Cowboys: 29th, 29.3-yard line PUNTING Best: St. Louis, 49.6 yards [b]Worst: Cincinnati, 39.1 yards [/b] Cowboys: 19th, 43.4 yards NET PUNTING Best: Oakland, 41.2 yards Worst: Washington, 33.4 yards Cowboys: 22nd, 36.4 yards INSIDE-THE-20 PUNTS Best: Chicago, 40 Worst: New Orleans, 9 Cowboys: Tied for 24th, 19 OPPONENT PUNTING Best: Cleveland, 40.7 yards Worst: Miami, 46.7 yards Cowboys: 23rd, 44.3 yards OPPONENT NET PUNTING Best: Cleveland, 34.1 yards Worst: Arizona, 40.0 yards Cowboys: 26th, 38.9 yards FIELD GOALS Best: New England, NY Giants, 36 apiece Worst: Kansas City, 16 Cowboys: Tied for 29th, 20 FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE Best: Detroit, 95.4 percent Worst: Washington, 72.2 percent Cowboys: 4th, 90.9 percent OPPONENT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE Best: Tennessee, 66.6 percent Worst: St. Louis, 96.8 percent Cowboys: 19th, 86.3 percent EXTRA-POINT PERCENTAGE Best: 26 teams tied at 100 percent Worst: Detroit, Oakland, 96.1 percent apiece Cowboys: Tied for 1st POINTS SCORED Best: Oakland, 30 points Worst: 7 teams tied with 0 points Cowboys: Tied for 13th, 8 points POINTS ALLOWED Best: 9 teams tied with 0 points Worst: Minnesota, 44 points Cowboys: Tied for 17th, 12 points BLOCKED KICKS FOR Best: Chicago, 4 Worst: 9 teams tied with 0 Cowboys: Tied for 11th with 1 BLOCKED KICKS AGAINST Best: 7 teams tied with 0 Worst: Philadelphia, 4 Cowboys: Tied for 8th with 1 TAKEAWAYS Best: Detroit, 5 Worst: 8 teams tied with 0 Cowboys: Tied for 3rd with 2 GIVEAWAYS Best: 6 teams tied with 0 Worst: 5 teams tied with 3 Cowboys: Tied for 22nd with 2 PENALTIES Best: Denver, 6 Worst: Green Bay, 24 Cowboys: 20th, 15 penalties[/quote] [url="http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/columnists/rgosselin/stories/020809dnspospecialteamslede.38f0fd2.html"]http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...de.38f0fd2.html[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inigo Montoya Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 The only stat where the Bengals' stand out is punting. Larson = the Suck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akiliMVP Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 [quote name='Inigo Montoya' post='745455' date='Feb 9 2009, 07:57 PM']The only stat where the Bengals' stand out is punting. Larson = the Suck[/quote] I blame the weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scharm Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 Is there any thought to the more you punt the more chances you have to suck at it? I don't know, they punted a whole bunch last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschooler Posted February 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 [quote name='oldschooler' post='745433' date='Feb 9 2009, 03:28 PM'][url="http://www.bengals.com/news/news.asp?story_id=7493"]http://www.bengals.com/news/news.asp?story_id=7493[/url][/quote] Updated article . . . [quote][size=5][b]Simmons looking for kick [/b][/size] By GEOFF HOBSON February 9, 2009 Updated: 7:45 p.m. Since Bengals special teams coach Darrin Simmons arrived with head coach Marvin Lewis in 2003, the bar has been raised at what had been a traditional trouble spot. But after three solid years, including top 10 finishes in 2004 (7) and 2006 (9), the Bengals are again grappling with special issues in the offseason. After a No. 22 finish in '07, they came in No. 24 this past season in large part because the Bengals finished last in punting with a 39.1-yard average and third-to-last in net punting. Simmons has said the biggest offseason question mark involving teams is the unsigned status of Shayne Graham, the most accurate kicker in club history. It's looking more and more like wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh's $9.88 million franchise tag is too rich for the appetite, but Graham's $2.48 million franchise tag may be more manageable for a team that needs plenty of pieces. Still, even if Graham is coming back Simmons says they'll need someone to come in and challenge punter Kyle Larson. After signing a five-year deal last March, Larson said his '08 goals were to average more than 37 yards net and more than 43 yards gross. Instead, he fell to 34.2 and 39.5, respectively, and Simmons needs more from a guy that impressed him so much with his improvement during his first three NFL seasons. "He's been on a downward spiral the couple of years. I know it's in there," Simmons said. "He showed steady improvement the first three years topped off by his best year in '06. He has to get back to that. Kyle has to fix Kyle. I think he knows that. We've got to be able to change field position. We didn't do that enough this year." But punting isn't the only thing Simmons is looking to upgrade. It has now been 66 straight games that the Bengals haven't had a 40-yard plus punt return. And two seasons since they recovered more than one fumble in the kicking game. Rick "Goose" Gosselin of The Dallas Morning News charts all these things in his annual NFL special teams survey using 22 different categories. He assigns points that correspond to the team's ranking in each category, so the team with the lowest score wins. The Bills won their third title in five years in 2008 with 254 points, nearly 15 points fewer than runnerup Tennessee. The Bengals amassed 421.5 saddled by their low rankings in the punt game as well as 24th in punt return and number of points allowed after giving up a blocked punt for a touchdown against Tennessee and Jacoby Jones' 73-yard punt return in Houston. That countered the tag team effort of rookie wide receiver Andre Caldwell and veteran wide receiver Glenn Holt that finished 11th in kick return and a 14th and 19th finish in punt and kick cover, respectively. "We have to block everything up perfectly to get something going," said Simmons of the return game. "It's not every day you come across a returner like Devin Hester, but Chicago doesn't block everything up. "But they have a guy that makes plays and everybody believes in that guy," Simmons said. "Every time he touches the ball. We have to get that back. We had that with Peter Warrick the first year (2003). We had that belief, we had that feeling. We've got to get it back. Whether it's a returner having confidence in his blockers, or just as important, the blockers having confidence in the guy back there." Simmons looks at Gosselin's top five of Buffalo, Tennessee, Cleveland, the Giants, and Oakland, and sees pretty much the common denominator. "You have to build around your specialists," he said. "They've got a great a punter, a great kicker, and great return guys." "Buffalo has two excellent kickers in (Rian) Lindell and (Brian) Moorman and more returners than you can shake a stick at,'' he said. "They've got a guy who went to the Pro Bowl (Terrence McGee) who doesn't even return kicks any more and Roscoe Parrish, who is very explosive, but they've got another guy (rookie cornerback Leodis McKelvin who was a No. 1 pick) who hardly plays defense and does pretty much only returns." Tennessee picked up defensive back Chris Carr in restricted free agency and the Titans ended up leading the league in kick returns while Cleveland got another solid year out of their punter (free agent Dave Zastudil), kicker Phil Dawson and Josh Cribbs. "(Cribbs) could have gone to the Pro Bowl as both a return guy and cover guy," Simmons said. Bengals wide receiver Antonio Chatman had a good start and he authored the team's first 20-plus return since 2006, but when he hurt his neck and was done for the year he still averaged only 7.5 yards per return. Which makes that spot a black hole because the guys behind Chatman, Houshmandzadeh and cornerback Leon Hall, were merely emergencies. On the plus side, Simmons does have people like Caldwell to build around. He can only return kicks, but he's got Simmons very encouraged because on just 13 returns he had some long ones that included a 42-yarder. "He's got a lot of speed and he can change field position," Simmons said. "And it was the first kicks he had returned since 2005, when he broke his leg. But he didn't say a word about it and that shows you quite a bit. But he still hasn't done it." Still, if Caldwell emerges as a starting receiver in Houshmandzadeh's absence, it would affect his time on returns. For the first time in his career, Hester didn't have a return touchdown in the wake of the Bears jacking up his playing time at receiver this past year. Arizona wide receiver Steve Breaston finished 10th in NFL punt returns in '07 with a 9.4-yard average, but when he became the Cards' third receiver in '08, he dipped to 19th at 7.2. "Same thing with Dante Hall when he was with Kansas City. His production wasn't the same the more he played receiver," Simmons said. "It's just a matter of what works best for the team. It's hard to argue with Breaston because he did have over 1,000 yards this year." The other things Simmons seeks are health and continuity, which are really the same thing. "We have to stay healthy. We haven't been able to do that two years in a row," he said. "There's been too much missed time. The Bengals' four top teams tacklers from '06 when they finished ninth didn't finish the season with them in '08. Simmons is hoping for a little more continuity in '09. Of the top six tacklers in '08 (safeties Kyries Hebert and John Busing, linebackers Rashad Jeanty, Corey Mays, and Brandon Johnson, long snapper Brad St. Louis), three were in the top 10 in '07. "Kyries is one of those guys that's committed. You don't question his effort. You have to kill him to stop him from what he's going to do," Simmons said. "I've got as much respect for Rashad as any other player I've ever been with. He's tough. He plays hurt. He's been a starter for the past two years, but he's always been on two or three of the teams. In order for him to stay effective, I think he we've got to find a way to limit his role to keep him healthy." But, like Graham, there are more question marks. All six restricted free agents have been key players for Simmons when healthy, spearheaded by the trio of linebackers, as well as Holt, Busing and running back DeDe Dorsey. The Bengals can virtually keep all six by tendering them a one-year offer, but the cheapest tender is $1 million, and Jeanty probably commands $1.545 million so that the Bengals can be guaranteed second-round compensation. Everyone but Johnson (a fifth-round pick of Arizona) is a free agent, meaning the Bengals would get a fifth-rounder if he signs elsewhere after a tender and nothing if they lose one of the other five because they came into the league as free agents. "We've got to get more production out of offensive players," Simmons said. "It's like Marvin said, our good players need to play good."[/quote] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inigo Montoya Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 [quote name='akiliMVP' post='745464' date='Feb 9 2009, 07:15 PM']I blame the weather.[/quote] I blame the worst statistical starting punter in the league, who was also in the bottom six the year before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirrlnutz Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 Punter is essentially the one starting spot on any team where one terrible season should warrant losing your job under any and every circumstance. Larson had no business even stepping on the field by week 10. If he makes it through the first cut of traning camp, this organization isn't even trying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akiliMVP Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 [quote name='Inigo Montoya' post='745514' date='Feb 9 2009, 09:52 PM']I blame the worst statistical starting punter in the league, who was also in the bottom six the year before.[/quote] Yeah I was being sarcastic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inigo Montoya Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 [quote name='akiliMVP' post='745566' date='Feb 10 2009, 08:05 AM']Yeah I was being sarcastic[/quote] My mistake. Go has actually made the claim that Larson should be given a pass due to the weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turningpoint Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 I've said it once and I'll say it again. Huber with our compensetory pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredtoast Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 [quote name='Squirrlnutz' post='745519' date='Feb 9 2009, 09:01 PM']Punter is essentially the one starting spot on any team where one terrible season should warrant losing your job under any and every circumstance. Larson had no business even stepping on the field by week 10. If he makes it through the first cut of traning camp, this organization isn't even trying.[/quote] Just two years ago Larson was 8th in the entire league in punting average and 4th in net average, but this year he sucked. His decline is one of the biggest mysteries on the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akiliMVP Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 [quote name='Inigo Montoya' post='745568' date='Feb 10 2009, 09:24 AM']My mistake. Go has actually made the claim that Larson should be given a pass due to the weather.[/quote] That's why I said it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-GoBengals- Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 [quote name='scharm' post='745501' date='Feb 9 2009, 08:18 PM']Is there any thought to the more you punt the more chances you have to suck at it? I don't know, they punted a whole bunch last year.[/quote] he punted 40 more times than the year before. and a few bad punts kill the average since most guy punt 50-65 times a year tops, and he punted 100,, we had an opposing kicker kick a kickoff into the stands... on the sideline.. we had two games in 25mph+ weather where both kickers sucked ass.. but thats like 12 punts larson had to deal with in it, and probably 4-5 the other kicker did... just hurts the overall average.. he had some just bad punts too.. but all kickers do that.. he will have competition in camp im sure.. but i dont foresee us blowing a top 5 round draft pick on the situation, as we are all aware larson can play very well.. he did for a few years.. maybe catching st louis's shitty snaps is making him lose his edge.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengals1181 Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 [quote name='turningpoint' post='745587' date='Feb 10 2009, 10:03 AM']I've said it once and I'll say it again. Huber with our compensetory pick.[/quote] considering we might be getting a third, umm no. If we also get a 5th, sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bengaled Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 [quote name='Bengals1181' post='745631' date='Feb 10 2009, 12:42 PM']considering we might be getting a third, umm no. If we also get a 5th, sure.[/quote] agreed, nothing sooner than the 5th round for any punter, including huber who's an interesting prospect. also, i think larson suffered from a tired leg last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inigo Montoya Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 [quote name='GoBengals' post='745620' date='Feb 10 2009, 12:08 PM']he punted 40 more times than the year before. and a few bad punts kill the average since most guy punt 50-65 times a year tops, and he punted 100,, we had an opposing kicker kick a kickoff into the stands... on the sideline.. we had two games in 25mph+ weather where both kickers sucked ass.. but thats like 12 punts larson had to deal with in it, and probably 4-5 the other kicker did... just hurts the overall average.. he had some just bad punts too.. but all kickers do that.. he will have competition in camp im sure.. but i dont foresee us blowing a top 5 round draft pick on the situation, as we are all aware larson can play very well.. he did for a few years.. maybe catching st louis's shitty snaps is making him lose his edge.. [/quote] In the two windy games you allude to, the opposing punters had the following stats: Craig Hentrich - Tennessee - 6 punts, 48.0 yards per punt Dave Zastudil - Cleveland - 5 punts, 49.4 yards per punt Larson averaged 36 yards on 6 punts against Tennessee and 32.2 yards on 6 punts against Cleveland. That tells me that it wasn't impossible to post decent numbers in those weather conditions and that Larson absolutely sucks in bad weather. And we shouldn't forget his worst game of the year, which occurred in the dome in Indy. As Darrin Simmons says in the article, Larson is currently in a downward spiral. He performed well in 2005 and 2006, but has been at or near the bottom of the league the past two seasons. Clearly, he's moving in the wrong direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.