John Bonamego's unit jumped from #28 to #12 in the NFL from 2008-09, quite an improvement. That, sadly, was last yr, this year look at the losses: -Reggie Torbor #3 in ST tackles -Nate Jones #1 in ST tackles -Cam Wake is a starter, #4 in ST tackles -Chris Clemons #5 in tackles -Ted Ginn led the unit in ST yardage gained. Nolan Carrol did have 100 yds on 4 returns, which is above average production, Jason Allen had a fumble recovery on ST, but those are the lone bright spots. Of course that means opportunities have been created for players such as Rashad Jones, Ikaika Francis and for that gaggle of Db's and Wr's that are hanging around the bottom of the roster. So far j Pruitt has seen the most effective time spent on ST, but players like Amaya and Wallace and Moore and Micah Johnson have to make an impact..ditto Austin Spitler of whom CK said he was a "dominant" Special Teamer at OSU.
Exactly, and it is likely to remain that way depending on who is waived and who is kept, Erik Walden is a 4 core ST player, but a poor Lb and a player like Austin Spitler could beat him out for the job. But it will take Spitler time to get up to NFL speed.
When Mueller was the GM he completely gutted the STs in a cost cutting effort. Then we have gradually built it up but we have suffered some attrition as has been noted. We need to find players to fill those spots
Now how do you know that Wake won't be on special teams. Larry Csonka was on the special teams units (kickoff and punts) most of his career.
Because Wake will play 50 snaps a game at OLB and starting Lb's typically do not have the stamina to both start and play on the specials. Some legit love for Jason Allen: As crazy as it sounds, with Izzo out with a neck injury, Graham is right, Jason Allen IS the best Special Teams player in the AFCE.. Pro Bowl for Jason Allen this year maybe? And the guy I used to compare Allen to, Seattle's Kelly Jennings, went on IR with a bad elbow..JA has actually seperated himself that is amazing..
interesting thread i was pretty hard on our ST unit but good reason to be patient as a lot of guys learn new roles, thanks
Clemons is still on special teams though. I've seen him out there both games with the 1's. But as Sparano said, that's out of necessity right now. Ideally somebody takes his spot. I think Dobbins can replace Torbor all around. And Nolan Carroll looks like he could do something in the return game. So it might get better.
Which makes the punt block he allowed all the more baffling, Clemons filled that role last yr. If Dobbins is healthy.
I'm shocked they were number 12 last year, because they sure didn't play like it. They were poor on all accounts.
Yeah, that #12 ranking just tells me that 2/3rds of the league really sucked bagpipes on STs because our units were mediocre at best, save for a 12 or so returns by Ginn. Did anyone see Bess get more than 6-8 yards on the punt return ?? Seriously, if that's the case, they've been being rebuilt for a loooonnnggg time... But, on the other side of this, you may be right Pads...afterall, think of it this way.....unlike O and D, if there are two or three guys who are fighting for starting spots, they can't all get starting plays and still work all the STs... The STs units are probably using about 30 players right now of which maybe only 5 or 6 may only be on the team in a few weeks... It stands to reason that they'd be behind in development from the offense and defense....As a point to proof, just look at the return games around the league during this preseason....In two weeks, I've seen more long returns of both punts and ko's than you usually see in a month...
Well I mean...obviously not if they were 12? But yes, I dont know why more emphasis isnt being put on bettering the STs portion of the roster...
Special teams is mostly coaching. ST coaches are generally the first to go when their units do no perform because its all about schemes and knowing your responsibilities. If the guys stay in their lanes, don't over-purse, make their blocks, etc then overall everything should be fine. Lets let the coaches coach and hope it works out. If that fails, fire the SOB.