So much of special teams performance seems to be tied to just the job that the kickers and returners do, but we know there is more to it than that. I've been watching the games at a bar and have not had the luxury to rewind plays or record games to rewatch later. Obviously Sturgis is frustrating, but he's not been horrible this year. Fields seems like he has come on more towards the end of the season post injury, but he does get a rather large paycheck. Landry? Not sure what I think. He's done well with the kick return game in general, but has also had some drops/ fumbles like the one that almost cost us the game today. Then you have the other ten players on each unit. Last weeks blocked kick was brutal and gave NE huge momentum. I felt like the punt coverage at the end of the GB game could have been a little better rather than allowing 15-20 yards. A longer field might have helped us just enough to win that game. So what do you guys think of the job that Rizzi is doing? My general feeling without having more specifics is of being kind of frustrated. If the D and O are going to struggle the ST needs to be rock solid to give the team a chance to win. Like to hear your thoughts.
Two games now that the ST unit has been embarrassed by Rex. Even we know they have nothing to lose and are going to try trick plays. How are they not prepared for that? Not impressed by Rizzi.
I thought Caleb Sturgis really sucked this year. I thought that Brandon Fields mysteriously starting sucking too. I think he was hurt so he may bounce back. Dion Jordan quietly remained a factor. He's now officially played a key role in several big ST plays. Landry isn't much to write home about as a returner. He doesn't have the elite-level acceleration or the top-end speed that makes for really "special" returners. In my mind, there's no reason to risk him getting hurt or fumbling the ball. We should try and find someone who's an asset returning kicks if we can. As far as tackling, I thought we actually had a pretty good year. I certainly didn't feel as anxious this year during kick-offs. For the first time in a long while, I wasn't really scared of giving up a big return on kickoffs and punts. That's kind of a new feeling for me as a Dolphins fan!
