Special Teams 2021-22

[XPack]

Deserves a thread to heap abuse.

It was a HUGE step backwards. Kicks missed, blocked, returns fluffed, field position muffed, and even a fumble recovered by sheer luck. It was a disaster of EPIC proportions.

Directly responsible for 9 points and indirectly made things harder for offense. Did FAR more than Love to cause this loss!

Inexcusable!

 

[Zartan]

Every ST coach they get is worse than the last.

 

[KiDcUdI]

I cant understand why you would hire from the inside of a failed STs unit last year. Clearly what the coaches had to offer last year wasnt working so why stick with it? They should have hired from another team running a successful STs unit. Bring in someone with fresh ideas from a proven commodity. So far Drayton has no answers. The FG block unit has struggled since week 3 and it hasnt improved. The punt return has been shakey at best and hasnt improved. The kick return unit and coverage unit has been inconsistent.

At some point we need to make a move and look for something new and fresh. At the very least send a message to these guys if that they dont perform theyre next. Fire Drayton.

 

[GBowner]

There must not be one guy on this team that is willing to field a kick and run with it. We’ve done almost nothing but fair catch kicks for three years now. Hell, sometimes the kickoff hardly makes it to the end zone and we’ve already waved it off. No blocking scheme at all. Does anybody remember the good teams in the 90s that won the field position game every week? I think the average starting point of drives was close to the 40. That’s a huge advantage.

 

[KiDcUdI]

One more thing about STs that I forgot to mention. If they do not figure this out it doesnt matter who they are playing in the playoffs it will be a quick 1st round exit. In the playoffs defenses get away with more. Scoring is hard. We will be kicking more FGs and fielding more punts. If we cannot figure this crap out we are not beating the Rams or Buccs in the playoffs.

You cannot be a real contender and not be able to make FGs. We just saw today those empty possessions where we were in FG range cost us at least a tie.

 

[PackAttack12]

There were a few that mentioned it was just bad execution from the players. And I don't disagree with that, but its also a direct reflection of coaching.

An occasional blunder is one thing. Repeated issues isn't just a missed assignment periodically.

 

[OldSchool101]

We just can’t even get a FG off without being blocked. Anything inside 40 yards is routine in the league.
We missed at 40 and 36 yards. I’m not sure exactly but at 36 that’s a roughly a gimme. Those are essentially extra points.
I remember some years back that a
50-55 yard field goal range was in the 60%+ success range, which amazed me.
The likelihood of making just 1 of a
40 and 36 yarder in 2 attempts is like
98-99% success rate league wide.

I’d say with us it feels like 65% success rate, which is just egregious. I cringe every time we line up to Kick a FG. I cringe more inside the 40 than outside the 50, which makes no sense.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

I was definitely not a fan of the Packers promoting Drayton from within and unfortunately the special teams have been even worse than last season.

The unit hugely contributed to yesterday's loss against the Chiefs and might end up being a reason the team ends up short of winning the Super Bowl if it doesn't improve over the course of the year.

 

[sschind]

There were a few that mentioned it was just bad execution from the players. And I don't disagree wit that, but its also a direct reflection of coaching.

An occasional blunder is one thing. Repeated issues isn't just a missed assignment periodically.

The bright spot, if there is one, is that there are not usually as many big gaffs in one game as there were yesterday. Even BOJO, who averaged 54 yards, pinged a short 39 yarder his first attempt. Coincidentally it was the only drive the Chiefs scored a TD on.

Also, there were no screw ups on our kick coverage. The Chiefs had 1 KR for 12 yards and 3 PR for 3 yards. Granted it was only 3 attempts but its better than giving up 50 yards.

The rest was simply atrocious however so my bright spots are still mighty dim.

 

[Sanguine camper]

It was only a matter of time before special teams cost the Packers a game. Yesterday was it. All the other pro and major college teams seem to be able to snap and hold for field goals. Why is it so hard for the Packers? To be fair to Drayton, the special teams have been atrocious for a long time and yesterday was inevitable, given the long list of special teams mistakes they make on a weekly basis. As bad as special teams are, the Packers have bigger problems with major injuries on a weekly basis. Un less the injury train slows down, special teams won't matter that much.

 

[El Guapo]

I am not sticking up for Drayton here, as he owns all of this along with Gute. However, I will add that I completely disagree with the notion that hiring from within was a predictable outcome KiDcUdI and CaptainWIMM suggest. Along that line of thinking, at every company you've worked at if a manger sucked, you are saying that every manager below them should be fired as well. People and coaches are not robots, all singing off of the same song sheet. I've had many bosses that I disagreed with but did as was told, and in two cases, was given the opportunity to "fix" things when they were asked to leave. I did NOT continue with their dumb ways.

That said, Gute and LeFluer should have known what they had or didn't have in Drayton. If they thought he was going to carry on the same way then shame on them. If they thought Drayton was going to be better, then they also failed. He doesn't seem to have made any improvements to the special teams, and in fact, things have gotten worse under his watch. The only thing that has gotten better is the punting, but that's the player not the coach. They all felt that letting Bradley go mid-season was a good move, and with only one game of reference it looks like the wrong choice. Time may tell. However, it shouldn't take nine weeks into the season to still not have assignments and a system worked out.

 

[Mondio]

I don't really get it. I look at Drayton and he looks the part. He looks like a guy who cares about himself and others. I see him on the sidelines and he always seems "in the game" and he's always with someone and seems to be coaching unlike a lot before he never seemed to do much more than look mad or be yelling at times. he really looks like a guy people would respect and listen to and a guy that's always working and focused. Usually those guys end up pretty successful at what they do.

But man, they are a mess. Yes they were pretty decent at coverages yesterday, great. But they freaking blew everything else.

 

[Schultz]

Am I remembering correctly. Did the kick return team get hit with a flag for lining up illegally? I believe it was on the last play of the half. I know it had no impact but WTF.

 

[Mondio]

Am I remembering correctly. Did the kick return team get hit with a flag for lining up illegally? I believe it was on the last play of the half. I know it had no impact but WTF.

i don't remember when, but yes they did. If there was a mistake to be made it seems our ST's are going to make it.

 

[milani]

Deserves a thread to heap abuse.

It was a HUGE step backwards. Kicks missed, blocked, returns fluffed, field position muffed, and even a fumble recovered by sheer luck. It was a disaster of EPIC proportions.

Directly responsible for 9 points and indirectly made things harder for offense. Did FAR more than Love to cause this loss!

Inexcusable!

Perfectly said. I knew we would lose the game but not for this reason. All that great D down the drain because a ST cannot execute some easy fundamentals. Do we even practice? If the score is 10-6 going into the 3rd LaFleur can run the ball more. And he can kick a few more FGs instead of having the kid bite off more than he can chew. And what is most embarrassing? Their kicker nails a 55 yarder at halftime!

 

[Schultz]

Yeah I believe if it was 10-6 then MLF does not go for it on 4th down with 30 seconds left in the half.

 

[Pkrjones]

Wondering if Brayden Coombs, former ST coach with Detroit (and coached them to a 3rd place ranking in '20 before going rogue on a fake) would be a (significant) upgrade to Drayton?

Coombs didn't "fit the culture" in Detroit, which has been and still is a dumpster fire and should be considered a positive for Coombs . He's young, aggressive, and still available after his firing and IF he agrees to "adhere to the coaching hierarchy" might breathe life back into our horrible ST.

 

[milani]

Yeah I believe if it was 10-6 then MLF does not go for it on 4th down with 30 seconds left in the half.

Right. And then unlikely the Chiefs get the last 3 because we could pin them in deep. And if Jordan hands off on 3rd down KC probably uses an extra timeout. We should have gone in 10-6 down.

 

[mradtke66]

I'm not entirely sure where to blame Drayton and where to not.

The first miss looked like a bad hold. Nothing he can do about that. Have the snapper and punter practice more during the week?

Still haven't watched the block yet. Was it low? That's on one of our specialists.

The muffed punt looked like a bad/short punt and Taylor just couldn't get away. I don't know who I should yell at for that one. I just want to be angry. It might not be anyone's fault.

The late punt when Dillon had to line up as a up-back? Does Dillon normally play there or did someone get hurt? That's probably Drayton's fault.

Our coverage units appear to be playing better, so that's on Drayton in a positive way. I'm not really sure how replacing him fixes much...

 

[milani]

I'm not entirely sure where to blame Drayton and where to not.

The first miss looked like a bad hold. Nothing he can do about that. Have the snapper and punter practice more during the week?

Still haven't watched the block yet. Was it low? That's on one of our specialists.

The muffed punt looked like a bad/short punt and Taylor just couldn't get away. I don't know who I should yell at for that one. I just want to be angry. It might not be anyone's fault.

The late punt when Dillon had to line up as a up-back? Does Dillon normally play there or did someone get hurt? That's probably Drayton's fault.

Our coverage units appear to be playing better, so that's on Drayton in a positive way. I'm not really sure how replacing him fixes much...

Studying the block I believe Okafor made it. The buffoonery is on #79 Kelly. He never blocked him. Kelly slipped at the snap and was on the ground without being pushed! The dude is 6'8"! How do you just fall down? The Chief was stunned to see the hole. He just took a step and reached up and blocked it. On the punt the inexperience of Amari allowed the ball to land. He misjudged the distance like a rookie center fielder. Then he was not in position to at least stop the ball and down it. Now we were told it is was a windy day but it did not effect KC.

 

[KiDcUdI]

There were a few that mentioned it was just bad execution from the players. And I don't disagree with that, but its also a direct reflection of coaching.

An occasional blunder is one thing. Repeated issues isn't just a missed assignment periodically.

This is also a reflection of poor roster building.

Just this season we are on our 2nd punter who is good at punting but can’t get the holding down and we are onto our 2nd long snapper and both have been atrocious.

Punt returning we put in the hands of a rookie who just can’t do the job.

 

[realitybytez]

Did FAR more than Love to cause this loss!

no doubt that's true.

 

[JKramer64]

I think some of us were surprised when BOJO fell into our lap given that he is one of the best punters in the league. His holding leaves something to be desired. Maybe that's why this is his third team in the past year. He's too much of a weapon as a punter to be replaced. Just have to hope that the kicking operation improves. Not to put it all on him. He's dealing with a new snapper. Crosby isn't blameless either, but he was 100% last year and has 5 misses in 9 games now. If this doesn't get fixed soon, it's going to cost them another game or two down the road.

 

[realitybytez]

Every ST coach they get is worse than the last.

that's partly because they keep choosing assistants to the last bad coach. another factor is that they wait too long to make a decision and we are left with the worst possible choices.

 

[gopkrs]

I'm not entirely sure where to blame Drayton and where to not.

The first miss looked like a bad hold. Nothing he can do about that. Have the snapper and punter practice more during the week?

Still haven't watched the block yet. Was it low? That's on one of our specialists.

The muffed punt looked like a bad/short punt and Taylor just couldn't get away. I don't know who I should yell at for that one. I just want to be angry. It might not be anyone's fault.

The late punt when Dillon had to line up as a up-back? Does Dillon normally play there or did someone get hurt? That's probably Drayton's fault.

Our coverage units appear to be playing better, so that's on Drayton in a positive way. I'm not really sure how replacing him fixes much...

I tried to see if the blocked field goal was low. What it looked like to me was that the D knows we have problems and they are full of adrenaline now. They really jumped to block it. But the kick did not look extremely low like the other week. And the rush is coming in fast too. Just does not look easy.
Someone said that our punter had problems holding in Buffalo. So we should have been trying someone else. And that would be on the coach. Why not Love?
The coverage unit does seem to be playing better. Punts and kick-offs. And that is great and if true (time will tell), that is a big plus. But it has taken a long time. It's still nervous time for me.
When the punter and kicker do well; I don't know why the ST coach should get too much credit. But he should get blamed if the kickers are jittery because of the rush. The special teams just don't seem real organized with everyone knowing their responsibilities and trusting the guys on either side. But I admit I couldn't pinpoint anything w/o checking each player on each special team play. I'm still not happy seeing the rushers on field goals coming in from our R side. They get too close.