Special Teams Improvement ?

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Packersunion

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Ted has a history of not drafting for special teams or considering how a backup performs on ST-he just went with the best backups. This was brought up in a JS article a couple of years ago to try and explain in part why GB had ST issues.You can see he has had a change of heart. Started with firing Slocum in Jan.

Randall was a special teams star at ASU. Many Scouts thought Monty was the best return man in the Draft. Other draftees were strong ST players on their teams.

Kick ReturnsHarris (2nd last of the 21 that qualified) #20/20.7(Jones CIN was best at 31.3)

So how important is special teams, and should you use roster spots for special team aces? Chip Kelly - After finishing #19 in 2013 in special teams (stat compiled by Dallas Morning News) he undertook a swift upgrade in the offseason = Traded for return man Sproles and Kicker Cody Parkey and signed a pair of ST aces in Bryan Braman and Chris Maragos. Also brought in undrafted Trey Burton and street free agent Chris Prosinski for coverage units. In 2014 they went from #19 to #1. The Super Bowl Champs finished #3.

If your wondering where GB finished? They finished DEAD LAST #32

The league’s 32 teams are ranked in 22 categories and assigned points according to their standing – one for best, 32 for worst. The Eagles wound up at 201.5 points, 26 better than runner-up Buffalo. The Cowboys finished 13th at 389.5 points.

Sproles returned punts for touchdowns against San Francisco (82 yards) and Carolina (65 yards) and was named to the Pro Bowl team. Parkey led the NFC in scoring with 150 points, converting 32 of his 36 field-goal tries and all 54 of his extra point attempts.

The Eagles tied an NFL record with seven special-teams touchdowns and also blocked a league high six kicks, including two apiece by Brandon Bair and James Casey. Three blocked punts by coach Dave Fipp’s units were returned for Philadelphia touchdowns by Maragos, Burton and Brad Smith. Maragos led the Eagles with 14 tackles in coverage, followed by Casey with 13, Nolan Carroll with 11 and Braman with eight. Carroll also chipped in a fumble recovery.

So with all the extra personal and a new coach will our ST really improve ?
 
Good topic post-draft. I think they've added some good personnel who will help and cut some dead weight. I'm not crazy about Zook so don't have super high hopes but I'm more of a wait and see type guy. Considering how poor they've been it's interesting to note that Micah Hyde is one score away from being the GB franchise leader in punt return TDs. Pretty cool.
 
It certainly should be better. Goodson, Richardson, and elliot were all pretty good special teams guys last year. Randall was a great gunner in college and Montgomery should be a major upgrade as a returner. Now if some of the redshirted guys like Bradford, Thomas Janis or Abby can contribute then it might just turn into a strength.
 
I'm hopeful with the influx of special teamers Jarrett Bush finally gets cut. It's time for him to go.

For some reason, as I type, the last time I felt good about our ST's, that I can remember, Lamont Hollinquest was on our roster. I hope we have a bunch of his type on the roster when the 53 is announced.
 
Need a kicker who does not miss extra points.
 
GBP4EVER said:
Need a kicker who does not miss extra points.
Click to expand...
As far as Crosby -

* Ranked 21st in FG% = 88% 27/33
* Tied with 7 others for longest kick 55 yards
* 7/7 inside 30 yards
* 11/12 from 30-40 yards
* 5/7 from 40-50 yards
* 4/7 50+yards
* Missed 2 extra points 53/55 = 1 of only 5 Kickers in the NFL to miss an extra point.

Field Position (Kickoffs)
* He kicked off 97 times 41 of those were touchbacks = 42% = You need a Kicker to avg at least 50% -
Best kickers at field position/touchbacks -
Brandon McManus (Broncos)= 70.3%
Justin Tucker (Ravens)= 69.7%
Pat McAfee (Colts)= 72.9%
Graham Gano (Panthers) = 77.2%

When you consider everything (including weather conditions) Crosby would rank around #20-25th best Kicker in the NFL. The Packers probably feel he is good enough and they can live with mediocrity. The thing I would like to see is better kickoffs- I think field position from kickoffs is often overlooked- Indy has the most accurate Kicker in the NFL, but he doesn't have a huge leg - so they use their punter. The teams that can get touchbacks 70% of the time are all playoff level teams.
 
Packersunion said:
Ted has a history of not drafting for special teams or considering how a backup performs on ST-he just went with the best backups. This was brought up in a JS article a couple of years ago to try and explain in part why GB had ST issues.You can see he has had a change of heart. Started with firing Slocum in Jan.
Click to expand...

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A. Special Teams did need improvement - so the departure of Slocum I see as a positive - it all begins with the coaching.

B. Do the Packers pre-draft in their research have a ST abilities column for prospective draftees? - I do not know how that works.

C. I think all units - after the individuals earn their roster spot - be it PS or regular team - is when the intense work begins - (only it is in real-time regular season by then on that escalated week-to-week deadline time frame) - they work with who they have - and again it comes around to coaching to bring the best out of each individual to create the best team unit possible. - Kaye
 
Yes coaching but special teams also lacked talent which was in direct correlation to lack of quality depth.
 
other teams (like seattle for instance) use their best players on special teams. not just rookies and backups.
 
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