Mosley: Cowboys Shine in Special Teams

[Hostile]

On the Sunday following the Super Bowl, special-teams coaches around the league are always on pins and needles. That is because they're waiting for Dallas Morning News NFL columnist Rick "Goose" Gosselin to release his annual special-teams rankings.


Kyle Terada/US Presswire

The Cowboys downed 38 of Mat McBriar's punts inside the 20.


Gosselin, my old officemate at the DMN, has developed an intricate system for ranking the special-teams units from all 32 teams. In fact, teams such as the Eagles will often cite Gosselin's report when announcing a new special-teams coach. Surprisingly, the hapless Cleveland Browns were ranked No. 1 this season and the Super Bowl-winning Saints checked in at No. 29.

The Cowboys hired former Jaguars special-teams coach Joe DeCamillis before the '09 season and moved up 23 spots to No. 4 in the overall rankings. The Eagles were 17th, Giants 20th and Commanders 27th. The good news for Eagles fans, though, is that new special-teams coach Bobby April led the third-ranked special-teams unit in Buffalo. OK, here are some other NFC East-related tidbits from the Gosselin rankings:

• The Eagles led the league in punt returns with a 13.5-yard average thanks to DeSean Jackson.
• Pete Carroll made a major mistake running off former Cowboys special-teams coach Bruce DeHaven from Seattle. The Seahawks finished 11th in the rankings despite having a bad overall team.
• Cowboys opponents had an average starting point at the 22.8-yard line (second in league), something that could be attributed to leading the league in touchbacks. David Buehler deserves major props for his work in that department.
• The Cowboys were fourth in the league with 38 punts downed inside the 20. That's one of the main reasons Mat McBriar belonged in the Pro Bowl.
• The Eagles and Chargers tied for first in field goals made with 32.
• The Cowboys ranked 30th in field goal percentage with 64.5.
• The Commanders led the league in giveaways on special teams with five.
• I realize the Packers don't play in the Beast, but can you believe they had 28 penalties on special teams? The Falcons had a league-best six.

 

[Hostile]

[SIZE=+2]Special teams rankings: Browns find bright spot after tough year

[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]10:52 PM CST on Saturday, February 13, 2010

[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]By RICK GOSSELIN / The Dallas Morning News
rgosselin@***BANNED-URL*** [/SIZE] The football axiom is offense, defense and special teams each account for a third of the game.

But in Cleveland, special teams accounted for at least two-thirds of what made the Browns tick in 2009.

The Browns finished 32nd in the NFL in offense and 31st in defense but still managed to win five games. That's because Cleveland fielded the league's best special teams, according to rankings compiled annually by The Dallas Morning News.

The league's 32 teams are ranked in 22 categories and assigned points according to their standing – one for the best, 32 for the worst. The Browns finished first in special teams with a composite score of 215.5 – a whopping 41 points better than runner-up Tampa Bay.

Four division winners finished in the top 10 in special teams: No. 4 Dallas, No. 7 San Diego, No. 8 Arizona and No. 9 Minnesota. The New Orleans Saints finished 29th – the worst ranking ever for a Super Bowl champion.
Cleveland's Brad Seely has worked this magic before in the kicking game. He was special teams coach of the top-ranked Indianapolis Colts in 1992, then won three Super Bowl rings with the New England Patriots this decade before joining the Browns in 2009.

"It's an attitude," Seely said. "It's guys taking pride in what you're doing and wanting to be good – feeling like they can be a positive factor in a football game.

"We've always stressed that wherever I've been – special teams can help us win games. It's a tangible thing ... a belief that we can be the best at what we do this year."

Cleveland won only one of its first 12 games, defeating Buffalo, 6-3, on a pair of field goals by Billy Cundiff. Cleveland's Blake Costanzo recovered a fumbled punt by Roscoe Parrish at the Buffalo 17 late in the game to set up the winning field goal.

In victory No. 2, a 13-6 win over Pittsburgh in December, Josh Cribbs returned a punt 55 yards to set up the first field goal of the game.

Meanwhile, punter Reggie Hodges pinned the Steelers inside their own 15 with four punts to tilt the field in Cleveland's favor all night.

In a 41-34 win over Kansas City for victory No. 3, the Browns got kickoff returns of 103 and 100 yards for touchdowns by Cribbs. Phil Dawson then kicked three field goals each in season-ending victories over Oakland (23-9) and Jacksonville (23-17).

"You always talk about the hidden yardage on special teams," Seely said. "But this [season] was a case where the yards weren't so hidden. Our special teams were a factor in games, and everybody could see it."

The best player on the Browns was Cribbs, who was selected to the Pro Bowl as the AFC kick returner. He ran back three kickoffs and one punt for touchdowns in 2009 and finished among the team's leading kick-coverage players with nine tackles. Cribbs also started at receiver and took quarterback snaps in the Wildcat formation.

The Browns finished first in four of the 22 special teams categories, including kickoff coverage and points scored. Cleveland finished in the top five in seven other categories and the top 10 in two more.

The Cowboys hired Joe DeCamillis as special teams coach last year and made the biggest leap in the rankings – 23 spots. The Cowboys climbed from 27th in 2008 to fourth this season.

in@***BANNED-URL***

TEAM RANKINGS
The NFL's 32 teams are ranked in 22 kicking-game categories and assigned points according to their standing in each category (one for the best through 32 for the worst). This is a composite score for those categories:

Rk. Team Points
1. Cleveland 215.5
2. Tampa Bay 256.5
3. Buffalo 274
4. Cowboys 288
5. NY Jets 296.5
6. Chicago 302
7. San Diego 320
8. Arizona 320.5
9. Minnesota 325.5
10. Miami 327.5
11. Seattle 330
12. Kansas City 341
13. Oakland 342.5
14. Atlanta 357
15. Pittsburgh 360.5
16. New England 361.5
17. Philadelphia 367.5
18. Baltimore 369
18. St. Louis 369
20. NY Giants 384
21. San Francisco 391
22. Houston 394.5
23. Cincinnati 397
24. Denver 402
25. Detroit 413.5
26. Tennessee 424
27. Washington 426.5
28. Indianapolis 432.5
29. New Orleans 441.5
30. Jacksonville 452
31. Green Bay 460.5
32. Carolina 473


KICKOFF RETURNS
Best: Baltimore, 26.2 yards
Worst: Oakland, 18.2 yards
Cowboys: 20th, 22.0 yards

PUNT RETURNS
Best: Philadelphia, 13.5 yards
Worst: San Francisco, 4.4 yards
Cowboys: 6th, 10.9 yards

KICKOFF COVERAGE
Best: Cleveland, 18.9 yards
Worst: Oakland, 25.7 yards
Cowboys: 7th, 20.6 yards

PUNT COVERAGE
Best: Jacksonville, 4.2 yards
Worst: New Orleans, 14.3 yards
Cowboys: 15th, 8.3 yards

STARTING POINT
Best: Cleveland, 31.4-yard line
Worst: Oakland, 22.8-yard line
Cowboys: 27th, 24.7-yard line

OPP. STARTING POINT
Best: Atlanta, 21.4-yard line
Worst: Pittsburgh, 31.3-yard line
Cowboys: 2nd, 22.8-yard line

PUNTING
Best: Oakland, 51.1 yards
Worst: New England, 39.0 yards
Cowboys: 8th, 45.1 yards

NET PUNTING
Best: Oakland, 43.9 yards
Worst: New England, 34.0 yards
Cowboys: 7th, 39.9 yards

INSIDE-THE-20 PUNTS
Best: Arizona, 42
Worst: Green Bay, 15
Cowboys: 4th, 38

OPP. PUNTING
Best: Buffalo, 41.2 yards
Worst: Seattle, 47.2 yards
Cowboys: 22nd, 44.3 yards

OPP. NET PUNTING
Best: Cincinnati, 35.2 yards
Worst: Seattle, 41.5 yards
Cowboys: 13th, 37.8 yards

FIELD GOALS
Best: Philadelphia and San Diego, 32
Worst: Indianapolis and Tampa Bay, 16
Cowboys: 25th, 20

FG PERCENTAGE
Best: Arizona, 94.7 percent
Worst: Tampa Bay, 61.5 percent
Cowboys: 30th, 64.5 percent

OPP. FG PCT.
Best: Dallas, 69.2 percent
Worst: Denver, 93.5 percent
Cowboys: 1st

EXTRA POINT PCT.
Best: 16 teams tied at 100 percent
Worst: Washington, 92.8 percent
Cowboys: Tied for 1st

POINTS SCORED
Best: Cleveland, 24
Worst: 10 teams tied with 0
Cowboys: Tied for 5th, 12

POINTS ALLOWED
Best: 9 teams tied with 0
Worst: Pittsburgh, 30
Cowboys: Tied for 10th, 6

BLOCKED KICKS FOR
Best: Tampa Bay, 6
Worst: 9 teams tied with 0
Cowboys: Tied for 6th, 2

BLOCKED KICKS AGAINST
Best: 8 teams tied with 0
Worst: Carolina, 4
Cowboys: Tied for 1st

TAKEAWAYS
Best: Oakland, 5
Worst: 5 teams tied with 0
Cowboys: Tied for 28th with 0

GIVEAWAYS
Best: 4 teams tied with 0
Worst: Washington, 5
Cowboys: Tied for 15th with 2

PENALTIES
Best: Atlanta, 6
Worst: Green Bay, 28
Cowboys: 6th, 13

 

[Woods]

Interesting stuff.

If our FG kicking had been more reliable . . . . hopefully we take care of that this year.

Plus, we get a kick returner as well.

Then we should be set, barring injuries.

 

[jobberone]

It passes the eyeball test. KOR is something to really work on this year. I wish we had a more dynamic PR but............

 

[Future]

I think the problems we had in our return games was more than just a solid return man. It never seemed like there was anywhere for them to go.

 

[Chief]

Rk. Team Points
1. Cleveland 215.5
2. Tampa Bay 256.5
3. Buffalo 274

28. Indianapolis 432.5
29. New Orleans 441.5

Makes ya wonder.

 

[burmafrd]

With Kickoffs everyone was doing different things with coverage and blocking and the like because of new rules.

 

[DallasCowboysRule!]

Our special teams was much imporoved this year, a testament to Joe D. Now if we can solve the field goal kicker problem we'll be looking pretty.

 

[xWraithx]

Makes ya wonder.

haha that's a nice observation

 

[28 Joker]

I love McBrier and the kid that crushes the ball into the endzone.

Now, get me a reliable kicker with ice in his veins and a great leg.

Show the special teams coach the money.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Interesting stuff.

If our FG kicking had been more reliable . . . . hopefully we take care of that this year.

Plus, we get a kick returner as well.

Then we should be set, barring injuries.

Felix is our man there if he would just stop stutter-stepping on returns.

 

[big dog cowboy]

• The Cowboys ranked 30th in field goal percentage with 64.5.

:bang2: