Nothing special on Special Teams

[conner01]

Just don't turn the ball over or get pinned inside the 10 yard line and I'm happy.

I think they want Lucky to lose the nervousness of a rookie early in the season before they give him some returns.

Don't get why some fans don't get this
We did the same thing with Harris
Punt returns is not as easy as just running the ball. Huge decisions in when to return, let the punt go or fair catch
Harris only played in 7 games his rookie year

 

[Jarv]

I thought Harris did better than most around here last year. He really had no space to run, we didn't setup the PR too well last year. Bease is seeing the same this year and I'm also afraid of the beating he will take. Hopefully they have been working with Lucky for a while and will give him another shot.

 

[xwalker]

If lucky cant return kicks. And cant play wide reciever, than the only reason i can see his roster spot justified is for injury insurance. Im hoping with devin street doing, whatever it is hes (not) doing, lucky gets on the field sunday night, if for nothing else a set of fresh legs and a new target. With street struggling badly it cant hurt, unless they have no confidence in his route ability, which i go back to point 1.

Butler played more the "other" WR snaps, not Street because Street had a swollen ankle.

 

[conner01]

Harris was absolutely terrible in the return game last season. I only miss him in the punt game. He made some great tackles.

Only 8 players had a better punt return avg than Harris
Only 12 guys had a better kick return avg
Even fewer did better at both and he was solid in coverage
If that makes you terrible we could use more terrible players

Harris was absolutely terrible in the return game last season. I only miss him in the punt game. He made some great tackles.

 

[DandyDon1722]

special teams may be the reason we're 2-1 and not 1-2

Yeah I tend to agree. After the way they looked in preseason everybody was freaked out but they've been solid if not great. No doubt though we could use a return TD here or there in the next six games.

 

[Leadbelly]

Pretty much every kickoff goes to the back of the end zone now. Only about 1.5 per game returned.

As for punt returns, about 211 over 3 games, or about 2 per team per game. Almost 50% of punts get fair caught.

Not worth paying for a returner if there are only 2 opportunities for them to impact the game. Most important skill for a returner in 2015 is avoiding the game killing mistake. I would bet there's a very clear correlation between # of times a punt return is botched in a game and losing that game.

That said, Cole is dead last in punt returns (among regular returners...by quite a bit) and it's not like he has any chance of breaking one. He's back there as the one least likely to screw up.

 

[Doomsday101]

I thought Harris did better than most around here last year. He really had no space to run, we didn't setup the PR too well last year. Bease is seeing the same this year and I'm also afraid of the beating he will take. Hopefully they have been working with Lucky for a while and will give him another shot.

I think they will. I think at some point Lucky will earn the trust to do the job. I think he is very capable of being a very good return man. I think his ability in the return game is a big part of why he made the final roster but I also think they are just leery of having him to it at this point but I do think it will happen here soon

 

[Doomsday101]

Pretty much every kickoff goes to the back of the end zone now. Only about 1.5 per game returned.

As for punt returns, about 211 over 3 games, or about 2 per team per game. Almost 50% of punts get fair caught.

Not worth paying for a returner if there are only 2 opportunities for them to impact the game. Most important skill for a returner in 2015 is avoiding the game killing mistake. I would bet there's a very clear correlation between # of times a punt return is botched in a game and losing that game.

That said, Cole is dead last in punt returns (among regular returners...by quite a bit) and it's not like he has any chance of breaking one. He's back there as the one least likely to screw up.

True but clearly there are some guys who are more willing to take a deep kick in the back of the endzone and return it than others.

 

[Bleu Star]

Am I the only fan missing Harris in the return game? With all the injuries, it would be nice to get an occasional return to midfield. Beasley is handling the catches well, but the guy has no clue afterwards. Why is Lucky even on the team if he can't return kicks and/or punts?

No. You're definitely not the only one. I'm missing Harris like crazy. We arent doing much to help our offense at all on STs.

 

[Chuck 54]

Harris was absolutely terrible in the return game last season. I only miss him in the punt game. He made some great tackles.

He had several nice punt returns that set up short scoring drives last year....maybe you meant to say "not consistent"

 

[Chuck 54]

It's all 20/20 hindsight, and we weren't in the market, but Seattle knew what it was doing when it gave up multiple picks to Washington to draft Tyler Lockett....not only is he killing it as a returner, he's also scored as a WR. Again, we weren't in the market, but a speedy returner/WR would be nice on our injured team right now.

 

[Junglist]

Only 8 players had a better punt return avg than Harris
Only 12 guys had a better kick return avg
Even fewer did better at both and he was solid in coverage
If that makes you terrible we could use more terrible players

Cool post, bro.