Seoulofstone Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 (edited) https://billswire.usatoday.com/2020/01/20/buffalo-bills-improvement-rick-gosselin-special-teams-2019-heath-farwell/ Some may be surprised by this- I know I was. Rick Gosselin who compiles these rankings annually, factors in numerous things including field position, FG percentage, return distance and scoring. As much as I felt the special teams had good moments I confess I am surprised to see them have such a radical improvement. So nice job Heath and his unit! Edited January 21, 2020 by Seoulofstone
Buffalo Boy Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 This seems really surprising. I felt like our punting was Meh, Haushka wasn’t reliable, Roberts didn’t return squat..,.. The lack of penalties was noticeable though. I will say this, it didn’t feel like they made an appreciable difference in any games but these numbers say I’m wrong?
Augie Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 3 minutes ago, njbuff said: Imagine if they had a good punter. Consistent would be nice for my heart health! Hard to drag the average up after the 14 yards shanks!
JGMcD2 Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 4 minutes ago, Buffalo Boy said: This seems really surprising. I felt like our punting was Meh, Haushka wasn’t reliable, Roberts didn’t return squat..,.. The lack of penalties was noticeable though. I will say this, it didn’t feel like they made an appreciable difference in any games but these numbers say I’m wrong? Punting wasn’t very good. There were flashes but Bojo can be improved upon. McBeane know this... they attempted before the season. Hauschka had a rough patch but was nails down the stretch. Fans tend to hang on to a narrative and never get away from it... that’s what happened here. He was nails for 2 years, struggled, everyone claimed he was done, then he was nails again. Roberts was like #1 in return yards. He didn’t break anything huge but he was consistent. He always looked like he was about to break a big return off but got tripped up or whatever. The kickoff rules kind of hamper things these days. 12 sounds about right based on the eye test. They were above average but weren’t elite. Didn’t cost us any games but didn’t win any like the Patriots did. 1
NoSaint Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 (edited) 8 minutes ago, Buffalo Boy said: This seems really surprising. I felt like our punting was Meh, Haushka wasn’t reliable, Roberts didn’t return squat..,.. The lack of penalties was noticeable though. I will say this, it didn’t feel like they made an appreciable difference in any games but these numbers say I’m wrong? At this point I’d almost never return. It feels like punts constantly have penalties and kicks rarely pay off. Wades classic pint catcher is fine. I’d venture that player would rank better than average just fair catching 90% avoid tragic shanks/blocks on punts, boot it through the end zone and kick FGs about average and paired with the no return returner and you are practically top 10 Edited January 21, 2020 by NoSaint 1
JoeF Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 I think Teams really improved the second half of the year...I think we would have been bottom quarter at the halfway point.. House Money was 22 of 23 on FG's for example from Week 9 on... Roberts went from about 4 yards per punt return in the first 4 weeks (injured) to about 11 yards in the second half Corey needs competition next year Siran Neal and Robert Foster both improved as gunners.. If House Money has a 2020 like the second half of 2019 -- I see no reason why this is not a top 10 unit next year.
Seoulofstone Posted January 21, 2020 Author Posted January 21, 2020 Patriots finished 3rd, Jets 8th, Dolphins 24th. https://mavensports.io/nfl/talkoffame/nfl/rick-gosselin-s-2019-nfl-special-teams-rankings-a-heavenly-finish-for-saints-i1WLdqzQ4k2xEBENUVmCKA
Hapless Bills Fan Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 11 minutes ago, JGMcD2 said: Punting wasn’t very good. There were flashes but Bojo can be improved upon. McBeane know this... they attempted before the season. Hauschka had a rough patch but was nails down the stretch. Fans tend to hang on to a narrative and never get away from it... that’s what happened here. He was nails for 2 years, struggled, everyone claimed he was done, then he was nails again. Roberts was like #1 in return yards. He didn’t break anything huge but he was consistent. He always looked like he was about to break a big return off but got tripped up or whatever. The kickoff rules kind of hamper things these days. 12 sounds about right based on the eye test. They were above average but weren’t elite. Didn’t cost us any games but didn’t win any like the Patriots did. Pro football ref. shows Roberts as #4 in return yards and #4 in kickoff yds/return, #8 for punt yards/ return I remember two bad gaffes -the blocked punt for 6 vs the Pats that made the score 13-0 -the return for TD vs the Phins that worried me as a possible vulnerability, but it was fortunately a 1-off
HalftimeAdjustment Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 The reduction in penalties was noticeable. Overall we may have been 12th, but I doubt there was a huge gap between us and 16-17th (average). Overall - sticking with the new ST coach is the right way to go, and try to get every position better as always.
Don Otreply Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 It just goes to show that teams league wide happily live with mediocre STs play, that and it shows how little resources teams invest in STs, the red headed step child of every team... Go Bills!!!
Franco_92 Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 1 hour ago, Buffalo Boy said: This seems really surprising. I felt like our punting was Meh, Haushka wasn’t reliable, Roberts didn’t return squat..,.. The lack of penalties was noticeable though. I will say this, it didn’t feel like they made an appreciable difference in any games but these numbers say I’m wrong? Completely disagree. Penalties were awful and regular, and Roberts was reliable and saved me a lot of ripped out hair in punt return situations versus many recent Bills seasons 1
LABILLBACKER Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 I don't know if I buy this guy's numbers but upgrade Bojo and that's a good start. We need a consistent year from House. And maybe 1 td return from Roberts.
Chandler#81 Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 2 hours ago, Buffalo Boy said: This seems really surprising. 1.) I felt like our punting was Meh, Haushka wasn’t reliable, Roberts didn’t return squat..,.. 2.)The lack of penalties was noticeable though. 3.) I will say this, it didn’t feel like they made an appreciable difference in any games but these numbers say I’m wrong? 4.) You have no idea what your eyes are seeing. Hauschka has made 51 of 61 FGs, 54 of 55 PATs since becoming a Bill.
Gambit Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 1 hour ago, Chandler#81 said: 4.) You have no idea what your eyes are seeing. Hauschka has made 51 of 61 FGs, 54 of 55 PATs since becoming a Bill. Haushka seems to have a issue making them over 50 now tho. He only made 1 outta 5 this year which I feel like was the reason we stopped kicking them. If he can't kick a 50+ yarder anymore then it's time to move on.
billsfan89 Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 47 minutes ago, Gambit said: Haushka seems to have a issue making them over 50 now tho. He only made 1 outta 5 this year which I feel like was the reason we stopped kicking them. If he can't kick a 50+ yarder anymore then it's time to move on. Haush is only about to be 35, odd that he started to lose his leg this year. Even in 2018 he still hit a respectable 4-7 from 50+ (Although his accuracy in the 40-49 range was a bit of an issue at 70%.) Then in 2019 he tightened up the 40-49 yard field goals hitting 90% on those (although he did have one miss in the 30-39 yard range but hey things happen I can take 7-8 in that range as long as it isn't a clutch kick) but then went 1-5 from 50+. I get that high accuracy on 50+ is hard to expect but you need at a minimum a kicker to be at least able to 50% on those while being automatic 90%+ on kicks sub 50. Not having even a 50/50 chance at a kick in the 50+ range is not acceptable. It takes the chance at significant points off the board and limits you in late game situations. I think they have to consider taking a shot at a kicker in round 6 or 7 or going into targeting one highly as an UDFA to bring into camp with Haush. I think it is possible Haush can find his leg and get to being respectable from 50+ but they need to have an option there. 1
billsfan89 Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 3 hours ago, LABILLBACKER said: I don't know if I buy this guy's numbers but upgrade Bojo and that's a good start. We need a consistent year from House. And maybe 1 td return from Roberts. I probably would rank the 2019 special teams as average, so moderately above average isn't that far off. Roberts is a quality sure handed returner. He didn't have many game breaking returns but he had a lot of solid punt returns and having a returner who doesn't turn the ball over has value. In my opinion he is a top 10 returner in the league more than set there. The coverage units had a mostly solid season, I don't recall too many big returns other than the Miami game, the only other major mistake was the blocked punt against the Pats who were the best unit in the league. Punting Bojo was poor, not tragic as he ended the season on a decent run and Haush while losing his 50+ range was very very accurate in the sub 50 range. If I had to grade the special teams I would grade the following units. Returner- A- Coverage Units- B+ Punting- D+ Field Goal Kicking- C Overall Grade - B-
Buffalo Boy Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 3 hours ago, arcane said: Completely disagree. Penalties were awful and regular, and Roberts was reliable and saved me a lot of ripped out hair in punt return situations versus many recent Bills seasons Lead the league in fewest ST penalties with 10 penalties. That’s not even one a game. We noticeably weren’t picking up the dumb Block in the back penalties we always seem to. 3 hours ago, Chandler#81 said: 4.) You have no idea what your eyes are seeing. Hauschka has made 51 of 61 FGs, 54 of 55 PATs since becoming a Bill. He doesn’t have the distance he had and McD was making decisions around the 35 yard line based on an obvious lack of trust during some games this year. My eyes didn’t misconstrue that?
machine gun kelly Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 10 hours ago, Buffalo Boy said: This seems really surprising. I felt like our punting was Meh, Haushka wasn’t reliable, Roberts didn’t return squat..,.. The lack of penalties was noticeable though. I will say this, it didn’t feel like they made an appreciable difference in any games but these numbers say I’m wrong? I respectfully disagree with a couple of points. Roberts was one of the top return persons in the league. There was just a graph on this the other day. Our punter ended up doing very well this year. I agree with you on kicking. He really lost a step this year.
Buffalo Boy Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 29 minutes ago, machine gun kelly said: I respectfully disagree with a couple of points. Roberts was one of the top return persons in the league. There was just a graph on this the other day. Our punter ended up doing very well this year. I agree with you on kicking. He really lost a step this year. Roberts was consistently taking it out of the EZ. I may be wrong but I believe they count yards deep, in the EZ , as part of the return. Someone else stated it but if he just knelt every ball we may have fared better.
Recommended Posts