Tom Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 Giants' special teams 2nd only to Bills Giants' special teams 2nd only to Bills BY RICK GOSSELIN Dallas Morning News DALLAS - Special teams helped coach Tom Coughlin transform the Jacksonville Jaguars into an AFC power in the 1990s. Special teams are helping Coughlin turn the New York Giants into an NFC power again this decade. During his final seven seasons in Jacksonville from 1996-2002, the Jaguars posted top-10 finishes five times in special-teams rankings compiled annually by The Dallas Morning News. The Jaguars fielded the NFL's best special teams in 1997. Coughlin inherited a New York team in 2004 that hadn't finished in the top 10 in special teams since 1996 and hadn't been out of the 20s since 1999. But the Giants improved from 23rd to 17th in Coughlin's first season in 2004, then vaulted all the way to No. 2 in 2005 as the Giants won their first NFC East title since their Super Bowl season in 2000. The Giants finished with the best special teams in the NFC, second overall to the Buffalo Bills. 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 Bills became the first repeat winner in the 16 years The News has compiled the rankings. Buffalo won with a composite score of 217, 41 1/2 better than the Giants. New York was the only NFC team to finish in the top six. The Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers finished 13th, the Cowboys 14th. The reconstruction of New York's kicking game actually began in 2003, a year before Coughlin's arrival, when the Giants drafted wide receivers David Tyree and Willie Ponder with sixth-round picks and signed punter Jeff Feagles in free agency. In 2004, Coughlin hired a familiar face to coach the special teams - Mike Sweatman, who handled the kicking game for Bill Parcells in New York in the 1980s. The Giants also drafted linebacker Reggie Torbor in the fourth round. In 2005, the Giants signed kicker Jay Feely and return specialist Chad Morton in free agency and drafted defensive end Jason Tuck in the third round. New York also signed undrafted collegians Chase Blackburn of Akron and James Butler of Georgia Tech. Feely tied a Giants' season record with 35 field goals and finished second in the NFL in scoring with 148 points. Feagles finished eighth in the NFL with 26 punts inside the 20. Ponder returned a kickoff for a touchdown, Morton returned a punt for a score and Tuck and Tyree blocked kicks. Blackburn, Butler and Ponder recovered fumbles in the kicking game, and Tyree was selected to the Pro Bowl as the NFC special-teams player. Blackburn led the Giants with 22 tackles on special teams, followed by Butler and Tyree with 21 apiece and Tuck with 18. The Bills finished in the top 10 in 13 of the 22 categories and were the only team to rank in the top 10 in the four major return categories: kickoff (first) and punt return (fifth), kickoff (fourth) and punt coverage (seventh). The team that made the greatest improvement was the Houston Texans, who vaulted from 29th in 2004 to third in 2005. Rookie Jerome Mathis finished second in the NFL in kickoff returns with a 28.6-yard average and scored two touchdowns on his way to the Pro Bowl. 2005 NFL SPECIAL TEAMS RANKINGS The NFL's 32 teams are ranked in 22 kicking-game categories and assigned points according to their standing (one for the best through 32 for the worst). Here are the team totals, crowning Buffalo as the special teams champion for the second consecutive season: 1. Buffalo 217 2. NY Giants 258.5 3. Houston 260.5 4. Miami 286 5. Tennessee 298.5 6. Cleveland 311 7. San Francisco 321.5 8. Jacksonville 334.4 9. Carolina 337 10. Washington 343.5 11. Chicago 358 12. Minnesota 360.5 13. Pittsburgh 362.5 14. Dallas 365 15. Atlanta 365.5 16. Cincinnati 367.5 17. St. Louis 376.5 18. Denver 379.5 19. Kansas City 380.5 19. Tampa Bay 380.5 21. New England 382.5 22. San Diego 387.5 23. Philadelphia 393.5 23. Baltimore 393.5 25. NY Jets 400 26. Oakland 406.5 27. Detroit 423.5 28. Arizona 428 29. Indianapolis 428.5 30. Seattle 429 31. New Orleans 437 32. Green Bay 442.5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 See - even dark clouds have silver linings! Nice job by the ST's, for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 Coach April, You're fired. Sincerely, Coach Martz What a dumbass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crap Throwing Monkey Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 Coach April, You're fired. Sincerely, Coach Martz What a dumbass. 601768[/snapback] And weren't there people here who wanted Martz in Buffalo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 And weren't there people here who wanted Martz in Buffalo? 601772[/snapback] I did. Not for a job interview, but to see April land a haymaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mile High Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 And weren't there people here who wanted Martz in Buffalo? 601772[/snapback] Yeah dumb asses... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 I did. Not for a job interview, but to see April land a haymaker. 601777[/snapback] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1gap2gap Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 I was not too thrilled when we hired April. I remember when he was with Pittsburgh and I just felt that he did an average job at best. I'm sure glad I was wrong and April is a lot better in fact I was one of the people on the board now that felt he could have been the next HC for the Bills. I have to say- when I jump on the band wagon I jump faster then anybody I know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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