Cellar Dwellers On Special Teams
January 21st, 2020
The annual special teams report is in from longtime Hall of Fame voter Rick Gosselin, who legitimately can call himself a Bill Belicheat adviser,
And the Bucs rang the bell with the worst 2019 unit in the NFL.
Gosselin has been doing his yearly special teams rankings since his days at the Dallas Morning News. He has an elaborate system, and you can read the whole thing here.
The Bucs earned “worst” numbers in multiple categories for 2019 and, well, Joe’s sick to his stomach about how the Bucs special teams, year-after-year, aren’t very special.
So where will the accountability be seen in the accountability-based regime of Bucco Bruce Arians?
Different coaches? Hahaha.
Serious new kicker and punter competition? Highly doubtful. (Bradley Pinion had the 32nd-ranked net punting average in the NFL.)
A significant investment in a returner? Unlikely.
The Bucs did have injuries to core special teams players like Antony Auclair, and the rookie defensive backs weren’t very good on special teams, though you won’t hear that from One Buc Palace.
Joe suspects these numbers and realities give cornerback/gunner Ryan Smith a better-than-average chance of being re-signed, and T.J. Logan will get every chance to show his very solid, pre-injury punt returning was no fluke.
January 21st, 2020 at 5:35 pm
Draft UK Slot WR / ATH Lynn Bowden and watch return game get a ton more exciting!
(Perriman & Logan could both be replaced for 3rd round money.)
January 21st, 2020 at 5:38 pm
Our KR Obgunbawle is awful. I wonder exactly how many times he came out & was tackled well SHORT of the 25. Who does he think he is Devin Hester… lol.. FIELD POSITION
Nevermind the kicking which was not great again.. clutch kicks made at the end of games inside 45 yds is a necessity in this league..
Find someone who can make those kicks, please
January 21st, 2020 at 5:38 pm
& Logan
January 21st, 2020 at 5:40 pm
Trade Evans for a 1st & 2nd rd draft pick & sign Perriman.
January 21st, 2020 at 5:42 pm
Besides place kickers, punters, returners, gunners and all specialist most of the special teams are comprised with backup players. Some teams have better backups but the difference in today’s NFL compared to yesteryear is that your marquise players hardly ever play on special teams.
What we need is the ability to attract the better players. After every draft pay attention to where the better UDFA’s sign? We need to win to attract these undrafted blue-chippers.
January 21st, 2020 at 5:50 pm
Our kickoff coverage team had to do well because Pinion was #1 in touchbacks percentage….I guess he wore his leg out on kickoffs…..
January 21st, 2020 at 5:56 pm
The one good thing I really liked was that our coverage unit forced quite a few fumbles. Of freaking course most of the ones we recovered were illegally taken away from the officials.
I also thought that while TJ Logan wasn’t great he seemed to make really nice returns at critical times when the team really needed a spark.
Overall still pretty bad especially cause you gotta include yet another year of gagged kicking.
January 21st, 2020 at 5:56 pm
Adrian Killins in the late rounds of the draft. Damn he is fast.
Auclair should be turned into a fullback, if Arians ever figures out what a fullback is for. Watch KC’s run game. It happens because of a fullback. Damien Williams isn’t that special.
January 21st, 2020 at 6:02 pm
Seriously Tom??
January 21st, 2020 at 6:04 pm
As long as Dare Ogunbwyahsk is not returning kicks anyone else is good, Logan did pretty solid until he broke his wrist, I expect us to get a speedster this offseason or two
January 21st, 2020 at 6:11 pm
They had a returner they wouldn’t give a try last offseason. Bruce Anderson III
January 21st, 2020 at 6:13 pm
They kept Dare over Bruce. When Bruce was given time in the fourth preseason game he showed why he should have been kept.
January 21st, 2020 at 6:16 pm
Maybe we should rename ours Special Ed Team.
January 21st, 2020 at 6:26 pm
i dont understand why this team does not invest more in special teams. year after year it is the same thing. dont forget the penalties. the way the bucs build teams is deplorable. i dont care about record breaking offenses i want efficient offenses that can run the ball, not pass it to the other team, kick well, return well, tackle well (one aspect we improved on this year).
no problems with our wideouts but man we do not play fundamental football well and i am sick and tired of it. look at the playoffs, teams dont have dumb penalties. we do.
this falls on licht. he built this team. i am about done with him if he cant get it done next year.
January 21st, 2020 at 6:41 pm
Tom…sorry… you don’t trade a player like Evans for less than 2 firsts and more. I like Perriman…but will he play like he did at the end of the season? Ask Bruce. I don’t know.
January 21st, 2020 at 6:50 pm
Chris L……I certainly cannot rebuttal your point about how Licht built the team.
But speaking strictly for the Bruce Arians Era you gotta cut them some slack dude. Remember he took over for a team with a last place defense. We needed a lot of help on that side of the ball and it dictated where we made all our investments.
They addressed the defense heavily which pushed off certain areas like running game and ST.
Now I Don’t claim to know but will guess that Special Teams units have to be built just like any other unit…….I would love to hear a coaches perspective on that. Maybe if Joe thinks it’s a good Q he can ask em one of these days.
Does ST have to be built or is it mostly coaching?
January 21st, 2020 at 6:55 pm
How long has #47 been a GM ?
January 21st, 2020 at 7:06 pm
First punt of the year was blocked and last 3 kicks of the year were missed and a whole lot of horrible special teams in between. It’s a Bucs life!
January 21st, 2020 at 7:10 pm
The team has NEVER had a returner under Licht and I mean some of the absoulute worst in the NFL . Hump was a punt catcher but hardly a return talent , I believe Licht has touched worst in the NFL in a record number of categories and positions in his tenure with his hand in it !!! There is some good bt the shear number of worsts in the league is literally mind boggling !!! There is no doubt what so ever Greenberg with a robo/ on line GM spoils outperform Licht hands down !!!
People it is nearly impossible to not resign people with this many free agents coming up and be an employed GM !!! Talk about not doing your job !!!! What the hell is Licht and the scouting dept s job !!! Challenged Jock running a billion dollar business!!! Licht has no clue , just like 85 percent of the other GM s !!!
January 21st, 2020 at 7:37 pm
Lol well what do we know I always thought that koetter letting guys return kick offs for touchdowns was worse. Wow guess we need to bring back jacass rodgers and Roberto aguayo.
January 21st, 2020 at 7:47 pm
Isaac Higgins…..Gotta nitpick you on that one about never having a returner. Can’t forget about Djax.
Say what you want about him but he was a dynamic returner(when he wanted to be).
I’d also give a little hattip to TJ Logan. Not that he was great or nothing but certainly above average.
January 21st, 2020 at 8:39 pm
Hey, look at the bright side – when your QB commits 35 turnovers you have to punt less
January 21st, 2020 at 8:48 pm
Chayse Claypool very good receiver and great on special teams coverage.
January 21st, 2020 at 8:54 pm
Oh look another part of our dominate team that is ready to destroy all if we had another QB. At least that’s what I read in these comments daily. Oh don’t forget we led the league in penalities too. Yep ready made and only one player was holding this juggernaut back. Ready made…
How were running the ball and defending the pass again? Oh yeah I forgot ready made.
January 21st, 2020 at 10:12 pm
It must be Jameis’ fault.
January 21st, 2020 at 10:35 pm
TOM- I had that thought today. Evans for a 1 and 2, you could draft Jerry Jeudy a lineman like Becton in the first and an impact RB and S or Edge with the other second.
January 22nd, 2020 at 6:42 am
Licht Sucks…6 years the GM and still at the bottom of the Special Teams Units.
As long as the idiot is the GM, we will continue to suck!
Look at John Robinson at Tenn…
Lynch at SF
Our GM sucks..end of story.
January 22nd, 2020 at 3:55 pm
Nothing to see here!!! This is all Jameis’ fault!!
January 22nd, 2020 at 10:06 pm
@ Jimmy , Jackson was never a returner under Licht he told Licht what he would and wouldn’t do !!
Had he returned even half the punts I would agree but he refused and he didn’t .
For anyone that says he wasn’t asked or allowed , well that would again only support what is being said and exactly where the special teams landed.
Logan , seriously they can only find Arizona castoffs well into the season , well that tells you right there that you have a scouting / coaching meathead weakness , there’s 31 other teams,practice squads and free agents ……… Logan if any owner has half a flippen clue its just a full on true sign your organization isn’t performing and is very short sighted , Need we say Andre Ellington !!! Come on Man !!! Logan lasts what 5 games seriously ( at least he is fast and could be decent) !!! Come on Man !!! Keep up your good posts Jimmy butlets be clear Licht has once again recorded a worst and through his tenure has had the worst ( top 5 worst) returners in the entire NFL ( every year) !!!! Think about IT 🤔 someone Please Call Karl Williams ( the truth) ……