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Patrick Cobbs
Got It Covered: Special Teams Make Drastic Improvement
By Andy Kent
Dolphin Digest Correspondent
During the first half of the season when the Dolphins were still looking for some consistency, the play of the special teams units was a glaring concern, especially on kickoff and punt coverage. Opposing offenses were routinely starting drives with excellent field position and there were game-changing returns happening on a weekly basis, including one by the Oakland Raiders in Week 11 that nearly spelled disaster in a 17-15 victory.
Since that 93-yard punt return for a touchdown by Oakland's Johnnie Lee Higgins with 4:30 left in the game threatened to end Miami's three-game winning streak, it seems as if a light switch has been turned on with special teams coordinator John Bonamego's units. Rookie kicker Dan Carpenter's 38-yard field goal with 38 seconds remaining saved the punt return coverage unit from being labeled a scapegoat, and then first-year head coach Tony Sparano and first-year general manager Jeff Ireland went out and made another roster move to try to spark a change on special teams, bringing in Erik Walden.
Walden made his presence felt immediately against the New England Patriots in Week 12 by leveling Ellis Hobbs at his own 26 on a kickoff return following a Dolphins touchdown, and the message he sent to his teammates about the importance of making the tackle when you're the first guy down the field has resonated ever since. In the five games prior to the one against New England, Miami had given up 190 yards on 11 punt returns for an average of 17.3 per return and 611 yards on 23 kickoff returns for an average of 26.6 per return. Higgins' touchdown was the longest punt return during that stretch and Eddie Royal had a 95-yard kickoff return for the Denver Broncos in the Dolphins' 26-17 road win in Week 9.
Starting with the Patriots game, Miami's special teams have only allowed 58 yards on 11 punt returns for an average of just of 5.3 per return and 436 yards on 22 kickoff returns for an average of 19.8 per return. The longest punt return has gone for 12 yards and there have been three returns for zero yards, while the longest kickoff return has been 32 yards. Last week at Kansas City, William Kershaw forced a fumble on a kickoff return that was recovered by Joey Thomas and Patrick Cobbs broke off a 60-yard return on the opening kickoff, the longest of the year for the Dolphins, to set up Ted Ginn Jr.'s 31-yard touchdown run on the next play.
"I thought the special teams might have been the deciding factor in the game yesterday," Sparano said on Monday. "These guys are getting to the point where those things are happening regularly."
Clearly this group has come a long way from its performance in Week 6 at Houston when Jacoby Jones' 70-yard punt return for a touchdown got the Texans back into a game they eventually won in the closing seconds, 29-28. At that time, Miami's special teams players were doing an OK job of getting down the field and into position when the returner was fielding the punt or kick but they were missing tackles and allowing the returner to pick up speed and momentum.
Regulars like Brandon London, Cobbs, Nate Jones and Charlie Anderson took it upon themselves to change the pattern that had taken shape prior to that New England game after growing tired of answering questions each week about what was wrong with the special teams.
"We kind of took the way everybody was bashing us personally and even the Raiders players were talking trash to us before and after the game about how our special teams were sorry," London said the day after the Patriots game. "So we went into a room by ourselves and we really played an us-against-the-world type mentality and you just saw guys flying around yesterday. There were probably two times where I could have made a tackle but somebody else swooped Wes Welker or Hobbs up before I could get there. So we're going to build off that."
And build is what they have done, to the point that special teams no longer is the concern it was earlier in the season.
"First of all you have to give credit to the coach. I think Bono (Bonamego) has done a good job with them in that situation, I really do," Sparano said. "When it goes wrong it's the coach's fault, so when it goes right the coach should get some of the credit. Bono has done a nice job rallying the troops that way. I mean, it could have been really easy for them to go the other way. We didn't change personnel and we didn't have to put starters out there and that just goes to show you."
SPECIAL TEAMS SWING
A look at the improvement in the kickoff and punt coverage in the last five games
LAST 5 GAMES
Patriots - 2 punt returns for 20 yards (an average of 10.0 per return) and one fair catch with a long of 12 yards; 5 kickoff returns for 96 yards (a 19.2 average) with a long of 30 yards
Rams - 4 punt returns for 18 yards (an average of 4.5 per return) and one fair catch with a long of 9 yards; 4 kickoff returns for 94 yards (a 23.5 average) with a long of 28 yards
Bills - 2 punt returns for 11 yards (an average of 5.5 per return) with a long of 11 yards and one for zero yards; 5 kickoff returns for 96 yards (a 19.2 average) with a long of 32 yards
49ers - 2 punt returns for 0 yards (an average of 0.0 per return) and three fair catches; 1 kickoff return for 11 yards (an 11.0 average) and two touchbacks
Chiefs - 1 punt return for 9 yards (an average of 9.0 per return); 7 kickoff returns for 139 yards (a 19.9 average) with a long of 24
TOTALS - 11 punt returns for 58 yards (an average of 5.3 per return); 22 kickoff returns for 436 yards (a 19.8 average)
THE FIVE GAMES PRIOR TO NEW ENGLAND IN WEEK 12
Raiders - 4 punt returns for 113 yards and a TD (an average of 28.3 per return) and one fair catch with a long of 93 yards; 5 kickoff returns for 109 yards (a 21.8 average) with a long of 40
Seahawks - 3 punt returns for 49 yards (an average of 16.3 per return) with a long of 29; 3 kickoff returns for 98 yards (a 32.7 average) with a long of 50
Broncos - 1 punt return for 16 yards (an average of 16.0 per return) and one fair catch with a long of 16 yards; 5 kickoff returns for 182 yards (a 36.4 average) with a long of 95 yards
Bills - 1 punt return for 0 yards (an average of 0.0 per return) and one fair catch; 6 kickoff returns for 121 yards (a 20.2 average) with a long of 31
Ravens - 2 punt returns for 12 yards (an average of 6.0 per return); 4 kickoff returns for 101 yards (a 25.3 average) with a long of 30
TOTALS - 11 punt returns for 190 yards (an average of 17.3 per return) with a long of 93; 23 kickoff returns for 611 yards (a 26.6 average) with a long of 95
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