No Surprise, Packers Special Teams Ranked Worst in NFL
By Paul Bretl
Are we surprised? Rick Gosselin of Sports Illustrated, who comes out with his annual special teams rankings has the Green Bay Packers No. 32–that’s right, dead last.
Unfortunately, this is nothing new for the Packers. In 2020, Green Bay finished 29th in Gosselin’s rankings. In 2019, they were 26th. And in 2018, they were again 32nd. As Zach Kruse of Packers Wire pointed out, this is the third time since 2014 that Green Bay has finished the season ranked last.
By PFF’s metrics, the Packers special teams unit ranked 31st. While by Football Outsiders, they ranked 32nd. However, given all the issues that took place this season, we don’t exactly need rankings to tell us that this unit has struggled.
In short, at various points this season, we’ve seen problems with just about every aspect of the Packers’ special teams unit. There have been missed kicks as a result of poor blocking, bad snaps, questionable holds, as well as Mason Crosby just flat out missing.
On punt returns, Amari Rodgers has mishandled several attempts, and when he does have the ball, he’s been very indecisive. The kick return unit hasn’t really fared any better, ranking 29th in average yards per return, according to StatMuse.
Green Bay is also the only team in the NFL to allow a punt return this season, and they’ve allowed the 10th most kick return yards as well. Not to mention that there have been penalties, missed tackles, shanked punts, and I imagine that I’ve left a few things out.
Special teams nearly cost Green Bay the game in Cincinnati. It very well may have cost them in Kansas City, where they lost by six with two missed field goals and a number of other blunders, as well as in Minnesota, where the Packers lost by three after Crosby missed a field goal attempt.
On top of that, there was a two-game stretch against Chicago and Baltimore where Green Bay committed more special teams errors than what several teams will make over an entire season.
You get the point–it’s been a rough showing for the Green Bay Packers special teams unit, and the 32nd ranking is valid.
However, if you’re looking for a silver lining, the Green Bay Packers have been trending in the right direction over the last few weeks. The blocking on field goal and extra-point attempts has improved, and Crosby has missed just one attempt since the bye week.
It looks like the Packers may have found something in David Moore, who caught the ball cleanly as a punt returner, displayed good vision, and was decisive with the ball in his hands, which as a result, led to 33 punt return yards on three attempts, with a long of 21.
Related Story. Can David Moore have Tyler Ervin-like Impact on Return Units?. light
Overall, there have just been fewer egregious errors, which is all we are really asking for. At this point, when it comes to special teams play, the Packers are who they are. They aren’t going to all of a sudden transform into a top-10 unit or perhaps not even a top-20 unit this season, but that’s not a requirement either.
Basically, just hold it together, and don’t allow any game-changing or momentum-shifting negative plays to take place, which I know, is easier said than done.
In the playoffs, a team’s weaknesses are magnified, and it’s more difficult to overcome any errors that occur. Special teams play can certainly become the difference between a win and loss. But again, Green Bay is trending in the right direction, and if you’d like more good news, none of the other NFC teams remaining are that good in this area either. According to Gosselin’s rankings, Tampa Bay is 29th, San Francisco 25th, and the Rams 16th.