Rick Gosselin’s 2000 NFL Special Teams Rankings
First crown for Miami special teams coach Mike Westhoff
(Published February 2001)
The best offense and defense in the NFL are easily identifiable. But not so the best special teams.
St. Louis has stocked the NFL’s highest-scoring offense with league MVPs (Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk), Pro Bowlers (Isaac Bruce and Orlando Pace) and first-round draft picks (Torry Holt).
Baltimore has stocked the NFL’s stingiest defense with all-decade selections (Rod Woodson), Pro Bowlers (Ray Lewis and Sam Adams) and first-round picks (Peter Boulware and Chris McAlister).
But the Miami Dolphins crafted the league’s best kicking game without any such names or reputations. With essentially a cast of free agents and castoffs, the Dolphins finished atop the NFL special-teams rankings compiled annually by Rick Gosselin.
The league’s 31 teams are ranked in 19 categories and assigned points according to their standing _ one for the best, 31 for the worst. The Dolphins won with a score of 167.5 points, 35.5 fewer than runnerup Carolina.
Coverage ace Larry Izzo signed with Miami as an undrafted rookie in 1996, and kicker Olindo Mare signed up a year later. Deep-snapper Brody Heffner-Liddiard, kick returner Autry Denson and coverman Twan Russell all were cut by other teams, and punter Matt Turk and punt returner Jeff Ogden were acquired by trade in offseason fire sales.
Yet the Dolphins ranked in the Top 10 in 14 of the 19 kicking-game categories. Miami didn’t allow any negative plays — no kicks blocked or returned for touchdowns — and ranked in the Top 5 in both kickoff and punt coverage.
Miami’s Mike Westhoff did his job better than any special-teams coach in the league in 2000. But he was inherited by Dave Wannstedt from Jimmy Johnson, who inherited him from Don Shula. Wannstedt fired Westhoff at the end of the season so he could hire his special-teams coach of choice (Keith Armstrong).
Westhoff, 53, has surfaced in 2001 as special-teams coach of the New York Jets, where the process begins anew. Once upon a time Westhoff wanted to be an NFL head coach. But not any more. Head coaches have to worry about the salary cap. Special teams coaches don’t.
“I deal with the other end of the spectrum,” Westhoff said. “I get that young kid coming out of college who just wants to make the team and everyone likes being around. I’m surrounded by those guys. I’m really having a ball coaching them.”
Izzo led the Dolphins with 31 special-teams tackles and was selected for the Pro Bowl. Undrafted rookie Trent Gamble and Russell were next with 26 tackles apiece. Mare kicked 90 percent of his field goals and Odgen returned a punt 81 yards for a touchdown against Green Bay.
The Oakland Raiders made the biggest jump in the rankings, moving up from 26th in 1999 to sixth in 2000. Rookie kickers Sebastian Janikowski and Shane Lechler helped the Raiders win their first AFC West title since 1990.
Rank | Team | Score |
---|---|---|
1 | Miami | 167.5 |
2 | Carolina | 203 |
3 | Tennessee | 218.5 |
4 | Baltimore | 222 |
5 | Seattle | 223.5 |
6 | Oakland | 225 |
7 | New England | 227 |
8 | Philadelphia | 238 |
9 | Detroit | 240 |
10 | Dallas | 247.5 |
11 | Tampa Bay | 251.5 |
12 | Green Bay | 265.5 |
13 | Pittsburgh | 272 |
14 | Atlanta | 276 |
15 | Chicago | 283 |
16 | Jacksonville | 302 |
17 | Arizona | 305 |
18 | Minnesota | 307 |
19 | Indianapolis | 325.5 |
20 | St. Louis | 334 |
21 | Cleveland | 338.5 |
22 | Denver | 343 |
23 | NY Jets | 352 |
24 | NY Giants | 355.5 |
25 | Kansas City | 362.5 |
26 | Cincinnati | 386.5 |
2728 | New Orleans | 394 |
San Diego | 399 | |
29 | Washington | 441.5 |
30 | San Francisco | 448.5 |
31 | Buffalo | 469.5 |
Here’s a breakdown of the 21 categories:
KICKOFF RETURNS
Best: Arizona, 26.6 yards
Worst: Buffalo, 18.2 yards
PUNT RETURNS
Best: Baltimore, 15.8 yards
Worst: Buffalo, 5.0 yards
KICKOFF COVERAGE
Best: Carolina, 17.5 yards
Worst: Washington, 25.4 yards
PUNT COVERAGE
Best: Atlanta, 4.3 yards
Worst: NY Jets, 15.7 yards
KICKOFF STARTING POINT
Best: Tennessee, 33.2-yard line
Worst: San Francisco, 25.8-yard line
OPPONENT STARTING POINT
Best: Detroit, 25.1-yard line
Worst: Buffalo, 36.1-yard line
FIELD GOALS
Best: Baltimore, 35
Worst: Cincinnati, 12
FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
Best: Minnesota, 95.6 percent
Worst: Cincinnati, 57.1 percent
OPPONENT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
Best: NY Giants, 54.1 percent
Worst: Atlanta, 93.5 percent
EXTRA POINT PERCENTAGE
Best: 24 teams tied at 100 percent
Worst: Washington, 93.1 percent
GROSS PUNT
Best: San Diego, 46.1 yards
Worst: Carolina, 37.2 yards
NET PUNT
Best: Oakland, 37.9 yards
Worst: Buffalo, 31.4 yards
INSIDE THE 20 PUNTS
Best: Baltimore, 35
Worst: St. Louis, 13
OPPONENT GROSS PUNT
Best: Carolina, 39.8 yards
Worst: Baltimore, 44.5 yards
OPPONENT NET PUNT
Best: New England, 31.8 yards
Worst: Buffalo, 38.4 yards
BLOCKED KICKS
Best: Tampa Bay, 7
Worst: 10 tied with 0
KICK PROTECTION
Best: 5 tied with 0 blocks
Worst: Buffalo, 5 blocks
POINTS SCORED
Best: Atlanta, 24
Worst: 9 tied with 0
POINTS ALLOWED
Best: 10 tied with 0
Worst: New Orleans, 24