Rick Gosselin’s 2007 NFL Special Teams Rankings
Chicago special teams coach Dave Toub and his Bears go back-to-back
(Published February 2008)
Devin Hester has played in the NFL two seasons. The Chicago Bears have fielded the NFL’s best special teams each of those two seasons.
Yes, there is a correlation. Hester is to NFL special teams what New England quarterback Tom Brady is to offense and Indianapolis safety Bob Sanders is to defense.
Hester returned six kicks for touchdowns in 2007 and has 11 in his career, two short of the NFL record held by Brian Mitchell. And Hester has played 12 fewer seasons and 191 fewer games than Mitchell.
A seventh TD return by Hester was nullified by penalty. He returned a kickoff for a touchdown in the 2007 Super Bowl, which does not count among his career scores, and another punt return for a TD in the playoffs was nullified by penalty.
Hester’s legs powered the Chicago Bears to the top of the 2007 NFL special teams rankings compiled annually by Rick Gosselin. The Bears also finished first in 2006 this after finishing 11th in 2005 before Hester’s arrival.
The league’s 32 teams are ranked in 22 categories and assigned points according to their standing one for best, 32 for worst. The Bears won with a composite score of 236.5, 5.5 points better than runner-up San Diego.
Eleven of the 12 NFL playoff teams finished in the top 20, including seven of the eight division winners. Only Indianapolis, at 31, fell below the cut. The Super Bowl champion New York Giants finished 17th, and the AFC champion New England Patriots ninth. The Cowboys finished 18th.
Hester’s presence on the field for the Bears affected six of the categories: kickoff and punt returns, kickoff starting point, scoring and opponent punting and net punting.
The Bears led the NFL in special-teams scoring (eight touchdowns) and kickoff starting point. Chicago finished last in the NFL in kickoff returns with an average of 18.4 yards.
Teams were willing to pooch kickoffs, even kick them out of bounds, rather than let Hester field them. So Chicago’s kickoff starting point was the 33.7-yard line, a league-best.
The Bears were second in punt returns thanks to Hester’s NFC-best 15.5-yard average and four touchdowns. They also finished in the top five in opponent punting and net punting. Teams often kicked away from Hester, sacrificing yardage to keep the ball out of his hands.
The Bears also led the NFL with eight blocked kicks, twice as many as any other team. They led the NFL in kickoff coverage, ranked third in punt coverage and second in field goals with 31.
Chicago ranked in the top 10 in 14 of the 22 categories. San Diego ranked in the top 10 in 12 categories. The Chargers led the NFL with six special-teams takeaways and ranked in the top five in all three of the punting categories with Mike Scifres.
Green Bay and Houston charted the greatest improvements in the span of a year. The Texans finished 29th in the NFL in 2006 and the Packers last. But Houston vaulted to fourth and the Packers to seventh.
Special teams helped the Packers win the NFC North with a 13-3 record and helped the Texans post their first non-losing season in franchise history at 8-8.
| Rank | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago | 236.5 |
| 2 | San Diego | 242 |
| 3 | San Francisco | 268.5 |
| 4 | Buffalo | 277.5 |
| 4 | Houston | 277.5 |
| 6 | Cleveland | 310.5 |
| 7 | Green Bay | 318 |
| 7 | Tampa Bay | 318 |
| 9 | New England | 326.5 |
| 10 | Washington | 328 |
| 11 | Atlanta | 335 |
| 12 | Tennessee | 341 |
| 13 | NY Jets | 359.5 |
| 14 | Seattle | 367 |
| 15 | Pittsburgh | 372.5 |
| 16 | Baltimore | 375 |
| 17 | NY Giants | 376.5 |
| 18 | Dallas | 382.5 |
| 19 | Carolina | 386.5 |
| 20 | Jacksonville | 387.5 |
| 21 | Miami | 390 |
| 22 | Cincinnati | 395 |
| 23 | St. Louis | 396 |
| 24 | Minnesota | 400 |
| 25 | Detroit | 406 |
| 26 | Oakland | 414.5 |
| 27 | Kansas City | 420 |
| 28 | Philadelphia | 423.5 |
| 29 | New Orleans | 427 |
| 30 | Denver | 428.5 |
| 31 | Indianapolis | 447 |
| 32 | Arizona | 482.5 |
Here’s a breakdown of the 22 categories:
KICKOFF RETURNS
Best: Cleveland 27.0 yards
Worst: Chicago 18.4 yards
PUNT RETURNS
Best: Buffalo 15.4 yards
Worst: Cincinnati 4.9 yards
KICKOFF COVERAGE
Best: Chicago 19.3 yards
Worst: St. Louis 27.2 yards
PUNT COVERAGE
Best: Buffalo 5.3 yards
Worst: Indianapolis 13.9 yards
STARTING POINT
Best: Chicago 33.7
Worst: Denver 24
OPPONENTS STARTING POINT
Best: San Francisco 24.9
Worst: Miami 32.9
PUNTING
Best: Oakland 49.1 yards
Worst: New York 39.8 yards
NET PUNTING
Best: Oakland 41.1 yards
Worst: Arizona 32.0 yards
INSIDE-20 PUNTS
Best: San Francisco 42
Worst: Miami 10
OPPONENTS PUNTING
Best: Cincinnati 39.7 yards
Worst: St. Louis 47.7 yards
OPPONENTS NET PUNTING
Best: Buffalo 31.8 yards
Worst: Minnesota 40.5 yards
FIELD GOALS
Best: Tennessee 35
Worst: New Orleans 15
FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
Best: Pittsburgh 92.0
Worst: New Orleans 68.1
OPPONENTS FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
Best: Detroit 62.9
Worst: Atlanta 93.3
EXTRA POINT PERCENTAGE
Best: 22 teams tied 100
Worst: NY Giants 95.2
POINTS SCORED
Best: Chicago 42
Worst: 6 teams tied 0
POINTS ALLOWED
Best: Atlanta, San Diego 0
Worst: Denver 26
BLOCKED KICKS
Best: Chicago 8
Worst: 11 teams tied 0
BLOCKED KICKS AGAINST
Best: 9 teams tied 0
Worst: Indianapolis 4
TAKEAWAYS
Best: San Diego 6
Worst: 6 teams tied 0
GIVEAWAYS
Best: 8 teams tied 0
Worst: Baltimore 5
PENALTIES (YARDS)
Best: New Orleans 4 (49)
Worst: Arizona 25 (236)
