Rick Gosselin’s 2008 NFL Special Teams Rankings
Third crown for Buffalo special teams coach Bobby April
(Published February 2009)
The Buffalo Bills are the only AFC team without a playoff appearance in the 2000 decade.
Don’t blame their special teams.
The 7-9 Bills finished 25th in the NFL in offense and 14th in defense this season but first in special teams according to rankings compiled annually by Rick Gosselin.
It was the third time in the last five years the Bills have fielded the NFL’s best special teams, wresting the honor from the Chicago Bears who finished No. 1 in both 2006-07.
The Bears slid back to eighth this season in large part because of the diminished impact of Devin Hester. He went to the Pro Bowl each of his first two years, scoring a combined 11 touchdowns on kick returns.
But the Bears utilized Hester more as a wide receiver in 2008. He started eight games and caught 51 passes, but the increased workload made him a pedestrian kick returner. He averaged 21.9 yards on kickoffs, 6.2 yards on punts and did not score a touchdown on special teams for the first time in his three-year career.
The league’s 32 teams are ranked in 22 categories and assigned points according to their standing – one for best, 32 for worst. The Bills won with a composite score of 254, 14.5 points better than the runnerup Tennessee Titans.
The teams with the two top seeds in the playoffs, the Titans in the AFC and the New York Giants in the NFC, both finished in the Top 4 in special teams this season. Fellow division winners Carolina and San Diego also finished in the Top 15, as did NFC wild cards Atlanta and Philadelphia.
But Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh finished 20th and NFC champion Arizona 28th. The Cardinals were the lowest ranked special teams ever to appear in a Super Bowl and the Steelers the second-worst special teams ever to win a Super Bowl after the 2006 Indianapolis Colts.
The Bills led the NFL in only two special-teams categories, punt returns and kickoff starting point. But Buffalo finished in the Top 5 in five other categories and the Top 10 in seven others.
Under the supervision of special-teams coach Bobby April, the Bills scored three touchdowns on a 98-yard kickoff return by Leodis McKelvin, a 63-yard punt return by Roscoe Parrish and a 19-yard pass from punter Brian Moorman to defensive end Ryan Denney on a fake field goal.
Other notable statistics from the 2008 season: Oakland led the league with five special-teams touchdowns, Chicago blocked four kicks and Detroit forced five turnovers. Also, Atlanta allowed only 2.5 yards per punt return, the best figure of the decade.
The Raiders, under the direction of Brian Schneider, staged the biggest jump in the rankings, vaulting from 26th in 2007 to fifth in 2008. Oakland dominated the punting categories with Pro Bowler Shane Lechler, and Johnnie Lee Higgins returned three punts for touchdowns. Lechler is from Texas A&M and Higgins from Texas-El Paso.
| Rank | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buffalo | 254 |
| 2 | Tennessee | 268.5 |
| 3 | Cleveland | 269 |
| 4 | NY Giants | 269.5 |
| 5 | Oakland | 274.5 |
| 6 | San Francisco | 283 |
| 7 | New England | 287 |
| 8 | Chicago | 288.5 |
| 9 | Tampa Bay | 318.5 |
| 10 | Atlanta | 324 |
| 10 | San Diego | 324 |
| 12 | Carolina | 329.5 |
| 12 | Philadelphia | 329.5 |
| 14 | NY Jets | 351.5 |
| 15 | Seattle | 369 |
| 16 | Jacksonville | 376.5 |
| 17 | St. Louis | 377 |
| 18 | New Orleans | 381 |
| 19 | Detroit | 381.5 |
| 20 | Pittsburgh | 382.5 |
| 21 | Houston | 383 |
| 22 | Baltimore | 389 |
| 23 | Washington | 394 |
| 24 | Cincinnati | 421.5 |
| 25 | Minnesota | 422 |
| 26 | Green Bay | 430 |
| 27 | Dallas | 431.5 |
| 28 | Arizona | 433.5 |
| 29 | Kansas City | 456 |
| 30 | Miami | 463.5 |
| 31 | Denver | 472.5 |
| 32 | Indianapolis | 481 |
Here’s a breakdown of the 22 categories:
KICKOFF RETURNS
Best: Tennessee, 25.4 yards
Worst: Green Bay, 20.1 yards
PUNT RETURNS
Best: Buffalo, 15.5 yards
Worst: Indianapolis, 6.0 yards
KICKOFF COVERAGE
Best: Pittsburgh, 19.1 yards
Worst: St. Louis, 26.2 yards
PUNT COVERAGE
Best: Atlanta, 2.5 yards
Worst: Minnesota, 14.9 yards
STARTING POINT
Best: Buffalo, 32.4-yard line
Worst: St. Louis, 23.8-yard line
OPPONENT STARTING POINT
Best: Jacksonville, 24.5-yard line
Worst: Kansas City, 31.9-yard line
PUNTING
Best: St. Louis, 49.6 yards
Worst: Cincinnati, 39.1 yards
NET PUNTING
Best: Oakland, 41.2 yards
Worst: Washington, 33.4 yards
INSIDE-THE-20 PUNTS
Best: Chicago, 40
Worst: New Orleans, 9
OPPONENT PUNTING
Best: Cleveland, 40.7 yards
Worst: Miami, 46.7 yards
OPPONENT NET PUNTING
Best: Cleveland, 34.1 yards
Worst: Arizona, 40.0 yards
FIELD GOALS
Best: New England, NY Giants, 36 apiece
Worst: Kansas City, 16
FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
Best: Detroit, 95.4 percent
Worst: Washington, 72.2 percent
OPPONENT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
Best: Tennessee, 66.6 percent
Worst: St. Louis, 96.8 percent
EXTRA POINT PERCENTAGE
Best: 26 teams tied at 100 percent
Worst: Detroit, Oakland, 96.1 percent apiece
POINTS SCORED
Best: Oakland, 30 points
Worst: 7 teams tied with 0 points
POINTS ALLOWED
Best: 9 teams tied with 0 points
Worst: Minnesota, 44 points
BLOCKED KICKS FOR
Best: Chicago, 4
Worst: 9 teams tied with 0
BLOCKED KICKS AGAINST
Best: 7 teams tied with 0
Worst: Philadelphia, 4
TAKEAWAYS
Best: Detroit, 5
Worst: 8 teams tied with 0
GIVEAWAYS
Best: 6 teams tied with 0
Worst: 5 teams tied with 3
PENALTIES
Best: Denver, 6
Worst: Green Bay, 24
