Rick Gosselin’s 2015 NFL Special Teams Rankings
First crown for Baltimore special teams coach Jerry Rosburg
(Published February 2016)
When offensive coordinator Scott Linehan lost his best player, the Dallas offense went south.
Two broken collarbones suffered by Tony Romo cost Linehan 12 starts from his Pro Bowl quarterback and the offense collapsed from seventh in the NFL in 2014 to 22nd in 2015, scoring 192 fewer points.
When special-teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia lost his best player, surprisingly, his special teams improved. The Cowboys vaulted from 13th in the NFL in special teams in 2014 to fourth in 2015, according to rankings compiled annually by Rick Gosselin.
The league’s 32 teams are ranked in 22 categories and assigned points according to their standing – one for best, 32 for worst. The Baltimore Ravens finished with the best special teams in the NFL this season with 231 points, followed by the New York Giants (271.5), Jacksonville Jaguars (295) and Cowboys (310.5).
The Cowboys opted not to resign Dwayne Harris last offseason, which cost Bisaccia his best punt returner, best kickoff returner, best gunner on the punt team and best coverage ace on the kickoff unit.
Harris signed with the Giants in free agency and was a key figure in New York’s ascension from 25th in the NFL in special teams in 2014 to second this season. He returned both a kickoff and punt return for a touchdown, with the kickoff TD providing the winning points in a 27-20 victory over the Cowboys.
But Bisaccia persevered with perhaps the best kicking combination in the league in Dan Bailey and Chris Jones. Bailey converted a league-best 30 of his 32 field goal attempts and Jones finished third in the NFL with a net punting average of 42.5 yards.
Jones also recovered a fumble, which gave him a share of the team lead, and Tyrone Crawford, David Irving and Danny McCray all blocked kicks. Jeff Heath emerged as a coverage ace in the absence of Harris and rookie Lucky Whitehead showed promise late in the season as a kickoff returner. But Bisaccia needs to do something about the punt returns in 2016. The Cowboys finished 29th in the NFL with an average of 5.5 yards. The Giants finished seventh with Harris at 10.2 yards.
The 23-place jump by the Giants wasn’t even the greatest improvement by a single team. The Jacksonville Jaguars finished 27th in special teams a year ago but leapfrogged all the way to No. 3 this season. The Jaguars were helped along by rookie Rashad Greene, a fifth-round pick out of Florida State, who led the NFL in punt returns with an average of 16.7 yards.
The Ravens, who were coached by Jerry Rosburg, finished in the Top 10 in 14 of the 22 categories to run away with the team crown. They finished in the Top 10 in all the major punting categories with Sam Koch _ punting, net punt, inside-the-20 punts and punt coverage.
| Rank | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baltimore | 231 |
| 2 | NY Giants | 271.5 |
| 3 | Jacksonville | 295 |
| 4 | Dallas | 310.5 |
| 5 | Philadelphia | 313 |
| 6 | Pittsburgh | 316.5 |
| 7 | Denver | 320 |
| 8 | Cincinnati | 331 |
| 9 | Kansas City | 332 |
| 10 | Minnesota | 333 |
| 11 | New England | 342 |
| 12 | Chicago | 349 |
| 13 | Washington | 350.5 |
| 14 | Detroit | 352 |
| 15 | Miami | 355.5 |
| 16 | Buffalo | 357 |
| 17 | Green Bay | 360.5 |
| 18 | St. Louis | 361 |
| 19 | Cleveland | 362 |
| 20 | Indianapolis | 369 |
| 21 | New Orleans | 372 |
| 22 | Atlanta | 374.5 |
| 23 | Houston | 389.5 |
| 24 | Seattle | 394 |
| 25 | Oakland | 399.5 |
| 26 | Tampa Bay | 406.5 |
| 27 | San Francisco | 411 |
| 28 | Tennessee | 429.5 |
| 29 | Arizona | 434 |
| 30 | Carolina | 447 |
| 31 | NY Jets | 456 |
| 32 | San Diego | 490.5 |
Here’s a breakdown of the 22 categories:
KICKOFF RETURNS
Best: Minnesota, 28.3 yards
Worst: Carolina, 18.5 yards
PUNT RETURNS
Best: Jacksonville, 11.6 yards
Worst: San Diego, 4.2 Yards
KICKOFF COVERAGE
Best: Buffalo, 17.2 yards
Worst: San Diego, 27.5 yards
PUNT COVERAGE
Best: Green Bay, 4.2 yards
Worst: Seattle, 13.3 yards
STARTING POINT
Best: Minnesota, 25-yard line
Worst: Tennessee, 19.7-yard line
OPPONENT STARTING POINT
Best: Buffalo, 19.9-yard line
Worst: Chicago, 24.2-yard line
PUNTING
Best: St. Louis, 47.9 yards
Worst: Minnesota, 41.6 yards
NET PUNTING
Best: St. Louis, 43.7 yards
Worst: Arizona, 35.4 yards
INSIDE THE 20 PUNTS
Best: St. Louis, 41
Worst: San Diego, Tampa Bay, 15
OPPONENT PUNTING
Best: San Diego, 43.1 yards
Worst: Tennessee, 48.2 yards
OPPONENT NET PUNTING
Best: Cleveland, 36.4 yards
Worst: Tennessee, 43.0 yards
FIELD GOALS
Best: Pittsburgh, 35
Worst: Miami, 13
FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
Best: Cowboys, NY Giants, 93.7 percent
Worst: St. Louis, 67.7 percent
OPPONENT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
Best: Miami, 72.4 percent
Worst: Philadelphia, 100 percent
EXTRA POINT PERCENTAGE
Best: Five teams tied with 100 percent
Worst: Jacksonville, 82.1 percent
POINTS SCORED
Best: Washington, 20
Worst: 14 teams tied at 0
POINTS ALLOWED
Best: 16 teams tied with 0
Worst: N.Y. Jets, 24
BLOCKED KICKS
Best: Baltimore, Oakland, 5
Worst: 10 teams tied with 0
OPPONENT BLOCKED KICKS
Best: Cowboys tied with nine teams with 0
Worst: Carolina, 5
TAKEAWAYS
Best: Buffalo, Tennessee, 4
Worst: Seven teams tied with 0
GIVEAWAYS
Best: Eight teams tied with 0
Worst: Oakland, 4
PENALTIES
Best: Arizona, 9
Worst: St. Louis, 29
