Rick Gosselin’s 2019 NFL Special Teams Rankings

First crown for New Orleans special teams coach Darren Rizzi

(Published February 2020)

The Miami Dolphins changed head coaches in the last decade but not their special-teams coordinator. They had a good one so they kept him.

Darren Rizzi stayed on in Miami through the Tony Sparano, Joe Philbin and Adam Gase regimes. Offense or defense may have been a problem over the years for the Dolphins but not the kicking game. Under Rizzi, the Dolphins finished in the Top 10 in special teams in five of his nine seasons. But when the Dolphins fired Gase after the 2018 season, Rizzi decided it was time to move on.

The Dolphins finished fourth in the NFL in special teams in Rizzi’s final season in 2018. His charges were even better in his first season with the New Orleans Saints.

The Saints finished first in the NFL special-teams rankings compiled annually by Rick Gosselin for the last 41 years. The league’s 32 teams are ranked in 22 kicking-game categories and assigned points according to their standing – one for best, 32 for worst. The Saints compiled 256 points to finish 23 ½ points better than the runnerup Cincinnati Bengals.

The AFC East champion New England Patriots finished third and the AFC West champion Kansas City Chiefs sixth.

The Saints finished first in four of the 22 categories, in the Top 5 in two others and the Top 10 in 10 more. The strength of the New Orleans special teams was kicker Will Lutz and punter Thomas Morstead. The Saints finished in the Top 10 in punting, net punting, inside-the-20 punts, plus field goals, field-goal percentage and extra point percentage.

New Orleans also finished in the Top 10 in both kickoff and punt returns thanks to undrafted rookie free agent Deonte Harris. He averaged 26.8 yards on kickoff returns and 9.4 yards on punt returns with one touchdown on his way to the Pro Bowl. The Saints also led the NFL with four blocked kicks, all on punts – one pure block and three deflections.

Bill Belichick became head coach of the Patriots in 2000 and his special teams have finished in the Top 10 in 14 of the 20 seasons since then. The Patriots have finished in the Top 5 in eight of those seasons, including two of the last three years.

Andy Reid became head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2013 and his team has finished in the Top 10 in special teams every season since then, seven years now and counting. That’s the longest such streak in the NFL.

Belichick carried four elite special teamers on his roster this season – Matthew Slater, Nate Ebner, Brandon Bolden and Justin Bethel – and the Patriots benefitted from that roster commitment. Slater, Erber and Bolden all blocked kicks, Bethel recovered two fumbles and Slater one and Slater also scored a touchdown on a blocked punt.

RankTeamScore
1New Orleans256
2Cincinnati279.5
3New England284
4Washington301.5
5Jacksonville302
6Kansas City309.5
7NY Giants314
8NY Jets324
9Pittsburgh324.5
10Detroit329
11Houston330.5
12Buffalo341
13Arizona351.5
13Cleveland351.5
15Philadelphia356.5
16Seattle359
17Minnesota361.5
18Tennessee363.5
19San Francisco365
20LA Rams372.5
21Denver376
22LA Chargers382.5
23Chicago396.5
24Miami402.5
25Oakland403
26Green Bay412.5
27Baltimore413.5
28Carolina417
29Indianapolis419
30Atlanta451
31Dallas474.5
32Tampa Bay491.5
Here’s a breakdown of the 22 categories:
KICKOFF RETURNS

Best: Denver                   28.1 yards

Worst: Dallas    14.9 yards

PUNT RETURNS

Best: Indianapolis          17.4 yards

Worst: Green Bay   4.5 yards

KICKOFF COVERAGE

Best: Houston                18.3 yards

Worst: LA Rams   28.5 yards

PUNT COVERAGE

Best: Houston                 3.3 yards

Worst: Carolina   13.3 yards

KICKOFF STARTING POINT

Best: Buffalo                27.6-yard line

Worst: LA Chargers   23.4-yard line

OPPONENT STARTING POINT

Best: Houston             22.9-yard line

Worst: Miami   27.9-yard line

PUNTING

Best: Washington       49.2 yards

Worst: Dallas   41.2 yards

NET PUNTING

Best: Jacksonville          44.4 yards

Worst: Dallas   37.2 yards

INSIDE-THE-20 PUNTS
Best: Tennessee          35

Worst: LA Chargers   15

OPPONENT PUNTING

Best: New Orleans        42.4 yards

Worst: Tampa Bay   47.4 yards

OPPONENT NET PUNTING

Best: New Orleans        36.8 yards

Worst: Tampa Bay   44.3 yards

FIELD GOALS

Best: Kansas City            33

Worst: Tennessee   8

FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE

Best: Jacksonville         96.7 percent

Worst: Tennessee    44.4 percent

OPPONENT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE

Best: Buffalo                  63.6 percent

Worst: Atlanta   96.7

EXTRA POINT PERCENTAGE

Best: Dallas                    100 percent

Worst: Indianapolis   83.78 percent

POINTS SCORED

Best: Indianapolis          14

Worst: 14 teams tied with 0

POINTS ALLOWED

Best: 12 teams tied with 0 points

Worst: Carolina   18 points

BLOCKED KICKS

Best: New England, New Orleans, Tennessee 4 apiece

Worst: 10 teams tied with 0

OPPONENT BLOCKED KICKS

Best: Eight teams tied with 0

Worst: Indianapolis   4

TAKEAWAYS

Best: Atlanta                     5

Worst: 10 teams tied with 0

GIVEAWAYS

Best: 9 teams tied with 0

Worst: Carolina, Philadelphia 3 apiece

PENALTIES

Best: Buffalo                     10 for 88 yards

Worst: Jacksonville  26 for 223 yards

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