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Not-So-Special Teams: Coming Off A Down Year, The Redskins Third Unit Looks To Bounce Back
Washington struggled in almost every aspect of the special teams game last year.
Shaun Suisham lost confidence midway through the year and couldn’t connect on field goals over 40 yards consistently. In 2008, he went 26-36 on FGs and 25-25 on extra points.
He went 12-20 from 40+ yard FGs and missed some important kicks throughout the year. That’s an issue for the ‘Skins because they don’t give themselves many scoring chances and play every game by a close margin. They need a kicker who will convert over 80 percent of his attempts.
The front office brought in Dave Rayner this offseason to push Suisham. Rayner hasn’t played a full season since 2006 where he went 26-35 with the Packers.
He has a strong leg, which is a plus especially on kick-offs. However, Rayner’s inaccuracy doesn’t help in the placekicking department.
Unless one of the two gets their act together, the kicking game may yet again be a mess in 2009.
Punting, so often a weakness for the Redskins has been remedied. The signing of former Indianapolis Colts punter, Hunter Smith, signals Washington may have a year where they control the field position game.
Smith averaged 44.2 yards a punt, which is a marked improvement from Ryan Plackemeier’s 41.5 avg. He put 23 punts inside the 20-yard line; that’s six better than Plackemeier.
Most importantly, Smith had a net average of 38.8 yards per punt, tied for 10th in the NFL. Plackemeier was third from the bottom with a 33.3 net avg.
Keep in mind that Smith posted these stats on just 53 attempts with the dynamic Colts offense. That was 23rd most in the NFL and well below Plackemeier’s 66 attempts.
So punting is improved instantly with the Smith signing, but on the flip side, the punt return game is still shaky.
Antwaan Randle El continued to languish at the bottom of every punt return category and no replacement is imminent.
Dominique Dorsey was signed in the offseason, but is a longshot to make the roster. He starred as a returner in the CFL and if he hopes to make in the NFL, he will need to duplicate his performance from up north in the preseason.
Santana Moss is a threat and will most likely return key punts in 2009, but on the whole, expectations are low for the return game. This will hurt field position and prevent the return game from providing much of a spark.
Unfortunately, the Redskins often overlook key weaknesses; this year is no exception. Hopes are high that the upgrades will overcome and disguise the holes. It’s up to the coaching staff to bring it all together.
Only time will tell if their efforts pay off.
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