NFL Football History

Chiefs name Haley new head coach

KANSAS CITY, Mo. Chiefs name Haley new head coach

Todd Haley was hired Friday as coach of the Kansas City Chiefs after helping the Arizona Cardinals reach the Super Bowl as coordinator of one of the NFL's top offenses.

Haley joins a team that went a franchise-worst 2-14 under coach Herm Edwards, who was fired Jan.23.

charlotteobserver.com

posted by iasnfl2006 at 07/02/09 7:40 PM | 0 comment(s)

As spread offense becomes more prevalent, speed is more important than size

Anytime Brian Robiskie mentioned a college team that ran the spread offense during his recruiting process, he'd get a lukewarm, sometimes dismissive response from his father.

Terry Robiskie, who has spent 27 years in the NFL coaching receivers and coordinating offenses, eventually broke it down for his son. He told him spread offenses are "pretty and often productive," but stressed that playing in one would likely stunt his development as a receiver and ultimately hurt his chances of succeeding in the NFL.

Brian listened, and even though the Urban Meyer-led Florida Gators were high on his list, he picked Ohio State, where he had 1,866 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns during his college career. Four years later, he's viewed as one of the more polished receivers in the 2009 draft class.

"This is America, so we love to see the ball fly all over the place. But if you are going to make a living in the National Football League, you can't do it in the spread or shotgun formation, throwing the ball for 60 plays a game," Terry Robiskie said. "In the NFL, if you repeatedly leave those two tackles open, they are going to get beat. You can say it's a quick offense, and the ball is going to come out quick. That's accurate. But just as the ball comes out, that $80 million-dollar quarterback is going to get hit in his mouth and hit often. That's just the history of this game.

"On this level there are too many Jason Taylors and Bruce Smiths in this world, and they will be better than your best tackle."

While Robiskie clearly isn't a fan of the spread, he's far from alone when it comes to NFL coaches, executives and scouts. Many admit the gimmicky offensive scheme is making it increasingly difficult to evaluate college prospects.

The NFL is usually leery of shotgun quarterbacks coming out of spread offenses, which explains why Florida's Tim Tebow, a Heisman Trophy winner and two-time national champion, was projected as a possible third-round pick before deciding to return to UF for his senior season.

"Tebow is a thrower, not a passer," said one AFC scout, who also has concerns about Percy Harvin's route-running skills. "We need to see [Tebow] make read progressions."

It doesn't help that few quarterbacks from spread offenses have had success as pro starters. Alex Smith, who played under Meyer at Utah, was the No. 1 pick of the 2005 draft. His stalled 49ers career and horrendous touchdown-to-interception ratio (19-31) - makes a strong argument against drafting spread passers.

"If the quarterback is in the gun all the time, it's a struggle," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said. "There are some positives to it, but a lot of negatives. ... But with Florida's recent success you're seeing a little bit more of it."

However, it's not just spread quarterbacks being hurt come evaluation time.

Offensive tackles are often in a two-point stance instead of having a hand in the ground.

Tight ends are typically flexed out as receivers, and as a result are usually undersized and have raw blocking skills.

NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock said he's had to search hard for game film of Missouri's Chase Coffman, one of the top tight ends of the 2009 draft class, working as a blocker.

Receiver routes in the spread are typically zero to 11 yards downfield, but the most critical passes in the NFL are intermediate routes that run 11 to 20 yards.

To combat the influence of the spread, NFL scouts say defenses are becoming smaller because of the need to be quicker. As a result, college linebackers are increasingly becoming the size of NFL safeties, and college safeties the size of NFL cornerbacks.

"It's hard for the NFL to get a read on every position. But what I tell my buddies in the NFL is 'Get use to it fellas because that spread's not going away,'" Mayock said. "You are going to have to learn how to evaluate these kids."

Influences of the spread have worked their way to the NFL. For the past two years, the Patriots ran passing elements of the spread, and in 2007 it produced one of the best statistical seasons in league history.

Last season, the Chiefs abandoned their pro-set style, replacing it with the spread when Tyler Thigpen took over at quarterback.

Could more of the spread be spreading to football's big leagues?

"It's part of the cycle right now, but it will cycle the other way. That's all football does," said Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, who believes the spread is simply an option-read variation of the old run-and-shoot offense. "Teams ran the run-and-shoot for years and years. The Houston Oilers and the Atlanta Falcons had a similar passing concept for a while and then it cycled out. Now this option read series is cycling its way through college football.

"It goes in cycles. Nothing's new, and nothing lasts forever."

Copyright (c) 2009, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

posted by iasnfl2006 at 01/02/09 10:51 PM | 0 comment(s)

49ers, Raiders in one Santa Clara stadium? For NFL, it might make sense

The NFL is urging the 49ers to explore sharing a new stadium with their cross-bay neighbors, the Raiders, hoping the Bay Area could follow the lead of the New York Giants and the New York Jets, who have joined forces to privately finance the most expensive stadium in U.S. sports history.

The owners of the Giants and Jets say they, too, believe joining forces may be the best hope for the Bay Area's two teams to build a new stadium, especially in such dire economic times. The $1.6 billion Jets-Giants stadium in New Jersey will use new video technology to broadcast each team's colors and logo throughout the stadium for home games - allowing two rival franchises with different histories and fan bases to feel at home.

The 49ers have not begun formal discussions with the Raiders, but the team plans to expand the scope of its environmental review in Santa Clara for a stadium that could accommodate two teams playing at least 20 games a year.

"The NFL has encouraged us to explore the possibility of a two-team facility to address the economics" of building a new stadium, Jed York, the 49ers president, said in an interview with the Mercury News last week.

York cautioned that the teams are nowhere near a decision to share a stadium, but added, "I think it's important you look at all of your options. If that's a possibility, that's certainly something we'll explore."

Commissioner Roger Goodell has had discussions with both the Raiders and the 49ers in recent weeks asking the Bay Area teams, who play in two of the oldest stadiums in the league, to consider a joint project, said Greg Aiello, vice president of public relations for the NFL.

"We definitely see it as a possibility that is worth exploring, and that's what we're encouraging them to do," Aiello said. "It's a matter of trying to find a solution for a very challenging situation. Building a stadium today is more challenging than ever, and this could be a way to address the challenges - the economic challenges, the financing challenges."

'Economic sense'

The NFL has been impressed by the success of the privately financed joint stadium effort in New Jersey, where the influential owners of the Giants and the Jets both told the Mercury News that a version of their partnership could be the Bay Area's best chance to finance a new stadium.

"It just makes much more economic sense for two teams to be in one building, if you can get through, well, we call it the 'blue' and the 'green' issues," said Giants Chief Executive John Mara, using the Giants' and Jets' team colors to stand for the struggle to make one stadium a true home for two teams. "Out there, it would be the 'black and silver' and the 'crimson' issues."

Having two teams greatly enhances the revenue a stadium could generate, including much greater advertising revenue, greater value for the sale of the stadium's name, and the fact each team could sell permanent seat licenses to its own fans. The only significant added construction cost for the Giants and Jets was adding a second home locker room.

The Bay Area and New York share two large hurdles to a stadium deal - expensive labor, and taxpayers' extreme reluctance to bankroll stadium projects. Given that fact, Jets owner Woody Johnson said a two-team stadium might be the only way a modern NFL stadium can get built.

The NFL provided an unprecedented $300 million in financing to the Jets-Giants stadium, financing that Johnson said other owners were more willing to provide because the stadium risk was shared by two teams.

"You've got to have two teams to get it done," Johnson said. "It's not doable today - particularly without public financing, at this level of construction - as a single entity."

Huge cost

To some denizens of the Raiders' "Black Hole," or the 49ers' football cognoscenti, the prospect of sharing a single Bay Area stadium might be almost unthinkable. But not to the NFL's 32 owners, who are acutely aware of the staggering cost of a new state-of-the art venue.

The Dallas Cowboys' new stadium, which will open next year, will cost about $1.3 billion. The 49ers have estimated a new stadium project in Santa Clara would cost about $916 million. And while the economic slowdown may slash construction costs, the economy and the paralyzed bond markets have also made financing giant stadium projects much more difficult - at least for now.

Skeptics also say the 49ers' 27-year-old York and the Raiders' mercurial owner, 79-year-old Al Davis, could never get to the stadium altar - just as the rowdy "Raider Nation" could never share home turf with the 49ers' urban sophisticates.

But York said he wanted to dispel the perception that he and Davis would be an NFL "odd-couple" who could not work together on a new stadium.

"I have a lot of respect for Mr. Davis," York said. "He was one of the key people who helped my grandfather buy the 49ers back in the late '70s. We have a good business relationship. "... It's not like what is at least being portrayed by some media that we couldn't work together, and that we could never work together. But does that mean you're going to move forward and build a stadium together? That's just not where we are right now."

For now, the only talks the 49ers have had with the Raiders have been informal discussions at league owners' meetings, York said.

'Shared respect'

The stadium environmental impact study under way in Santa Clara is for one team only, but the site is equally distant from San Francisco and Oakland, with rail links to both sides of the bay. The 49ers are asking the city of Santa Clara for a $136 million investment, most of which would come from city redevelopment money. Having an NFL game every autumn Sunday might prompt more neighborhood resistance in Santa Clara, where voters could go to the polls in November to weigh in on the project.

A top Raiders official declined to comment on the possibility of a shared stadium but also said the two Bay Area teams have a good relationship.

"There seems to be a perception, fostered in large part by the media, that the 49ers and the Raiders have an adversarial business relationship and that perception is wrong," said Amy Trask, the Raiders chief executive. "We enjoy working on league business matters with the 49ers and our two organizations have a shared respect for one another."

The two New York owners, who meshed conflicting organizational styles and different fan cultures, said they see no reason why the two Bay Area teams could not build a joint stadium.

"I think it is possible," said Mara, a highly regarded NFL figure whose family is the third-generation co-owner of last year's Super Bowl champion, of a Davis-York partnership. "If they would just view it as a business deal, and what's the best possible deal you can make in the best interest of your franchise, I think forming a partnership like that would be the best thing."

Others say the Bay Area could never build a pair of billion-dollar stadiums when the New York metro area, in better economic times, couldn't get it done. In addition, California taxpayers have proved extremely reluctant to bankroll pro stadiums.

"It's unreasonable to think that each of these individual franchises would be able to invest the billion dollars necessary to build a new stadium alone," said Carl Goldberg, chairman of the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority, which owns the land under the new Jets-Giants stadium. "The whole thing seems to be a horrible waste. Let's not forget that they only play 10 games per year per franchise. Doesn't it make more sense to build a better facility, with better fan appeal and a better fan experience, for both teams?"

Copyright (c) 2009 - San Jose Mercury News

posted by iasnfl2006 at 25/01/09 11:24 PM | 0 comment(s)

NFL Head Coaches: Small Men Who Control Giants

Imagine this scene for a moment.

Fifty large, muscular men are gathered together in a room, laughing and carrying on with each other. When I say large, I understate the situation a bit: some of these men are HUGE. Most of them are well over six feet tall, and quite a number of them eclipse 300 pounds, with hands that could palm the head of an average-sized human.

All of them have muscles that ripple and roll as they move: they are prime athletic specimens, and the picture of coiled ferocity comes to mind as you watch them mill about the room.

A man walks into the room, quietly and unnoticed at first, but he eventually catches the attention of one, then another, then another, until eventually every other man in the room has gone quiet, settled down, and is intensely watching this man to see what he will do or say.

He's not really all that impressive a creature; he may or may not be around six feet tall, but physically he is not a match for any other man in the room. In fact, he may be a bit on the rotund side, but still these gargantuan men have their eyes locked on him.

Sometimes he is younger than most of the guys in the room, other times he looks old enough to be their fathers, if not their grandfathers. Still, it doesn't matter: no one moves, no one makes a sound, no one dares breathe too loud lest they draw the specific attention of this seemingly unassuming, but obviously important man.

As he walks to the center or front of the room, these men shuffle out of his way to give him plenty of room. It's almost like they are afraid to touch him lest they contract some ghastly disease, or get burned by the acid that might be on his skin.

Who is this guy? Is he some alien visitor, come to earth to select a host for his dying race, so that they may continue to live? Is he a law enforcement officer looking for the perpetrator of a recent crime?

Is he EF Hutton?

No, he is none of these people. He is in fact, an NFL head coach, and he commands respect and attention by his mere presence in a room.

I know you've all witnessed the scene: Large football player rumbles off the field after making a bone-headed play, small-ish head coach walks over to the player - or runs, if the situation warrants - reaches UP, grabs the players facemask, and proceeds to chew him a new one.

Large football player stands there and takes it, probably muttering the whole time, "Sorry, coach. Didn't mean to, coach. It won't happen again, coach. I'll do better next time, coach. Please don't eat me, coach."

If you don't think this takes intestinal fortitude of a herculean measure, try it some time. Go to your local semi-pro league team's practice, pick the biggest lineman you can find, jump up and hang off his facemask while you commence to tell him just what he did wrong and what he needs to do to fix it.

Odds are the guy will look at you like a late afternoon snack, lick his chops, then grab you and heave you completely out of the practice facility.

So how do they do it? Sure, some of them have been around a while, but more than a few have no NFL playing experience of note, and worked their way up from sometimes obscure college divisions to take the positions they hold. Some, like retired head coach Tony Dungy, are rather soft-spoken. They don't scream and yell, they simply speak and the players listen.

It all boils down to one common thread: respect. The most successful head coaches respect their players, respect their organization, and respect their team's history.

You can tell who the good ones are, and who the good ones aren't. The good ones, like Mike Tomlin, Jeff Fisher, Joe Gibbs? They are constantly interacting with the players, congratulating them when they do well, correcting them when they do wrong, and sometimes celebrating on the sidelines with them when the team does well.

The not-so-good ones - and I'm not talking about their records, I'm talking about the sway they hold with their players - like Jon Gruden, Romeo Crennel, Lane Kiffin, Mike Nolan, have less interaction with the players.

They don't get the same level of respect and admiration from the players as their more successful counterparts. Oftentimes they are somewhat removed, physically and emotionally, from the players and other coaches on the sidelines.

Nor are they able to hold the respect of team owners; each of the coaches above is currently out as a head coach. To emphasize my point, one of the reasons given for Gruden's ouster was that the players "didn't trust him" to take them to the top.

Respect, trust, accountability. All are two-way streets in the world of football. Show respect and you will get respect. Trust your players to follow you, and they will trust you to lead.

Be accountable for your mistakes, and they will acknowledge when they have come up short and work to improve before you even have to say a word.

Fail in any of these three areas and your days as a head coach are limited. You may see some small success, but ultimately you will be replaced.

Doubt me? Look at Jeff Fisher, the head coach for the Tennessee Titans. Fisher has been with the franchise since before they moved from Houston. In that time he has taken the Titans to one, ONE, Super Bowl, which they lost.

But he has kept the Titans competitive nearly every year of his tenure. They came tantalizingly close to reaching the championship game this year, only to be undone by poor ball control.

More importantly, Fisher has maintained the respect, trust, and admiration of the fans, players, and owners in Nashville. There is no talk of Fisher being replaced anytime soon. In fact, if he is able to continue with the success he has seen there, he will more likely than not be allowed to coach there until he retires from football.

With 10 new coaches in the league in 2009, they would all do well to look at Fisher's and other long-term coach's examples. They have established the benchmark for what good coaches must do to have continued success and longevity in their careers, to continue to get their players to do their job, to continue to grab that facemask without any fear of being thrown around like a rag doll.

To all those asking, "What does it take to make it as a head coach in the NFL?": here's the answer.

Respect. Trust. Accountability. And maybe a little bit of a lucky bounce every now and then.

Do these things, and you will make it to the Hall one day.

Fail to do these things, and the only way you get in to the Hall is if you pay the entrance fee.

Copyright (c) 2008 Bleacher Report, Inc

posted by iasnfl2006 at 18/01/09 11:57 PM | 0 comment(s)

Arizona Cardinals: We Owe You an Apology

Dear Arizona Cardinals,

On behalf of everybody who is not a fan of your franchise, I would like to apologize for any comments that were made regarding your team not deserving to be in the playoffs.

When you guys started out 7-3, I thought you had a decent team. Kurt Warner was playing like his old MVP self. Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin were two of the best wide receivers in the league. Still, your team did play in the NFC West division that consisted of the struggling 49ers, Rams, and Seahawks.

After your Thanksgiving Day performance against the Philadelphia Eagles in which you lost 48-20, I thought this was another example of how the Cardinals struggle against some of the best teams in the league. The Redskins, Giants, Panthers, Jets, and Eagles are perfect examples of teams that you struggled against this season.

However, you did manage to beat teams such as Miami, Buffalo, and Dallas, which was impressive.

Still, your end-of-season collapse made many of us wonder whether or not your team deserved to go to the playoffs. After your 7-3 start, you finished the season losing four of your last six games.

Despite a 9-7 record, you still earned the right to host an opening round home playoff game since you were crowned champions of the NFC West.

Then came the opening round matchup in the playoffs against the red-hot Atlanta Falcons. Led by offensive rookie of the year quarterback Matt Ryan, the Falcons entered the playoffs winning seven of their last nine games. Even though they were on the road, many analysts figured the Falcons would advance since your team struggled toward the end of the season.

Then, your team did something that many of us didn't expect you to do. You surprised most of us when you beat the Falcons 30-24 in the opening round of the playoffs. Not only did your offense perform well, but your defense stepped it up, forcing the Falcons offense to record three turnovers.

After the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Minnesota Vikings, the Cardinals found themselves with a divisional round matchup against the NFC South division champion Carolina Panthers.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, nobody seemed to give them a chance against the Panthers. Statistically, the Panthers seemed like they would have no problem getting by the Cardinals.

An 8-0 record at home. A dynamic-duo at running back behind DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart who produced over 2,000 yards rushing and 28 touchdowns. Why wouldn't everybody assume the Panthers would win this game?

After Jonathan Stewart capped off a nine-yard touchdown run on the opening drive of Saturday night's game, it seemed like this was going to be the type of game everybody expected from you guys. Looks like we were wrong.

From that point on, everything seemed to go the right way for your team. Fitzgerald caught eight passes for 166 yards and a touchdown. Warner threw for 220 yards and two touchdowns. Even Edgerrin James, who has struggled a majority of the season, was able to rush for 57 yards and a score.

You guys ended up defeating the Panthers 33-13. Not only did your offense perform well, but the defense had a strong outing for the second straight week. Your defense forced Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme to throw five interceptions and lose a fumble. That is unbelievable considering he was the leader of the No. 2-seeded Panthers.

All of a sudden, the Arizona Cardinals are one of the hottest teams in football.

None of us gave you a chance against the Panthers. You guys went from a late season slump to defeating two of the hottest teams in football and making an appearance in the NFC Championship game. What is even more impressive about Saturday night's game is that you guys won without star wide receiver Anquan Boldin.

On behalf of all of us who doubted you, including myself, I would like to apologize for all of the comments made about the Cardinals not deserving to be in the playoffs. You guys have played amazing the last two weeks. If you continue this solid play, there is no reason why you guys can't make it to the Super Bowl.

Great game last night and good luck next week in the NFC Championship round.

Copyright (c) 2008 Bleacher Report, Inc

posted by iasnfl2006 at 11/01/09 10:55 PM | 0 comment(s)

Cowboys Considering Mike Shanahan for 2010 Season, ESPN Says

Jan. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones might pursue former Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan for the 2010 National Football League season, ESPN reported.

Shanahan, who was fired Dec. 30 as the Broncos coach and vice president of football operations, would be the leading candidate to replace Cowboys coach Wade Phillips if Jones makes a move for the 2009 season, though 2010 would be more likely, ESPN said, citing unidentified people with the team.

He was fired when Denver missed the playoffs for the third straight season after losing its final three games to finish 8-8. Shanahan yesterday told NBC that he plans to take a couple of weeks to consider his options, and would only return to football in 2009 if he found a perfect situation.

Jones on Dec. 26 said his coaching staff was "in place" for 2009, indicating Phillips's job was safe regardless of how the Cowboys played in their final regular-season game against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles won that game 44-6 to qualify for the playoffs and knocked the Cowboys out of postseason contention.

(c)2009 BLOOMBERG L.P.

posted by iasnfl2006 at 04/01/09 10:25 PM | 0 comment(s)

Focusing on the positives as Saints close disappointing season

No matter what happens today against the Carolina Panthers, the 2008 season for the New Orleans Saints can only be summed up in one word: disappointing.

In a season that looked to be filled with real opportunities, the Saints squandered a host of games for a variety of reasons - a lack of talent on defense, the inability to pressure the quarterback and not running the football, were a few.

Instead of looking at the negatives, here is my take on the positives for a team that will be watching the playoffs for a second straight season.

Quarterback Drew Brees
What can I say that hasn't already been said about the Pro-Bowl quarterback. Without him, the Saints wouldn't even have half the wins they have this season.

Brees has thrown for 4,683 yards and needs 402 yards to break Dan Marino's 1984 season-single passing mark of 5,084 yards, but it is his football presence and his ability to accurately distribute the football to the open receiver, no matter who is healthy, that is so impressive.

While Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning deserves to win the NFL MVP, Brees should be in the mix for that award.

Running back Pierre Thomas
When given the opportunity to run the football, Thomas has gotten the job done.

After coach Sean Payton decided to put some real balance in his offense, it was Thomas' running skills that came to the forefront.

He has rushed for 625 yards, averaged 4.8 yards per carry and scored ninetouchdowns.

While I still feel strongly that the team needs to bring in another running back, Thomas looks like he could become the Saints version of what the Giants have in Derrick Ward.

Wide receiver Lance Moore
I grew up watching the Saints and saw what type of impact Danny Abramowicz had on the Saints offense.

Abramowicz, a 17th-round selection out of Xavier (Ohio), was not very fast or shifty, but he ran great pass routes, consistently got open, caught virtually everything thrown in his direction and was a playmaker.

Well, Moore is the new millennium version of what Abramowicz was to the team in the late 1960's.

Moore has 71 catches for 837 yards and eight touchdowns, which should earn him a contract extension with the Saints.

The former Toledo undrafted free agent looks like the perfect compliment to Marques Colston at wide receiver for many seasons to come.

Wide receiver Devery Henderson
Many thought that the former LSU Tiger was on the hot seat when training camp opened, but he has really blossomed into a big-time deep threat in the NFL.

While Henderson will occasionally drop an easy catch, he is catching the ball much better and has really upgraded his overall route running skills.

He has only caught 30 passes this season, but he is averaging an 25.5 yards per catch.

Henderson is an unsigned unrestricted free agent, and he is in a position to make a ton of money in the off-season either with the Saints or with another team.

Offensive guard Carl Nicks
Nicks looked as though he would be a second-round choice in the 2008 draft after an impressive senior season at Nebraska and a good week of practice at the Senior Bowl, but an off-the-field incident dropped him into the fifth round.

The Saints moved him from tackle to left offensive guard.

When Jamar Nesbit was suspended due to taking the Starcaps pills to lose weight, Nicks was inserted into the starting lineup.

Nicks struggled at times early on, but once he got some experience under his belt, he really looked impressive.

This huge young man is an explosive run blocker and has excellent movement skills for a big man. In recent weeks, Nicks has improved as a pass blocker.

Defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis
The No. 1 draft pick from USC does not have great stats (28 tackles and four sacks) but his impact has been huge.

Ellis shows the toughness, strength and skill work inside to become a stellar defensive tackle in the league and he has good pass rushing skills.

Saints defensive line coach Ed Orgeron compared Ellis to a young Cortez Kennedy.

While he is not quite at that level yet, he looks like one of the top young defensive tackles in the NFL.

Linebacker Jonathan Vilma
When the Saints traded for the former New York Jets standout middle linebacker in the offseason, they hoped he could return to his All-Pro form after undergoing knee surgery.

Vilma has been everything the Saints wanted at middle linebacker.

The former Miami (Fla.) All-American has excellent play recognition skills and he seems to always be in the thick of the action.

Vilma leads the Saints in tackles with 119, but tackles don't tell the whole story on the positive impact he has made on a defense with very few real playmakers.

Cornerback Tracy Porter
Before the wrist injury in the Minnesota game, Porter looked to be developing into one of the best rookie defenders in the league.

His speed and one-on-one coverage skills are outstanding and he has one trait I love in a cornerback.

The Saints' second-round pick from Indiana has almost instant amnesia and he doesn't let one bad play affect the next down.

There is no doubt he is the best rookie cornerback I have seen in a Saints uniform in my 24 years covering the team.

Kicker Garrett Hartley, punter Glenn Pakulak and kickoff return specialist Courtney Roby

Early in the season, the news of the Saints' special teams was the awesome punt return results of Reggie Bush, but his big-play efforts on the field were almost overshadowed due to the inconsistent efforts of punter Steve Weatherford and Martin Gramatica's meltdown at kicker.

The Saints brought in two players that never kicked in a regular NFL game, but Hartley and Pakulak have performed like two seasoned pros.

Hartley, a former Oklahoma kicker, has connected on all 12 field-goal attempts and he has shown a strong leg on kickoffs.

Pakulak, a former Kentucky punter, has bounced around the NFL the past few seasons, and is averaging 46.7 yards per punt and gets good hangtime on punts.

In Roby, the Saints have landed a speedy option in the kickoff return game, and before the ankle injury, he was averaging 24.8 yards per return.

While Roby struggled with ball security issues with the Tennessee Titans, he developed into a very strong returner for the Saints.

Give Saints director of pro scouting Ryan Pace plenty of credit for landing these three players during the NFL season.

Copyright (c) 2008 DailyComet.com

posted by iasnfl2006 at 28/12/08 8:52 PM | 0 comment(s)