Special Teams Observations

[UpstatePanther]

i have attended 4/5 practices so far, and i have tried to catch the punt/kick returns each time. 

i have to say that my inexperienced eyes like what they see. last season during training camp, i got the impression from @Jeremy_Igo that our returners couldnt catch the ball to save their lives. This season, not only have we brought back Ted Ginn, but we brought in Jordan Todman and Dameire Byrd. 

I have yet to see a ball dropped. maybe someone else has, i havent caught every return snap. but Ginn's speed and hands have me very excited, as do Todman's. Byrd has been a pleasant surprise and i look forward to seeing how he performs in a game setting. i have a feeling he will get the opportunity to prove he can be a game-changing return man during the preseason games. 

the greatest surprise for me though, has been Brenton Bersin. his struggles last season are well documented, and he has received alot of due flak for his mistakes. But people's blind hate has become unmerited, as our own MFCEO has reported that Bersin is doing better. I have noticed this as well. Granted, i think there needs to be healthy, game-time competition. but my mind is not clouded by Bersin-hate. i think if he can keep up his improvement, he can be a viable alternative if, God forbid, Ted Ginn goes down.

i think our returners should go like this: Ted Ginn, Jordan Todman, and whoever proves to be better for the rest of camp between Byrd and Bersin.

what do you think Huddle?

[LinvilleGorge]

I think it'll be tough to NOT have a significant improvement on the punt return unit.  I was half hoping last season we'd simply stop putting a returner back there.  When you team forces a punt, that's supposed to be a GOOD thing.  It's exciting.  You get the chance for a possible return plus you're virtually guaranteed to get possession.  That wasn't the case last season.  Hell, I would often go to the bathroom or run grab another beer during our punt returns because I couldn't bear to watch.  Half the punts Bersin actually caught, he was bobbling the hell out of them.  It was absolutely nerve wracking.

[OceanPanther]

Nobody put more excitement in the  fair catch than Bersin last season..   Lets hope we don't have to ever go that deep on the depth chart for him to have to go back there again. 

[UpstatePanther]

I think it'll be tough to NOT have a significant improvement on the punt return unit.  I was half hoping last season we'd simply stop putting a returner back there.  When you team forces a punt, that's supposed to be a GOOD thing.  It's exciting.  You get the chance for a possible return plus you're virtually guaranteed to get possession.  That wasn't the case last season.  Hell, I would often go to the bathroom or run grab another beer during our punt returns because I couldn't bear to watch.  Half the punts Bersin actually caught, he was bobbling the hell out of them.  It was absolutely nerve wracking.

yeah, i think we will see a significant improvement this season. its not just the returners we've picked up. alot of our offseason additions were geared toward improving special teams coverage which was half the problem anyway. i also think it cant be overstated how much it will improve our special teams unit to be under DeHaven's and Purnell's guidance as opposed to the buffoon we had leading the unit last season. all around, our special teams has gotten much much better on paper. i am anxious to see how the coverage units perform in a game situation, because i am confident that our returns will change games if they are given holes to run through

[UpstatePanther]

Nobody put more excitement in the  fair catch than Bersin last season..   Lets hope we don't have to ever go that deep on the depth chart for him to have to go back there again. 

did you not even read my post? the kid is catching the football now. i agree there are better, more experienced options than him, but it wont be a complete disaster if he has to return a few kicks or punts this season

[OceanPanther]

Yes, I read your post ..   Live action, hearing footsteps, mentally,  I'd hope we don't have to put him back there.  Just my opinion.

[UpstatePanther]

Yes, I read your post ..   Live action, hearing footsteps, mentally,  I'd hope we don't have to put him back there.  Just my opinion.

fair enough. youre right about the mental aspect. but to Bersin's defense, he wasnt catching footballs in practice last year either.

im sure Ginn and Todman can, should, and will start over everyone else. i can agree with you in that im not willing to put any money on a Bersin-fielded punt of kick just yet. im just trying to lessen the hate for the guy, especially since he might make the team as the 4th or 5th receiver.

[PhillyB]

last year's weaknesses were punt returning, tackle, guard, secondary, and RDE.

suddenly our punt and kick returners are awesome, our tackles have mostly been addresses, our guards are awesome, our secondary has kicked it up a couple notches, and we've got rising talent fighting to start at RDE.

like every other thread this one just got me hyped.

[UpstatePanther]

last year's weaknesses were punt returning, tackle, guard, secondary, and RDE.

suddenly our punt and kick returners are awesome, our tackles have mostly been addresses, our guards are awesome, our secondary has kicked it up a couple notches, and we've got rising talent fighting to start at RDE.

like every other thread this one just got me hyped.

i know. i just end up laughing at threads/posts that call our tackles into question. Oher has already proven better than Bell (as in he can actually block people. He blocked rising star Mario Addison well today and had a good practice a couple days ago). our team is so much better than it was last year. the only thing that is really concerning me is this damn injury/retirement bug our team has caught. we've been unlucky to experience so many injuries, but we've been lucky in the sense that its been mostly minor stuff like tweaked hamstrings and the only serious injury was to a guy (bless his heart) that probably wasnt going to make the team anyway. 

 

i am not concerned about lack of talent on this team. i am concerned that injury will keep the team as a whole from performing to its potential. injury will be the only thing seriously holding back the 2015 Carolina Panthers, and thats a damn good place to be. especially since this team is only going to get better. 

 

my god think about that... this team is going to be fun to watch this year, and we are only going to get better O.o

[L-TownCat]

last year's weaknesses were punt returning, tackle, guard, secondary, and RDE.

suddenly our punt and kick returners are awesome, our tackles have mostly been addresses, our guards are awesome, our secondary has kicked it up a couple notches, and we've got rising talent fighting to start at RDE.

like every other thread this one just got me hyped.

[LinvilleGorge]

Yeah, I still don't think OT is a strength by any means, but it certainly seems better than last year.  There have been some reports of Oher struggling at times, but rewind to this time last year and Bell/Chandler were just absolutely getting eaten alive.  That continued into the regular season.

[PhillyB]

you stop that

[The NFL Shield At Midfield]

i remember bersin chasing a punt that fell 15 or so yards shy of him into a crowd of arizona players in the playoff game.  he tripped over a cardinals STer and basically fell on the ball and was lucky it wasn't a turnover.  i actually made a gif of it and posted it here because i have no idea what the hell he was thinking.  it happened before his bizarre muff that made it look like he thought he was playing little league baseball again.

anyway i have no idea what i was getting at with that but if he's not doing poo that like anymore then it's an improvement i guess

[KB_fan]

Don't die of shock, but Joe Person (yes... THAT Joe Person) has an EXCELLENT article at the Observer tonight.  It's a feature on Jason Trusnik, but it focuses heavily on his role on ST, and the team's work to rebuild our ST unit this year.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nfl/carolina-panthers/article30175458.html

Here is one of the sections I found very worth reading.  I'm liking all I see and hear and read about DeHaven:

In addition to Trusnik, running back Jordan Todman, wide receiver Jarrett Boykin, cornerback Teddy Williams and safety Kurt Coleman have logged a lot of special teams snaps.

While DeHaven is happy to have the help, he says no amount of reinforcements will matter if the returning players don’t do their parts, as well.

“I really think the improvement in all our special teams has to come from the guys that are already here. You’re not going to bring in a couple of guys and make a radical difference,” DeHaven said. “I certainly hope those guys have a chance to help us because they’ve been pretty good in the past. But the guys that are here are the ones that have to improve.”

The Panthers’ return teams suffered last season [...]

But the coverage teams were even worse. The Panthers were last in punt coverage, allowing 15.5 yards per return, and next to last in kickoff coverage (32.4 yards).

[...]

Those numbers led to several offseason changes.

The Panthers reassigned former special teams coordinator Richard Rodgers to a role with the secondary, and promoted DeHaven, who took a leave of absence in the spring while he was treated for prostate cancer.

Meanwhile, general manager Dave Gettleman tried to give DeHaven players to work with.

DeHaven says situational substitutions – offenses using multiple-receiver sets and defenses countering with extra defensive backs and speed pass-rushers – have shrunk the available talent pool for special teams.

DeHaven points to Panthers defensive end Mario Addison, whose special teams reps were limited last season because he was too valuable as an edge rusher in passing situations.

Injuries also took a toll. Special teams mainstay Colin Jones was pressed into duty at nickel when Bené Benwikere was sidelined with a high ankle sprain, and Richie Brockel’s increased snaps at tight end cut into his special teams availability.

“It helps us on special teams if Colin Jones and Mario Addison don’t play as much on defense as they did the last half of the year. They’re outstanding special teams players,” DeHaven said. “It hurt us last year when those two ended up playing so many plays on defense. They became almost an afterthought for what they could do for us on special teams.”