Green Bay Packers: Week 15 special teams recap

How did the Green Bay Packers perform on special teams in their victory over the Chicago Bears?

In a game they needed to win to keep their playoff hopes alive, the Packers survived a late comeback by the Bears to win, 30-27, and reach 8-6 on the season.

The offense found life behind an invigorated running game led by receiver-turned-running-back Ty Montgomery, and a timely deep shot from their quarterback to Jordy Nelson helped them end it.

The defense forced four turnovers on four straight drives to help the team build a three-score lead, then made a key stop towards the end once that lead evaporated.

What was the special teams unit’s role in this outing?

Let’s begin with the man who sealed the game.

Dec 18, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Green Bay Packers kicker Mason Crosby (2) reacts after kicking the game winning field goal at Soldier Field. Green Bay defeats Chicago 30-27. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

Mason Crosby

Kickoffs:

Scoring:

Crosby has had a few games this season where his usually-reliable leg came up lacking. During a five-game stretch in the middle of the season, he missed at least one kick of some kind on four different occasions. He also missed a field goal in the Seattle blowout, giving him 4 misses in 24 attempts; not terrible over a season, but a reminder that even the easiest kicks are not automatic.

Against Chicago, the kicks weren’t difficult (none were beyond 34 yards) but it was vastly important that he made them. His team was down by three when he converted his first; his second gave Green Bay a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

His final one is the most important, coming in the sort of situation that gets people fired if they don’t convert. Thirty-two yards out is less than a PAT kick, but the temperature had been a factor in this game and in this sort of situation we’ve seen even shorter kicks missed by countless highly-regarded players before.

No worries here though, as he easily knocked it through for the win.

Outside of the scoring, his impact wasn’t nearly as strong. The majority of his kickoffs didn’t reach the end zone; most didn’t make it beyond touchback yardage, but something seems off about a kicker whose best trait is leg strength not getting the ball deep enough for touchbacks. It may have been weather-related (Chicago’s kicker also didn’t have many touchbacks, kicking even shorter than Crosby with regularity) or possibly part of the gameplan, but it strikes me as an issue when this happens.

A minor one, to be sure, but something to be aware of as the weather gets colder.

Sep 18, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Green Bay Packers punter Jacob Schum (10) against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Vikings defeated the Packers 17-14. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Jacob Schum

Punts:

This game was a return to early-season Schum — not all that good.

After putting up sizable distances on the majority of his punts for multiple months, the Schum we saw against Chicago just doesn’t compare. His first couple kicks didn’t even reach 40 yards; neither of those were a result of where he kicked from either, as Chicago was just barely inside their 20 for the first and well beyond it for the second.

His ending two attempts were better so it wasn’t a terrible day, but he fell noticeably below the bar he had set for himself in the previous couple months of games. Against Minnesota and Detroit — one with a high-rated defense, the other playing at home with the playoffs likely on the line — he’ll need to step back up to the level he’s shown he’s capable of.

If not, we’ll see field position become a distinct disadvantage in the most important games of Green Bay’s 2016 season.

Dec 18, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Green Bay Packers running back Ty Montgomery (88) runs with the ball during the first quarter against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

The Return Units

Punts:

Kickoffs:

On the surface, this looks like a nondescript showing. The advantages of what the return game provided may not have been massive, but at least in terms of the kick return area the “hidden yardage” provided to the Packers was positive.

What do I mean by hidden yardage? Simply, it’s the sort of yardage which rarely is taken into account when analyzing games. We can see it in the box score sure, but the actual impact tends to be glossed over outside of only the largest plays (think 40+ yard gains and touchdowns).

The kick returns here don’t seem to be all that great at first glance; yardage-wise, we see only one over 20 yards, and none of them reach even the Green Bay 30. But consider this: all of those returns did not begin in the end zone. Each of these attempts had to begin outside the end zone, forcing the return to have to be taken; on all but one, the ball was brought out right around where a touchback would have landed them.

That may not seem like much, but having a drive start at the 25 instead of the 15 can make a massive difference. If a team has to start further back, that means they have further to go to get a score. The longer a drive is, the smaller the likelihood is for that team scoring.

Also, if a team ends up with a three-and-out, a punt would require more distance and faster coverage to keep from providing great field position for the opposition’s next offensive drive. For example, let’s say a punt ends with a net gain of 50 yards. If that punt happens from a team’s 25 yard line, the opposition will begin on their own 25. If that same punt came from that team’s 15, that sizable punt would leave the opposition at their own 35 — a pretty lackluster spot considering they picked up half a field of yardage.

So, this hidden yardage can have a tangible effect on games — possibly giving one team just enough of a break in their favor to take the contest.

As sneakily helpful as the kick return game was here, the punt return unit shows just the opposite. There were two punts, and neither did anything to help the Packers. The first was downed at their own 1 yard line; that drive became a punt. The second was brought up to touchback territory, but a penalty by Blake Martinez (as well as another by Jeff Janis, though that one was declined) moved the ball back to the Green Bay 10; that drive ended on downs despite a 61 yard run by Ty Montgomery.

The punt return guys need to borrow a bit of that stealthy effectiveness of their kick return brethren in the coming weeks.

Dec 11, 2016; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers safety Kentrell Brice (29) during the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Lambeau Field. Green Bay won 38-10. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

The Coverage Units

Punts:

Kickoffs:

As always, we end on the coverage unit. Despite Schum’s struggles (which probably didn’t help them much), to me these guys came out with the poorest showing of these four areas.

With the short kickoffs, the onus is on the return guys to get to the returner quickly and tackle effectively. Besides the first kickoff they mostly did a decent job, but they ended up giving the Bears the exact same sneaky yardage help which Montgomery gave Green Bay on his returns.

Again, most of these were short kicks by Crosby, but if the coverage guys can get to the returner in a hurry, they can put the opposition in a tough situation; instead, we saw time and again the Bears starting right around the touchback zone anyway.

That’s majorly nitpicky, but having some of those drives start further back for Chicago could have lessened the odds of them ending a couple drives with touchdowns; if that happens, Green Bay doesn’t need the last-gasp defensive stand to force a field goal by the Bears nor that 60 yard bomb from Rodgers to Nelson to come away with a win. Excellent, amazing plays to see, but either could easily have turned out differently.

The punt coverage unit was mostly fine, but the untimely penalty problem reared its head once again for the unit, gifting 10 yards to the Bears to put them at their own 45. Chicago would score their first touchdown of the game on the ensuing drive.

As I said with Schum, the output of this unit wasn’t exactly terrible, but there are worrisome signs and trends which keep appearing in their play most weeks. With little room for error on the field and in the standings, any one of these bad and/or underwhelming efforts could put “run the table” into an early retirement. Minnesota brings Cordarrelle Patterson with them for Week 16, an error or missed opportunity from this coverage team could put the Vikings in the sort of easy field position their offense used earlier this season– if Patterson doesn’t take it all the way himself.

They better be ready, or we’ll be talking about special teams ruining the second Packers’ season in three years.