hondo in seattle Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 How is everyone feeling about special teams? I read Chris Brown's article today discussing the special teams ability of this year's draft class. Do we have the right talent on special teams now? Do we have the right special teams coach? I thought Bruce DeHaven did a remarkable job with special teams when he worked under Marv Levy. But the Bills special teams were ranked 11th last year by the Dallas Morning News. This, of course, is better than the league average. But Bobby April was pretty much always in the top five as I recall and had us #1 more than once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 How is everyone feeling about special teams? I read Chris Brown's article today discussing the special teams ability of this year's draft class. Do we have the right talent on special teams now? Do we have the right special teams coach? I thought Bruce DeHaven did a remarkable job with special teams when he worked under Marv Levy. But the Bills special teams were ranked 11th last year by the Dallas Morning News. This, of course, is better than the league average. But Bobby April was pretty much always in the top five as I recall and had us #1 more than once. I'd say we upgraded simply by taking Brooks and Bradham. Carder should contribute, too. I also get the feeling they drafted Potter just to be a KO specialist, so I'd say we're better on STs than we were when the season ended. At least on paper. GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beerme1 Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 I think we will be vastly improved on ST. And Bobby Aprils not here so that matters as much as DeHavens first time around here. I think he has to improve dramatically this year with ST as they sought out guys in the draft that they knew would be good st players. So if he cant coach em than he gets the ax after this season. Honestly though he has been a real let down since he came back and I also agree with you on Bobby April. I mean why could he take the same group and be that much better with them? But this is Dehavens chance to restore his abililty and I suspect he will make the most of it and no doubt had some input on some these guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 DeHaven is still a very good coach; he didn't suddenly forget how to do it. As long as the Bills' ST stay within the top half of the league it shouldn't hurt them. There's no question the Bills took ST ability into account on draft picks from the 4th round and on; I think Chan even said as much on his Sirius interview earlier this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 I mentioned on day two of the draft that coverage and possibly return units just got better and faster. It will be interesting to see how DeHaven works with his new players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atlbillsfan1975 Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 I'd say we upgraded simply by taking Brooks and Bradham. Carder should contribute, too. I also get the feeling they drafted Potter just to be a KO specialist, so I'd say we're better on STs than we were when the season ended. At least on paper. GO BILLS!!! Brooks looks like he could be a monster on coverage teams. Guy has a knack for getting to the ball. I would be surprised if he is not the gunner on punt coverage come opening day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 Brooks looks like he could be a monster on coverage teams. Guy has a knack for getting to the ball. I would be surprised if he is not the gunner on punt coverage come opening day. He's tailor made for the gunner position. He would look good across from Ruvell Martin who did a good job as a gunner as well. I think both will man the 1 position on KOs as well. The spoiler for Martin may indeed be McKelvin who excelled on STs last season. Nice problems for the coaches to have. GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
please stop the pain Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 I cannot imagine the Bills using a roster spot on a specialist kicker. Hell their 3rd qb is a receiver. I think the current staff like the ability to have a lot of fresh bodies to rotate, and don't want to expose all their prospects by putting them on the practice squad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondo in seattle Posted May 5, 2012 Author Share Posted May 5, 2012 Bills ST Rankings... Bobby April 2004: #1 2005: #1 2006: ? (top 5) 2007: ? (top 5) 2008: #1 2009: #3 Bruce DeHaven 2010: #27 2011: #11 Bobby April since leaving Buffalo has been #2 in both his years with the Eagles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Barbarian Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 How is everyone feeling about special teams? I read Chris Brown's article today discussing the special teams ability of this year's draft class. Do we have the right talent on special teams now? Do we have the right special teams coach? I thought Bruce DeHaven did a remarkable job with special teams when he worked under Marv Levy. But the Bills special teams were ranked 11th last year by the Dallas Morning News. This, of course, is better than the league average. But Bobby April was pretty much always in the top five as I recall and had us #1 more than once. letting April go was a huge mistake, we should have made him an offer he couldn't refuse. If Wade brought him in instead of that clown (Jones?) he'd still be here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 Bobby April is a fantastic coach, no doubt, but when the Bills canned Jauron I'm pretty sure he was miffed about not even being considered for the HC job. That's all water under the bridge though. DeHaven is an excellent coach as well, and the Bills were 11th last season. I really don't think ST is an area we as fans have to be concerned about. At the end of last season Rogers was a revelation as a KR, and McLuvin was fantastic returning punts. I expect a very solid unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloFan68 Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 The game is passing DeHaven bye. He his still one of the better ST coaches out there but he has gotten overly conservative over the years. He's not willing to take the chances for the big plays that he used to & that April is constantly taking & making. I would love to see Bruce get back to the creative side and make us one of the top 3 ST this year! Let's go Buffalo!!!!!! Bill's Goal - The Super Bowl!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldTimer1960 Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 The game is passing DeHaven bye. He his still one of the better ST coaches out there but he has gotten overly conservative over the years. He's not willing to take the chances for the big plays that he used to & that April is constantly taking & making. I would love to see Bruce get back to the creative side and make us one of the top 3 ST this year! Let's go Buffalo!!!!!! Bill's Goal - The Super Bowl!!!!! Special Teams were respectable last year and were pretty impressive considering how many injuries the team had. Special teams often take a hit when players that they were counting on are injured or are taken off special teams to replace injured starters on offense or defense. Still, I agree that Bobby April is a master special teams coach. DeHaven, though does have a long history of success, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondo in seattle Posted May 5, 2012 Author Share Posted May 5, 2012 (edited) One thing we heard in the Levy Super Bowl years was that the Bills were good at Special Teams because we made it a priority. We drafted for ST and spent a lot of practice time on ST. I also read a comment once from some other club once that went something like this, "Look, April is a very good coach but he also has really good players. They make it a priority there." Looking at this draft, I wonder if the Bills are making ST a priority once again. Taking a kicker supposedly just for kick-offs is an interesting hint. I was really concerned when the Bills dropped from #3 to #27 and felt like BF68 that maybe the NFL was passing DeHaven by. But we made a nice improvement last year. Edited May 5, 2012 by hondo in seattle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 The game is passing DeHaven bye. He his still one of the better ST coaches out there but he has gotten overly conservative over the years. He's not willing to take the chances for the big plays that he used to & that April is constantly taking & making. I would love to see Bruce get back to the creative side and make us one of the top 3 ST this year! Let's go Buffalo!!!!!! Bill's Goal - The Super Bowl!!!!! They were ranked 11th despite a wealth of injuries. Special teams are changing and he did better than average. Perhaps it's not him living in the past? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan89 Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 Bills ST Rankings... Bobby April 2004: #1 2005: #1 2006: ? (top 5) 2007: ? (top 5) 2008: #1 2009: #3 Bruce DeHaven 2010: #27 2011: #11 Bobby April since leaving Buffalo has been #2 in both his years with the Eagles. Well DeHaven did improve the squad by 16 spots from year one to year two. I think that with another year under his belt with the squad our ST will be a top ten unit year in and year out. I do think that letting go of April was a bad move our ST wasn't the reason we were losing in that span. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Hammersticks Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 I cannot imagine the Bills using a roster spot on a specialist kicker. Hell their 3rd qb is a receiver. I think the current staff like the ability to have a lot of fresh bodies to rotate, and don't want to expose all their prospects by putting them on the practice squad +1 I can't imagine Buffalo using a roster spot on a kick-off specialist. My thoughts are that John "Harry" Potter will be stashed on the practice squad as insurance just in case anything happens to Lindell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRAWNDO Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 One thing we heard in the Levy Super Bowl years was that the Bills were good at Special Teams because we made it a priority. We drafted for ST and spent a lot of practice time on ST. I also read a comment once from some other club once that went something like this, "Look, April is a very good coach but he also has really good players. They make it a priority there." Looking at this draft, I wonder if the Bills are making ST a priority once again. Taking a kicker supposedly just for kick-offs is an interesting hint. I was really concerned when the Bills dropped from #3 to #27 and felt like BF68 that maybe the NFL was passing DeHaven by. But we made a nice improvement last year. I think a lot could be contributed to the fact that Levy was a special teams coach himself and placed a lot of weight on it. Afterall how mant other Head Coacheswould stay after practice and work with a WR just picked up off the waiver wire from the Oilers on punt blocking? +1 I can't imagine Buffalo using a roster spot on a kick-off specialist. My thoughts are that John "Harry" Potter will be stashed on the practice squad as insurance just in case anything happens to Lindell. Not sure about this, Nix did say after draft that if the opposing teams offense starts on their 20 yard line it really helps The Bills Defense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drewgetz Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 Special Teams were respectable last year and were pretty impressive considering how many injuries the team had. Special teams often take a hit when players that they were counting on are injured or are taken off special teams to replace injured starters on offense or defense. Still, I agree that Bobby April is a master special teams coach. DeHaven, though does have a long history of success, too. I say that we would have been better every year if Rusty Jones was still here. Since he left our injuries have been out of control. Heres to the Bills staying healthy!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincec Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 letting April go was a huge mistake, we should have made him an offer he couldn't refuse. If Wade brought him in instead of that clown (Jones?) he'd still be here. I knew we'd be heading for the Music City Miracle in this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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