Last week we looked at some statistics to reveal issues with the Giants’ defense. This week we will address the weakest link this past season, Special Teams.
Football Outsiders also gives a breakdown of the Special Teams unit. Again below is a description of DVOA
or Defense-adjusted Value Over Average. DVOA breaks down every single play of the NFL season to see how much success offensive players achieved in each specific situation compared to the league average in that situation, adjusted for the strength of the opponent.
In addition Special Teams DVOA “is adjusted for type of stadium (warm, cold, dome, Denver) and week of season.” While “WEIGHTED DVOA is adjusted so that earlier games in the season become gradually less important. It better reflects how well the team is playing right now.”
|
|
TEAM |
TOTAL DVOA |
Weighted DVOA |
RANK |
Special Teams DVOA |
ST RANK |
|
1 |
NE |
44.7% |
54.0% |
1 |
4.1% |
8 |
|
2 |
PIT |
37.3% |
40.0% |
2 |
0.9% |
16 |
|
3 |
GB |
23.3% |
25.2% |
4 |
-2.2% |
27 |
|
4 |
BAL |
23.0% |
27.8% |
3 |
5.6% |
4 |
|
5 |
PHI |
22.0% |
21.4% |
6 |
2.1% |
13 |
|
6 |
NYJ |
18.7% |
14.9% |
7 |
5.3% |
5 |
|
7 |
SD |
17.6% |
21.5% |
5 |
-8.1% |
32 |
|
8 |
ATL |
15.9% |
13.5% |
9 |
6.3% |
2 |
|
9 |
NYG |
14.5% |
11.6% |
10 |
-5.0% |
30 |
|
10 |
NO |
11.0% |
13.6% |
8 |
-1.3% |
22 |
|
11 |
TEN |
8.0% |
1.1% |
17 |
4.6% |
6 |
|
12 |
TB |
4.2% |
9.4% |
14 |
-0.4% |
18 |
|
13 |
HOU |
4.0% |
9.8% |
13 |
-1.2% |
21 |
|
14 |
MIA |
3.8% |
2.3% |
15 |
-2.7% |
29 |
|
15 |
IND |
3.0% |
-1.0% |
18 |
-5.3% |
31 |
|
16 |
CHI |
3.0% |
11.5% |
11 |
7.2% |
1 |
And if you think this year was an anomaly. Think again. Below are the DVOA statistics for 2009.
|
|
TEAM |
TOTAL DVOA |
WEIGHTED DVOA |
RANK |
W-L |
S.T. DVOA |
S.T. RANK |
|
17 |
NYG |
5.0% |
-5.8% |
23 |
8-8 |
-1.5% |
27 |
Tom “kiss my a**” Coughlin appears to be content so far with his staff. Yet Andy Reid has already made a swift adjustment by firing McDermott after 2 seasons. Reid apparently is not content with mediocrity and a woeful performances by his defense in the red zone. Even the team that continues to stand by the coach of their severely underperforming club made a swift change. The Chargers quickly admonished their special teams coordinator, Crosby, shortly after the season.
Yes, they could and should upgrade talent in the special teams unit. The return of Hixon will be a big lift. But another unit of neglect that may have compromised the special teams unit with speed and physicality, is the linebacker unit. The likes of Sintim, Wilkinson, DeOssie and even Blackburn do not instill fear in the opponent’s eye with their physicality. But bottom line Quinn’s schemes, or lack thereof, has a track record that cries for dismissal.
One final thought. We heard from one player regarding accountability and setting higher standards amongst his peers. Rolle went on to state that “as players, we need to hold ourselves accountable a little bit more, have a little more fight, especially when opportunities present themselves, those big games come up, we get our opportunities to close it out and put yourself in a position to go into the playoffs.” Last year we heard from Kiwanuka on how the defense was “freelancing” at the end of the season reflecting a chaotic culture and a severe lack of accountability. Any player on Special Teams knows that they are on the fringe of playing in the NFL. You are at best a 2nd stringer but more likely a third stringer. It is apparent that the coaching staff cannot hold players to any standard of accountability given their woeful performance, and effort at times, specifically on Special Teams. Wouldn’t you think that would permeate throughout the entire team as a whole? If Coughlin preaches discipline and accountability then where is the accountability with Quinn?
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