With the recent retirement of future Hall of Famer and NFL all-time points record holder Adam Vinatieri, it got me thinking about his impact on the league. A Super Bowl winner for two teams and one of the clutchest players in NFL history, his impact will not soon be forgotten. He had and still has ice water running through his veins making all intense moments with so much pressure feel easy to him. Former punter and field goal holder for the Indianapolis Colts, Pat McAfee, said that he could tell when Vinatieri was locked in and could not see or hear anything other than the snap, hold, as well as of course the goal posts in front of him. There is also a story where Vinatieri was injured and persevered to beat his replacement, Matt Stover, in a kicking competition.
Unfortunately, he injured himself further by exerting himself so much while hurt that he could not play. This is just one example of how much he relished competition. The game will miss him so much and never be forgotten.
It is easy to look at Vinatieri and see excellence. Current kickers such as Justin Tucker of the Ravens and Robbie Gould of the 49ers are also household names at this time because of their consistent greatness in kicking. You may know other kickers around the league and maybe even a couple of free agents at that position. As important as the kicker is to a team, they are not the only special teams’ players on the roster. Can you name more than five current punters in the NFL off the top of your head? How about a long snapper for a team other than for your favorite team? What about those on the coverage teams across the league? You may vote for these players to go to the Pro Bowl every year but may not know how good, or maybe even bad, they truly are.
Special teams are so crucial to success in professional football for so many reasons. You may hear at times when a punter pins the ball deep in the other team’s territory. Maybe even when a cover man or blocker makes an outstanding play that impacts the return in some way. Unfortunately, those are the only good things you may hear about those players from the commentators, if they know the player’s name, or see for yourself during the game.
You will absolutely hear their names if they do something bad though. The main stat that should be looked at when judging special teams is field position. The goal of punting or kinking off is to flip field position in your team’s favor. A great play for this is when your team can effectively put the other team in a bad situation because of where they must start their drive from on the field.
This is becoming less significant when teams with high powered offenses such as the Kansas City Chiefs with all their speed and talent can go the length of the field in less than 30 seconds. In most games though this is essential. Teams dedicate a portion of their practice time to make sure this is done correctly as all it takes is for one player on one of those units to fail at their job and the momentum of the game can be changed completely.
A blocked punt or a blown coverage assignment can have a horrible,
negative impact on the game that may not be overcome no matter how great their other phases may be. For instance, if a team blocks a punt, they have a 90% chance of winning that game. That is why having great special teams play is so crucial in profession football. It may mean the difference between winning and losing a game.
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