Despite losing star returner Andre Roberts, the Buffalo Bills special teams will still be a top 10 unit.
In the ever-increasing war of eliminating special teams from the league, it’s getting harder and harder to find good returners who can flip field positions for you. Getting touchdowns out of your return unit is even harder to do nowadays, given the 2-man wedge rule. The Buffalo Bills special teams were some of the best in the league last year, and they will repeat that feat again, and here’s why.
Heath Farwell’s scheme sets anyone up for success
Farwell was a member of the Seahawks Super Bowl XLVIII championship team and played a handful of special teams snaps in his day. Farwell was able to take journeymen like Taiwan Jones and Andre Roberts and make them into stars. On the kicking side, getting rid of Steven Hauschka in favor of Tyler Bass was also a bold move but it has paid off. Bass turned a shaky first game into a solid season towards the end. Adding Matt Haack from Miami is great for coffin-corner punts as well.
For the return game, Roberts last year had a very simple strategy. Running straight and then choosing a direction and sticking with it. This is a very simple instruction from Farwell and anyone can follow it. A lot of the returns in this video he is averaging an extra 5-10 yards past the touchback spot (25-yard line) and kickoffs he is reaching the 30 or more often.
Kick Return blocking- getting to landmarks
At the 1:41 mark of the video linked above, you can see a return against the Denver Broncos. All of the first two levels of the return team are disciplined in getting back to their landmarks, and getting themselves and their eyes turned around. The blockers keep their hips square, especially linebacker A.J. Klein who mirrors the defender as he comes inside. By staying square, the defender has to commit one way or the other.
The defender chooses to come at Klein’s inside hip, which lets Roberts bounce outside even more for a big gain. Finally, there is the great discipline by all involved that once they feel the return man is ahead of them, they disengage to avoid any penalties that could kill a huge gain and momentum swing.
Nothing “Fishy” with Bass’ technique and FG unit
Bass has been able to develop nicely as a rookie. So much so that he was the first kicker in NFL history to hit three 50+ yard field goals in the same quarter. Not to mention owning the rookie record for the longest field goal in a postseason game by a rookie kicker at 54 yards.
Talk about accuracy and power, Bass delivers. When we really slow down the tape, we see Bass hitting his timing steps perfectly, keeping his head down with a nice and smooth follow-through of his kicking leg.
Keeping his eyes focused on the ball and trusting his leg is what keeps him accurate. For the linemen, most are staying low and have a wide stance. As any special teams coach will tell you (and shout-out to my dad who was always bringing the fire and passion on special teams), NEVER give up the inside.
The line does a pretty good job in that linked video above, but some could be lower. The wings always make the edge rushers go around to the outside, which delays them from their timing in an attempt to block the kick.
Final thoughts on the Buffalo Bills special teams unit
While losing Roberts to the Texans in free agency was a rare front-office blunder by Brandon Beane, the foundation is set. Having time to work in OTA’s, training camp and the pre-season will be important to keep the Buffalo Bills special teams within the top 10 of return yards. Bass returns and Haack should make more punts inside the 20 than Corey Bojorquez did.
Don’t ever overlook special teams- they’ll make an impact when you least expect it.