Buffalo Bills: Special teams coaches and strength and conditioning staff
Special Teams is one of the most underrated and important aspects of the modern game. Heath Farwell joined the Buffalo Bills in 2019 after Brandon Beane decided that the special teams needed to be revamped and has done a good job turning it around. Since 2019, Buffalo has consistently had one of the top special team units in the NFL. According to Rick Gosselin’s 2020 NFL special teams rankings, Buffalo had the 8th best unit in the NFL in 2020.
That is extremely impressive considering Farwell is only in his second year as a Head Special Teams Coach and had a rookie kicker in 2020. Farwell does a great job of stressing the importance of the Bills return game which led to Andre Roberts being named an All-Pro return man. Buffalo consistently puts themselves in better positions because of their special teams play.
Farwell also deserves praise because he can take developmental players such as Darryl Johnson, Jaquan Johnson, and Siran Neal and turn them into extremely effective special teams players. This is important because it leads to the Bills not having any players on their roster who do not contribute. After all, they are stuck on the bench. Farwell can combine those developmental guys which special teams aces such as Tyler Matakevich and Taiwan Jones to create a Top 10 unit in the NFL.
One of the most underrated abilities of Farwell was his ability to handle a rookie kicker. While it may not be the most physically demanding position in the NFL it could be one of the most challenging mentally outside of quarterback. Tyler Bass has the leg talent to be in the NFL for a long time but the mental game of kicking is an extreme challenge. Farwell was able to keep Bass grounded all season so he never got too high or too low.
Farwell also had to prepare Bass for kicking in Buffalo. Bass comes from Georgia Southern where bad weather is an afterthought. In Buffalo, there are only a few home games a year that are perfect for kickers. Bass did an excellent job adjusting to Buffalo and that led to an extremely successful rookie season for Bass.
Farwell not only did a fantastic job with Buffalo’s kicking and return game but he also helped limit other teams’ returns. Buffalo only allowed 17.9 yards per kickoff return which ranked 3rd in the entire NFL. This coming season Buffalo has a punter who specialized in pinning teams deep and punting with a really solid hang time. Look for Buffalo to not only limit kick returns but also punt returns next season as well. Expect the Buffalo Bills to continue their success in Special Teams this upcoming season.