Green Bay Packers

The Impressive Improvement Of Green Bay's Special Teams

Photo Credit: Dan Powers-USA TODAY Sports

Hating on Amari Rodgers, who hasn’t been with the Green Bay Packers for weeks, is unnecessary. But, alas, since his departure, the Green Bay Packers’ special teams unit has been something it hasn’t been since the Third Age of Middle Earth — mostly competent.

After years of gross incompetence, the besmirched group is starting to look like an actual NFL unit. Just a year after a historically bad finish, the 2022 group is mostly solid.

Things haven’t been completely perfect, as evidenced by Sunday’s blocked punt against the Minnesota Vikings. But the we-fense is coming into its own as the regular season dwindles. With an up-and-down offense and a defense that, despite playing well currently, has had its share of disappointments, special teams will need to stay consistent to keep this team afloat.

Lambeau wasn’t built in a day, and it was always going to be a project to create a competent special teams unit. Rich Bisaccia had his work cut out for him when he took the potentially cursed position as special teams coordinator. He gutted the previous group and brought in a new group of core players. The new group endured growing pains throughout the season. For every amazing play, there were penalties, missed tackles, or Amari Rodgers mishaps bringing despair.

While a game is more than just a handful of plays, it’s hard to forget the particularly bad special teams play. For example, Rodgers muffing a punt and costing Green Bay three points in a game they lost to the Commanders by two points is hard to overlook.

I may never be able to overlook that the team insisted on letting Rodgers return punts when they were a perfectly good Keisean Nixon just sitting there. But since that fateful day, special teams has become, dare I say, mostly reliable.

Nixon has obviously been the star of the show the past few weeks. Despite never returning a punt in an NFL game, Nixon took to his new job immediately. He sits comfortably atop the NFL in kick return yards (930), TDs (1), and yards per kick return (30). He’s been equally impressive on punts despite returning only seven. Nixon’s efforts crescendoed against the Vikings. After threatening to take a return to the house for weeks, Nixon finally broke through and scored his first NFL touchdown, a 105-yarder good for the third-longest in Packers history.

After not practicing all week, Nixon built on his excellent game against the Miami Dolphins. The cornerback texted Rich Bisaccia on Sunday morning, “I feel like a Ferrari,” and he sure looked the part on Sunday. Nixon overtook Vikings’ Kene Nwangwu as the league’s top returner and joked after the game, “Word on the street is they had the best returner, so hopefully, we settled that today.”

As easy as it is to gush over Nixon, he isn’t the only emerging star on special teams. Dallin Leavitt, another teamer brought in thanks to his Bisaccia connection, has been an unsung hero on this unit, playing with a ferocity this group hasn’t seen under previous coordinators.

After the blocked punt on Sunday, Leavitt was vital in keeping the ball out of the end zone. Leavitt quickly found the ball and dove on it, and the Packers’ defense held Minnesota to three points instead of seven. Leavitt’s effort helped set the tone for the rest of the game.

The new blood in the locker room hasn’t gone unnoticed. Kenny Clark specifically called out both Nixon and Leavitt following Sunday’s victory, praising the change of culture in the group.

Rookie safety/linebacker Tariq Carpenter is also adding value. A pick made with special teams in mind, Carpenter has been coming into his own and is establishing himself as a reliable core teamer, with a tackle in six of his last seven games.

The specialists have been playing well too. Mason Crosby still isn’t looking good on kickoffs, but he’s been reliable with everything else. Crosby hasn’t missed an extra point since Week 12 and hasn’t missed a field goal since Week 10. He finally showed some distance with his leg against Minnesota, booming a 56-yarder just before halftime. Meanwhile, Pat O’Donnell has been mostly solid. Blocking on punts continues to be a struggle, and O’Donnell’s average (44.6) ranks toward the bottom of the league. But he’s stayed consistent as the weather turns cold, an issue for previous Packers punters.

The Packers will need this reliability going forward. Despite the Detroit Lions’ bottom-of-the-league defense, Aaron Rodgers and the offense didn’t exactly light them up during their last matchup. And as sharp as Green Bay’s defense has looked in the past few games, they’ve been known to give up some major yardage if they aren’t generating turnovers. With an unpredictable team, the Packers need something to rely on in the regular season finale, and weirdly, special teams is a good candidate.

Special teams doesn’t get a lot of attention unless they do something wrong, as we saw many times last season. The unit was a major part of Green Bay’s season ending early last year. But it seems like Bisaccia’s culture is taking root and actively helping the Packers win games. We can’t expect a Nixon return TD every week, though that would be neat. Still, special teams must keep helping this spunky Packers team find ways to win.

Green Bay Packers
Rashan Gary Is the Real Winner Of the Xavier McKinney Signing
By Luke Sims - Mar 27, 2024
Green Bay Packers
It Makes Perfect Sense For the Packers To Play in Brazil
By Felipe Reis - Mar 27, 2024
Green Bay Packers

What's the Best Way the Packers Can Fortify Their Interior Offensive Line?

Photo Credit: Dan Powers-USA TODAY Sports

The Green Bay Packers made impactful moves early in free agency, signing safety Xavier McKinney and running back Josh Jacobs to address significant areas of need. They […]

Continue Reading