Steelers: No Special Teams Improvement in 2014
By Lori Paddock
The Steelers hired Danny Smith in 2013 when Amos Jones accepted a new position, but special teams improvement has not consistently materialized under Smith’s coaching.
Yes, it’s the off season. Time to dissect every little thing because the Steelers did not make it to the Super Bowl.
So, let’s look at special teams.
Special teams is one of those team sections that is hard to put a finger on when it comes to criticism. Since there are few dedicated special teams players beyond the kicker and punter, the players often get looked at within the other portions of the team.
Additionally, special teams practice is usually AFTER or at least separate from the other practices, which means that depending on the head coach, the plays specific to the special teams do not get as much attention.
Even so, teams specifically hire a special teams coach. So criticism is fair game.
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Danny Smith was hired in Jan 2013 after Amos Jones left to accept a position with Steelers West (the Arizona Cardinals). According to several articles, include one in the Post from Ray Fittipaldo, Smith was Tomlin’s original choice before hiring Jones to the position.
Let’s compare a little before and after, shall we? The Punt Return (PR) and Kick Return (KR) stats are from www.steelers.com and the penalty stats are from www.nflpenalties.com.
| Year | Own PR/TDs | Own KR/Yds/TDs | Opp PR/TDs | Opp KR/Yds/TDs | Own Penalties/Yds |
| 2014 | 32/1 | 35/758/0 | 27/0 | 54/1249/0 | 24/204 |
| 2013 | 32/1 | 43/962/0 | 35/0 | 55/1225/0 | 12/131 |
| 2012 | 41/0 | 43/1086/0 | 30/1 | 46/1103/0 | 19/176 |
You can take from this what you will. Statistics can be twisted/interpreted in a variety of ways.
I say that the penalties look like a problem when they double between one year to the next. The Bears hold the record for the most in 2014 with 28. Houston and New Orleans are the best with 10 each.
So, to my thinking, there is work to be done. Yes, isn’t there always?
In 2013, with the sting of a mediocre season, special teams play was a sort of bright spot. I had hoped for improvement in 2014 or at least no regression. This year, penalties hurt the starting position and likely affected the return yardage statistics.
Maybe you can blame the various things the refs were calling this last year, but seriously, you have preseason games to adjust that. There’s little to no excuse for taunting and unsportsmanlike penalties too.
The stats show, in my opinion, that even though special teams play may not have hurt the Steelers too much in 2014, it didn’t help much either. The draft and off season acquisitions won’t fix that. Only practice and coaching will.
Giddy-up Coach Smith!