Greg’s Buccaneers’ Special Teams Report: Jets Preseason Game

New Buccaneers’ Special Teams Coordinator Danny Smith got his first look at his unit Friday night, and the results were mixed. Here’s the quick breakdown.

The Bucs allowed three returns of 27 yards or more, including a 32-yard return to open the second half. That’s an area that needs improvement.

The good news: there were no major breakdowns, and one 32-yard return was negated by a Jets holding penalty.

K. Calloway opened the game with a strong 29-yard return and G. Greene added a 28-yard return.

The problem was Calloway’s muffed kickoff in the first quarter that left the Bucs starting at their own 11.

Ryan Dixon had some excellent punts, including a 53-yarder that pinned the Jets at their own 12 and a 57-yarder that put them at the 13.

But an unnecessary penalty erased a 62-yard punt, and another 39-yard punt resulted in a touchback.

The biggest special teams play of the night may actually have been a Jets punt that pinned the Bucs at their own 1-yard line. Those are the hidden plays that can change a game.

The Bucs didn’t have enough opportunities to fairly evaluate the return game. G. Greene had a fair catch and one return for no gain.

The special teams weren’t bad, but they weren’t consistently good either.

The biggest concerns were field position and ball security. Those are two areas Danny Smith will need to clean up quickly.

Special teams rarely gets the spotlight—but over the course of a season, those hidden yards can be the difference between a win and a loss.

Will the Buccaneers end their special teams drought this year?

Nearly 17 years! That’s how long it’s been since the Bucs scored a touchdown on a punt return (Micheal Spurlock, 77 yards vs. New Orleans, Dec. 27, 2009) and 16 years since they last scored on a kickoff return (Micheal Spurlock, 2010 vs. Atlanta)

The Bucs don’t have to have the best special teams unit in the league but if they can get into the low 20’s, that will be a huge accomplishment.

With better coaching and an emphasis on being more physical,

Will this be the year they break that streak? We are about to find out.

The Buccaneers have gone years without scoring a punt or kickoff return touchdown. This season presents another opportunity to finally end that drought.

The Bucs do not need an elite special teams unit to make progress. Reaching the low 20s would still represent a major accomplishment. Better coaching and a greater emphasis on physicality could help make that possible.

Now, the question is whether those improvements can finally produce a return touchdown. After such a long wait, the Buccaneers will find out soon enough.

Greg has been nominated for “Best Columnist” in Creative Loafing’s Best of the Bay. If you would like to vote for me here is the link.

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