This a thread to discuss discuss general NFL topics, not necessarily specific to this season.

I thought this discussion on Mike Sando’s article on Special Teams (ST) was really interesting, especially regarding the reasons some teams are better at this than others.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/DgkJtMXmGMA?si=6iWhDJuw7u35kP05

Sando asked several coaches and executives about the key factors for analyzing STs:

Their answers kept returning to decisions made long before kickoff: how much practice and meeting time the head coach commits to special teams, which players claim the final spots on 53-man rosters and which players are active on game day.

I would think the quality of the ST coordinator matters, too, but the fact that they don’t mention this is interesting.

That trade-offs between ST and offense (or defense), in terms of time given to each in practice, should be obvious, but this article made this sink in. For example, the article mentioned 2025 joint practices between the Rams and Saints where they didn’t include any time for ST. That is crazy to me, but it also goes a long way in explaining the really good offensive (and defensive) performances, maybe in spite of great talent. I generally assumed that McVay elevated the talent on his roster because he was just a terrific teacher and coach, but this anecdote also points to the amount of time he gives to offense (and defense). Of course, that means the ST has less time in practice, which can adversely affect the ST on game day.

This also has an impact on keeping (and attracting?) quality ST coordinators. For example, the article reveals that John Fassell, the Rams ST coordinator (who was also with the Rams before they hired McVay) let his contract expire so he could coach with another team. I always wondered about this because the Rams ST was good when McVay got there. (They could be aggressive on punts, with Johnny Hecker throwing the football.) And so I wondered why McVay let him go. But now it sounds like Fassel chose to leave, maybe because McVay didn’t gave short-shrift to ST. The article does mention a few other examples of this as well.

More later.