Green Bay Packers: Divisional Round special teams recap
By Kenn Korb
The Coverage Units
Punts:
- 8 yard return (DAL 49)
- Fair Catch (DAL 38)
- Touchback
Kickoffs:
- Touchback
- Touchback
- Touchback
- Touchback
- Touchback
- Touchback
As with the return unit, there isn’t all that much to really discuss with this unit: the punter and kicker leading their charges were both able to handle the majority of the outcome through their own play.
Crosby left exactly nothing for his kick return guys to do; since every single kick was a touchback — and none were particularly close to being the least bit returnable — all they needed to do was run down the field and wait for the whistle. I guess it kept them warmed up and occupied at least.
The punt return guys had a little bit more action, but due to few opportunities there really wasn’t much to do there either. They did allow a small return on Schum’s first punt, but they had a ton of distance to cover to get there and Schum doesn’t have the leg strength to get that kind of power behind the ball while also giving it great hangtime; working with what they had, they did pretty well. They were all over the second one to force the fair catch, so that was good.
The third punt’s outcome is sort of debatable on the surface, but it isn’t really once the play is viewed again. In theory, the return guys should have been able to get to the ball and prevent a touchback on what was eventually a 66 yard kick. In reality, it wasn’t that simple; the ball was rolling quickly once it first struck the ground on the punt, and unless players had already been ahead of it there wasn’t a feasible way for anyone on the Packers to stop it prior to it becoming a touchback.
With little opportunity in this contest, the coverage team did a decent enough job.
Undoubtedly, they’ll have much more work to do against Atlanta; hopefully, it can turn out about as benign as this one did for them.