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By Jon Machota 2h ago
With the second week of NFL free agency wrapping up and the draft still planned for the end of April, we’re taking a look at the Cowboys’ roster to see where it has depth and where it still needs help.
How the Cowboys’ special teams performed in 2019:
This was one of the NFL’s worst special-teams units last season. Brett Maher’s struggles in the field-goal department led to him being released in December. The Cowboys’ kickoff return average was the worst in the league. Only five teams had a worse punt return average.
Dallas’ punting average was the worst in the NFL, and the team had the second-fewest punts downed inside opponents’ 20-yard line.
Things got so bad that after the November loss at New England, which was in no small part decided by a Patriots blocked punt, that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones publicly ripped the special teams coaching staff immediately after the game.
“To me, special teams is 100-percent coaching,” Jones said. “It’s strategy. It’s having players ready. … Special teams is nothing but coaching. Special teams is effort. Special teams is savvy. Special teams is thinking.”
The future:
It became more and more clear as the 2019 season went along that regardless of what happened with Jason Garrett’s coaching future, Dallas was going to have a new special teams coordinator in 2020.
Mike McCarthy went out and got one of the best in former Rams special teams coach John Fassel. Los Angeles had been known for having one of the NFL’s best special-teams units over the last several years. They topped Rick Gosselin’s annual special-teams rankings in 2017 and have routinely finished in the top 10. Fassel coached the Raiders’ special teams from 2008 to 2011 before joining the Rams in 2012.
“I think a big thing is chemistry,” Fassel said after taking the job with Dallas in January. “A lot of the successes on special teams, I think, have a lot to do with intangibles. The personnel is a huge part of it, and the player development is a huge part of it, but when you can get a group of running backs, linebackers, tight ends, receivers, defensive backs to become cohesive and make it seem like those guys are very valuable to a football team, then I think that’s probably the biggest component to being successful on special teams.
“Building chemistry, building pride, and then getting them to feel like they’re important when a lot of times they are backups on offense and defense, but they’re a starter on special teams. That’s kind of my message to them, ‘You’re important to this football team.’ They really say it’s a third, a third, a third, then that’s what it is. I think Coach McCarthy, when I talked to him, he has that mindset that this is going to be an important part of our football team. And that’s all I needed to hear.”
How things could continue changing this offseason:
Fassel came into the job with a good understanding of the Cowboys’ special teams contributors because the Rams played Dallas in each of the last three years.
Interestingly enough, many of the top contributors from last year have been retained in free agency. C.J. Goodwin led the Cowboys in special teams snaps last season. He was recently re-signed to a one-year deal. The same happened with linebackers Justin March and Joe Thomas. Safety Darian Thompson signed a two-year contract. All three finished among the top five in special-teams snaps last season. Goodwin, Thompson and March were the Cowboys’ top three special-teams tacklers last season.
Kicker Kai Forbath and long snapper L.P. Ladouceur were both re-signed for another year. Punter Chris Jones is signed through the 2021 season.
In regards to Forbath and Jones, the Cowboys are expected to add some training camp competition by signing a few undrafted rookie free agents.
The biggest losses on special teams are defensive backs Jeff Heath and Byron Jones. The two ranked eighth and ninth on the roster in special-teams snaps last season.
The Cowboys hope to reinforce the group with the signing of free-agent cornerback Maurice Canady and players they draft, especially in the later rounds next month.
“We want to have a very aggressive mindset with some very simple schematics,” Fassel said. “We’re going to be super technique-driven. I think it’s important on special teams to keep things simple, make them very technique-oriented, where they feel really comfortable with their assignment, but then they can master their techniques, because it really isn’t a complex part of the game. So I think the players and the unit who can really get to their technique faster is going to win.”
Because the special teams roster is often changing, Fassel hasn’t used playbooks for the last six years. He has found ways to adapt what he’s coaching to the personnel he has been given.
“Come into the meeting room, you got a notebook, here we go,” he said. “Pay attention. Let’s go.”
With the second week of NFL free agency wrapping up and the draft still planned for the end of April, we’re taking a look at the Cowboys’ roster to see where it has depth and where it still needs help.
How the Cowboys’ special teams performed in 2019:
This was one of the NFL’s worst special-teams units last season. Brett Maher’s struggles in the field-goal department led to him being released in December. The Cowboys’ kickoff return average was the worst in the league. Only five teams had a worse punt return average.
Dallas’ punting average was the worst in the NFL, and the team had the second-fewest punts downed inside opponents’ 20-yard line.
Things got so bad that after the November loss at New England, which was in no small part decided by a Patriots blocked punt, that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones publicly ripped the special teams coaching staff immediately after the game.
“To me, special teams is 100-percent coaching,” Jones said. “It’s strategy. It’s having players ready. … Special teams is nothing but coaching. Special teams is effort. Special teams is savvy. Special teams is thinking.”
The future:
It became more and more clear as the 2019 season went along that regardless of what happened with Jason Garrett’s coaching future, Dallas was going to have a new special teams coordinator in 2020.
Mike McCarthy went out and got one of the best in former Rams special teams coach John Fassel. Los Angeles had been known for having one of the NFL’s best special-teams units over the last several years. They topped Rick Gosselin’s annual special-teams rankings in 2017 and have routinely finished in the top 10. Fassel coached the Raiders’ special teams from 2008 to 2011 before joining the Rams in 2012.
“I think a big thing is chemistry,” Fassel said after taking the job with Dallas in January. “A lot of the successes on special teams, I think, have a lot to do with intangibles. The personnel is a huge part of it, and the player development is a huge part of it, but when you can get a group of running backs, linebackers, tight ends, receivers, defensive backs to become cohesive and make it seem like those guys are very valuable to a football team, then I think that’s probably the biggest component to being successful on special teams.
“Building chemistry, building pride, and then getting them to feel like they’re important when a lot of times they are backups on offense and defense, but they’re a starter on special teams. That’s kind of my message to them, ‘You’re important to this football team.’ They really say it’s a third, a third, a third, then that’s what it is. I think Coach McCarthy, when I talked to him, he has that mindset that this is going to be an important part of our football team. And that’s all I needed to hear.”
How things could continue changing this offseason:
Fassel came into the job with a good understanding of the Cowboys’ special teams contributors because the Rams played Dallas in each of the last three years.
Interestingly enough, many of the top contributors from last year have been retained in free agency. C.J. Goodwin led the Cowboys in special teams snaps last season. He was recently re-signed to a one-year deal. The same happened with linebackers Justin March and Joe Thomas. Safety Darian Thompson signed a two-year contract. All three finished among the top five in special-teams snaps last season. Goodwin, Thompson and March were the Cowboys’ top three special-teams tacklers last season.
Kicker Kai Forbath and long snapper L.P. Ladouceur were both re-signed for another year. Punter Chris Jones is signed through the 2021 season.
In regards to Forbath and Jones, the Cowboys are expected to add some training camp competition by signing a few undrafted rookie free agents.
The biggest losses on special teams are defensive backs Jeff Heath and Byron Jones. The two ranked eighth and ninth on the roster in special-teams snaps last season.
The Cowboys hope to reinforce the group with the signing of free-agent cornerback Maurice Canady and players they draft, especially in the later rounds next month.
“We want to have a very aggressive mindset with some very simple schematics,” Fassel said. “We’re going to be super technique-driven. I think it’s important on special teams to keep things simple, make them very technique-oriented, where they feel really comfortable with their assignment, but then they can master their techniques, because it really isn’t a complex part of the game. So I think the players and the unit who can really get to their technique faster is going to win.”
Because the special teams roster is often changing, Fassel hasn’t used playbooks for the last six years. He has found ways to adapt what he’s coaching to the personnel he has been given.
“Come into the meeting room, you got a notebook, here we go,” he said. “Pay attention. Let’s go.”