Fraser Caldwell
Ticats.ca
The tide of the special teams battle is constantly changing from game to game and season to season. But as it stands through the first two weeks of the CFL season, the pendulum has swung definitively in the favour of the returners.
Four return touchdowns were scored over the course of week two, including a 67-yard effort from the Black and Gold’s own Chris Williams. Beyond simply reaching the end zone, the dominance of returners thus far has resulted in drastic swings of field position and massive yardage totals for ball handlers.
Just ask Calgary’s Larry Taylor, who notched 441 all-purpose yards against the Argos a week ago in a performance that vaulted him into the second position in the CFL all-time record books in that category.
The current preeminence of the returners has special teams coordinators across the league scratching their heads as they look to mould more effective cover teams in the coming weeks. The Ticats’ own special teams guru, Jim Daley believes that the ebb and flow of the two-sided battle is cyclical, and that the early success of the returners league-wide will bring about a reaction.
“I think it goes in cycles,” says Daley. “Right now – and I didn’t realize the degree to which this is true – but Chris Williams is averaging 16 yards per punt return, which is amazing. Around the league, returners are doing a great job. It’s probably a reflection of, one, great talent at returner, and two, an emphasis in each organization on capitalizing on that talent and really working hard on their return game.
“In terms of coverage around the league, I think every special teams coach in the league is going to work extra hard on coverage because the bar has been raised due to the returns. Around the league there are some exciting returners – very successful ones – and I think you’ll see teams really focus on coverage in the weeks ahead and it’s going to be a huge factor.”
Looking to improve his own cover team’s performance, Daley indicates that there is a constant, technical foundation to the squad’s duties that he continues to teach even while game planning for individual opponents is in full effect.
“There’s a core amount of teaching that is your base and sets consistency,” says the veteran coordinator. “Each game requires game planning per the specific formations and tendencies of each opponent. So, there’s always change and adaptation in what we do, but you build it from a core base of knowledge in each area whether it be punting, punt returning, kickoff, or kickoff returning.”
This week presents Daley and his evolving coverage crew with a well known challenge in the form of the Argonauts’ decorated returner Chad Owens. The Ticat coordinator emphasizes that his unit must be at their best if they are to effectively contain Owens, and employ both the speed and physicality needed to corral the returner within the expansive CFL field.
“Chad Owens is a great returner as everybody knows who follows the league,” says Daley. “What we have to do is have our guys bring their ‘A’ game. They have a great group of men blocking for them, and we have to do a great job of getting off of blocks and getting on the ball. This game on our big field is won with speed and physicality, and that’s what we have to bring to the coverage game to be successful against Toronto and Chad Owens.”
Despite his established credentials, the Tiger-Cats’ Head Coach George Cortez tempered discussion of Owens by pointing out that the Argo returner is being outperformed by Chris Williams thus far.
“We’re bringing in the champion calf roper from the stampede,” says Cortez jokingly of his team’s plan to contain Owens. “I noticed today that Chris Williams is averaging six yards more per punt return than he is. As I told the players, one of the keys to winning the game is to minimize their returns and maximize ours. It should be a pretty good battle. I think Owens is averaging 10.5 per punt return and Williams is averaging 16.5, so I imagine that [Toronto] is having the same conversations.”
While Williams provided a highlight reel moment a week ago with his spectacular 67-yard dash, Daley and his special teams squad are hoping to make more consistent inroads on the return, where the Ticats have either found a feast or famine thus far.
The coordinator believes that such steady play can be achieved only through the repetition of practice, where players can accustom themselves to blocking responsibilities that vary with every return position.
“I think the return game on this big field presents an opportunity, but it also takes a lot of practice, because the unpredictability of where the ball is going to go makes your starting point for the return vary quite a bit from snap to snap,” says Daley. “So it takes reps, a lot of practice reps and guys working together to get in sync so that the timing of the blocks is at the right location for the return. Where the ball ends up affects that timing, so it takes those reps together as a group.”
Wherever the ball takes them on Saturday, the Tiger-Cats hope that an improved special teams effort can help them notch that elusive first win of the 2012 season.
