After moving up from #31 in the nfl to a peak of #17, the ST unit as a whole has slid back 1 more position from #19 to #20, the problem areas are: -Kick Offs -5 -Kick Returns -1.3 The good is, the ST unit ranks #5 in the NFL with 7 pts per game being generated by the ST unit as a whole. System explained: http://footballoutsiders.com/info/methods#specialteams While it is fact the Dolphins have played 4 of the 5 toughest defenses in the NFL an overlooked aspect the Dolphins have also will have played 10 of the top 15 Special Team units in the NFL when all is said and done. As for a prediction, the Bears are the #2 ranked special teams unit in the NFL, and likely to retain that as Fields will kick away from Devon Hester and Hester will also handle some if not all of the kick off returns. Typically Darren Rizzi's special teams unit outplays worse units than itself, and slips a bit when playing better units such as the Titans', which to me means unless Nolan Carroll breaks a couple of returns, the Bears will have the edge in field position generated by Special Teams on Thursday evening. http://footballoutsiders.com/stats/teamst I have been posting a series in Club Level about the Special Teams performance after Darren Rizzi took over for John Bonamego and thought with a short week it should be shared in the main forums.
Make of it what you will.. The best rankings of ST come from the Dallas Morning News at the end of the season, Rich Gosselin is considered "the man" when it comes to totaling all the factors up. After the epic collapse vs the Jets and Patriots I thought, and think, it is only fair to the current Dolphins Staff to post the most up to date information I can find so fans can know Sparano is not just giving a job to Rizzi as he is an old friend, rather a objective measurement was required. Rizzi has done a good job, probably better than we could have expected as a 30% in season improvement, against 10 of the top 15 ST units, is no small thing, they deserve credit for the improvements. That and Stat Monkery involves individual players and skewing stats to try and prove a player is better, or worse, than they actually are out on the field, a overall compilation of a unit's performance as a whole is objective and speaks for itself. IE, not using these stats to prove Brandon Fields is a the best punter in the AFC, merely reporting the outcome of the punting unit as a whole, is not Stat Monkery.
