Can Rich Bisaccia Continue to Make the Packers Special Teams Better This Season?
By GilMartin
Special teams have been an ongoing problem area for the Green Bay Packers for many years. Before the 2022 season, the front office finally seemed to get serious about fixing this part of the game. They hired Rich Bisaccia to be special teams coordinator and gave him a say in forming the roster for special teams.
GM Brian Gutekunst also used many of his 2022 day three draft picks to add players who were brought in primarily for their special teams abilities.
The result was a step forward. After being at or near the bottom of the league in most special teams rankings, the Packers improved to the low 20s in most unofficial rankings. They are still below average, but no longer ranked as one of the NFL’s worst special teams units.
Can the unit continue to improve in 2023? Winning the field position battle will be important for this team as they have a new starting quarterback for the first time in 15 years in Jordan Love. Giving an offense with an inexperienced quarterback, tight ends, and receivers a short field more often will certainly help put points on the board.
One big reason for the improvement on special teams was the elevation of Keisean Nixon to kick returner. Although Nixon didn’t take over the position full time until midway through the season, he led the league with 1,009 kick return yards. He earned All Pro honors and ran a kick back 105 yards for a touchdown in the Packers win over Minnesota in Week 17.
Nixon also took over as the punt returner late in the season, replacing the ineffective Amari Rodgers who was released. While Nixon was not an experienced punt returner, he averaged a healthy 12.7-yards per runback.
Nixon rarely hesitates on returns. He is fearless and eager to create big plays any time he gets his hands on the football. It is not a coincidence that the Packers late-season winning streak coincided with Nixon’s elevation to the team’s top return specialist.
But there are questions surrounding special teams as we stand approximately a week away from the start of training camp.
The biggest question involves the kicking game. The Packers chose not to re-sign Mason Crosby who rebounded last year in the field goal department after struggling through 2021. His short kickoffs and higher salary likely influenced the Packers decision to not bring the franchise’s all-time leading scorer back.
Gutekunst selected Auburn’s Anders Carlson in the sixth round of this year’s draft. Carlson has a strong leg and should improve the depth of Green Bay’s kickoffs. But will be consistent enough on field goals this season?
Carlson’s best year in college came in 2020. The following year, he suffered a season-ending knee injury. When Carlson returned to action last season, he had to wear a brace on his knee and his accuracy was affected.
The Packers need Carlson to return to his pre-injury form. He will also need to learn how to kick in the wind and cold of Lambeau Field in November and December, something Crosby excelled at.
The team also needs to improve their punt blocking scheme. Last year, punter Pat O’Donnell had two punts blocked. The punter was not the primary problem as the Packers must find a way to improve their punt protection.
The coverage units can also improve. The Packers allowed 23.2-yards per kickoff return last season and 9.5-yard per punt return. At least the Packers didn’t allow a punt or kick return to be run back for a touchdown last season.
Bisaccia and head coach Matt LaFleur also need to figure out who the primary punt returner will be. Nixon could be back in that role, but the Packers will also be using Nixon as the slot cornerback and as the kick returner. Nixon also expressed a desire to play a few snaps on offense although so far that hasn’t happened.
The top candidate competing with Nixon for the punt return job is rookie second-round pick Jayden Reed. Reed averaged 15.3-yards per punt return in college and ran back three punts for touchdowns.
Reed is expected to compete for slot receiver job as a rookie if he picks up the offense in time. If he wins the punt return job, it will help keep Nixon fresh for his other roles and would allow Reed to contribute more in his first NFL season.
The challenge remains for Bisaccia and the Packers. Another step forward for the special teams would certainly contribute to the Packers success this season.
You can follow Gil Martin on Twitter @GilPackers
Comments (13)
T7Steve
July 20, 2023 at 12:48 pm
How would we rank if you project Nixon's average return yards and ball security through the whole season? That would probably be closer to what we'll be this season.
Still don't know who the coach was who thought to keep Rodgers as the returner at the beginning of the season. There were people here on CHTV calling that out before the season started. I wasn't one of those smart ones. I just agreed.
dblbogey
July 20, 2023 at 03:40 pm
Yea, they were about 6 games late in moving on from Amari. It was obvious to everyone but whoever actually made the decision. They also went with Jake Hanson and Royce Newman forever, while Yosh and Zach Tom sat on the bench, another perplexing decision by somebody.
CoachJV
July 20, 2023 at 02:00 pm
I think ST Return game is definitely going to keep improving. The simple fact that Nixon really only got half a season as a returner last year should signal a better year this year. And if Reed can really handle the punt returns, and be effective, we could have a top 5 return unit. Hopefully Bisaccia can devise better blocking schemes this year... all that leaves is the question about the Kicker... Rich wanted him, so he must see something we don't.
croatpackfan
July 20, 2023 at 02:07 pm
"Can Rich Bisaccia Continue to Make the Packers Special Teams Better This Season?"
YES!
Will he?
I believe so...
BAMABADGER
July 20, 2023 at 02:09 pm
In Bisaccia, We trust!
PatrickGB
July 20, 2023 at 02:15 pm
While most of our attention on special teams is on the kicking game and the return game, don’t forget the value in blocking and tackling. Rich seems to be a total coach. That means he focuses on all facets of the “wefense”. He has to take players who may not be (NFL quality) knowledgeable in the above and turn them into quality ST’s players. And do so at an unfamiliar spot for many of them.
Early results are encouraging.
TarynsEyes
July 20, 2023 at 02:18 pm
Wasn't there a rule change that takes away the return on kickoffs that don't go in the EZ, be fair-catched and placed at the 25, as like college. If so, doesn't that take away from Nixon being a big factor. Also, on punts also.
PatrickGB
July 20, 2023 at 02:22 pm
Any “fair catch” short of the 25 will now be marked at the 25. Returners can still keep running if they don’t signal for that fair catch.
TarynsEyes
July 20, 2023 at 02:43 pm
TY, So, isn't it conceivable that being assured a spot at the 25 without it having to go into the EZ would decrease the ops for Nixon to run. Field position vs low chance of huge return. Just saying. Something MLF needs to ponder 'in game'.
SicSemperTyrannis
July 20, 2023 at 02:51 pm
Gil,
this article brings up a very worthwhile discussion. Depth = options!
We saw in 2021 that Amari Rogers was not a returner. Who decided to repeat that mistake in 2022? It was also a mistake to dump both him and Sammy Watkins whereas just a little earlier was the trade deadline and might have gotten some trade value. 13 picks later, all that's behind us.
Nixon could be used to return everything, as well as both defense and offense. That's probably a bit much, but I'm still glad he has the gumption to want to play receiver. I think he could develop into a very useful gadget receiver. It could be a different play literally every time he plays that role. No rush for that now.
Option 2 would be have Jayden Reed take punt returns. Pre-season games are a perfect time to try this. Also to compare Nixon's effectiveness on defense vs other people. I'm ok with spreading the load to keep a specialist healthy, using Nixon more to keep him "hot" and in the game, whatever has him play his best.
Option 3 4 and 5 exist too ...
On the other side of ST, the new rule makes kickoffs much less demanding on the kicker. I'll be interested to see if any teams create an open roster spot by having one person do all their kicking duties. It could create a significant advantage ...
In short there's a LOT RB could do to keep our ST improving, obviously.
splitpea1
July 20, 2023 at 03:12 pm
With the exception of the kicker (let's hope Bisaccia was right), continuity is our best friend here. It was essential to re-sign Nixon and Ford, and signing Moore should also help. T. Davis probably isn't going anywhere, either, as he was last season's leader in snaps and the third or fourth-leading tackler.
It's astonishing that it took Packers decision makers so long to figure out that you need players that are proficient at various ST duties, especially returns and tackling. The old approach of throwing the depth players out there and expecting a "draft and develop" miracle always seemed kind of ludicrous.
Andy Herman made a good point in one of his podcasts that the defensive STers often transfer a scrappier style of play to their actual defensive roles when called upon, and in the Packers case, this can be nothing but beneficial--I'll take as much of this as possible without drawing the flags.
PackEyedOptimist
July 20, 2023 at 04:23 pm
The past two Packer drafts have been LOADED with guys who excelled at special teams in college. Whether it’s Bisaccia’s doing or Gut’s or LaFleur’s doesn’t matter; I’m just glad they are doing it!
The Packers under Holmgren surged when HE decided to emphasize special teams. It’s ludicrous that any NFL coach doesn’t understand the importance of having excellent ST players on the roster, but they seem to be fairly common.
stockholder
July 20, 2023 at 06:54 pm
I'm going to be blunt-
Reed will fumble a punt, costing us a win.
How he reacts from it, will tell us everything.