New Orleans Saints special teams likely to be tweaked for playoffs

QBREES9 · 01-02-2010, 08:15 PM

New Orleans Saints special teams likely to be tweaked for playoffs
By Nakia Hogan, The Times-Picayune

After watching Tampa Bay Buccaneers punt returner Michael Spurlock return a punt 77 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of the Buccaneers' 20-17 win against the New Orleans Saints last Sunday, Coach Sean Payton has seen just about all he can take. Changes are on the way.

Perhaps not for Sunday's season finale at Carolina, but the Saints plan to use more of their starters and faster players on the special teams' coverage to prevent big returns.

"When the postseason comes, all hands are on deck, " Payton said. "You are going to see players who you may not have seen in the kicking game playing. You are going to see the Roman Harpers and you are going to see the (Scott) Fujitas. You are going to see anybody who we think helps us, where in the regular season our approach may have been a little more conservative.

"That's certainly been an emphasis, and we understand the importance of that being something that has to be better when we get into the postseason when it comes to the coverage units. So you will see anybody who we think can help us, whether they are a starter or not."

Spurlock's return was the only punt or kickoff returned for a touchdown against the Saints this season, but the coverage unit has been sporadic throughout. The Saints are allowing 15.3 yards per punt return and 24.7 yards per kickoff return.

"Any time a return for a score happens, you've got to go back and try to correct whatever took place to allow that to happen, " said Saints special teams ace Courtney Roby, who ranks second on the team with 21 special teams tackles. "The coverage units, we work hard week in and week out.

"We have the ability to stop those returns, but for whatever reason we just had breakdowns. We take a lot pride in that. We definitely don't want to be the downfall or be responsible for a long return. We have a lot of great athletes out there who are capable of making plays."

New Orleans Saints special teams likely to be tweaked for playoffs | New Orleans Saints Central - - NOLA.com

01-02-2010, 08:15 PM	#1
QBREES9 Moderator Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: New Haven Ct Posts: 23,989	New Orleans Saints special teams likely to be tweaked for playoffs New Orleans Saints special teams likely to be tweaked for playoffs By Nakia Hogan, The Times-Picayune After watching Tampa Bay Buccaneers punt returner Michael Spurlock return a punt 77 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of the Buccaneers' 20-17 win against the New Orleans Saints last Sunday, Coach Sean Payton has seen just about all he can take. Changes are on the way. Perhaps not for Sunday's season finale at Carolina, but the Saints plan to use more of their starters and faster players on the special teams' coverage to prevent big returns. "When the postseason comes, all hands are on deck, " Payton said. "You are going to see players who you may not have seen in the kicking game playing. You are going to see the Roman Harpers and you are going to see the (Scott) Fujitas. You are going to see anybody who we think helps us, where in the regular season our approach may have been a little more conservative. "That's certainly been an emphasis, and we understand the importance of that being something that has to be better when we get into the postseason when it comes to the coverage units. So you will see anybody who we think can help us, whether they are a starter or not." Spurlock's return was the only punt or kickoff returned for a touchdown against the Saints this season, but the coverage unit has been sporadic throughout. The Saints are allowing 15.3 yards per punt return and 24.7 yards per kickoff return. "Any time a return for a score happens, you've got to go back and try to correct whatever took place to allow that to happen, " said Saints special teams ace Courtney Roby, who ranks second on the team with 21 special teams tackles. "The coverage units, we work hard week in and week out. "We have the ability to stop those returns, but for whatever reason we just had breakdowns. We take a lot pride in that. We definitely don't want to be the downfall or be responsible for a long return. We have a lot of great athletes out there who are capable of making plays." New Orleans Saints special teams likely to be tweaked for playoffs \| New Orleans Saints Central - - NOLA.com
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