Pasquale’s Unit Is Special
It wouldn’t have seemed possible a year ago, but the numbers tell the story: Statistically at least, the Chargers have the best special teams unit in the NFL.
Anyone who remembers how poorly the Chargers’ special teams played were under Joe Madden last season can appreciate the job Larry Pasquale has done in his first year on Dan Henning’s staff. The dramatic turnaround was climaxed Sunday when Nate Lewis returned a punt 63 yards for a touchdown in the Chargers’ 31-14 romp over the Seahawks in Seattle.
According to rankings of the 28 NFL clubs in the four major special teams categories, the Chargers have an average score of 3.5. They rank second in kickoff returns, third in kickoff coverage and punt coverage and sixth in punt returns.
The Denver Broncos, who will meet the Chargers on Sunday at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, rank second with an average of 6.5.
Rankings are computed on a basis of one point for first place in a given category, two for second, etc.
In case the Chargers’ figures don’t appear impressive, consider those from their lamentable 1989 season. Madden’s special teams had an average ranking of 21.3--25th in kickoff coverage, 23rd in punt coverage and punt returns and 14th in kickoff returns.
“It’s been a long road,” Pasquale said Monday. “We started out with a lot of things to work on, and we’re getting better every game.
“The one team that was sort of disappointing was the punt return team. We had our chances, but nothing happened. Then on Nate’s return yesterday, everybody blocked extremely well and Nate broke it.
“That was really gratifying. It was 17-7 late in the third quarter, and the home crowd was waiting for the Seahawks to get things going. If Nate’s runback wasn’t the crowning blow, it was close to it.”
Pasquale cited Richard Brown, Darrin Nelson, Walter Wilson, Craig McEwen and Steve Hendrickson for making key blocks on Lewis’ run. He praised Brown, Hendrickson, Cedric Figaro, Donnie Elder, Lester Lyles and Junior Seau for their consistency on special teams through the season.
“Brown and Hendrickson are sort of the pace-setters,” Pasquale said. “They keep things together. Figaro has great upper body strength and reads returns real well. Elder is very focused on this phase of the game, and he has added smarts in terms of experience. Lyles is probably the most unheralded special teams guy we have.”
Seau has been criticized for his slow progress at linebacker after being drafted No. 1 out of USC, but Pasquale said, “He has been in on a lot of big plays on punt returns and kickoff returns. He has learned a lot.”
The special teams unit have undergone such a drastic makeover that Henning said, “I’m not sure if anybody from last year is still on those teams. We have a whole new set of faces. We have different kickers, a different snapper, different cover people.
“And we always seem to come up with extra people when we have injuries. Like Billy Ray Smith and Gary Plummer yesterday. They went in on one kickoff and made the tackle inside the 20.”
Actually, there are a few old faces on the special teams unit. Pasquale listed Figaro, Lyles, Plummer, Martin Bayless and Sammy Seale as holdovers.
Smith, who played part-time at outside linebacker Sunday for the first time since missing five games with a pulled stomach muscle, laughed when the subject of his stint as a special teams player came up.
“A couple of guys were winded, so Gary (Plummer, who although a special teams player doesn’t usually play on kickoffs) and I went in,” Smith said. “That must have been the oldest kickoff coverage group in the league.”
On a more serious note, Smith said, “Our special teams pretty much took the crowd in Seattle out of the game. They were a big key to our win.”
Hendrickson, a backup linebacker and H-back, talked about the enthusiasm and competitiveness of the special teams players.
“Everybody’s been so intense that guys are fighting to get on (the special teams),” he said. “Starters like Gary (Plummer) and Junior (Seau) are as gung-ho as the rest of us. It’s like wrestling. It’s all an individual thing.
“If you meet a guy on the kickoff team, chances are you’ll meet the same guy on the kickoff return team. If you kick the other guy’s butt, it gets his goat. He gets frustrated.”
Pasquale, who turned out a string of successful special teams with the New York Jets before joining the Chargers, noted that his job here has been far more complicated.
“The Jets were set,” he said. “They all grew up, so to speak, and developed togetherness. They established a tradition.
“This is a different situation. First of all, these teams ranked very low last year. Second, the players we have now have come in from different teams. It has been a matter of building confidence and blending everything together.”
PHILLIPS UPDATE--Two of three men charged in the beating of Charger Joe Phillips pleaded innocent to felony assault charges. B3