The Special Teams Questions

May 09, 2008, 9:04:21 AM by Bob Gretz - FAQ

As we look at the questions surrounding the Chiefs for the 2008 season, today we spend time on the kicking game.

Last year, the Chiefs had one of the best punters in the league and some of the NFL’s better coverage units on both punts and kickoffs. That was the good.

Unfortunately, those positives sometimes got lost in what turned out to be an atrocious return game and a revolving door at kicker. Those were problems the teams lived through during the ‘07 season.

And that’s where the questions sit about this year’s edition of the special teams.

Question #1: who will be the kicker?
Right now, the Chiefs have three kickers on their roster. That’s NFL veterans Nick Novak and Billy Cundiff and college free agent Connor Barth.

Only two of those kickers will go to River Falls for training camp. Cundiff and Novak have been around Arrowhead working with special teams coach Mike Priefer. Barth will soon join them.

Cundiff has the most NFL experience, kicking in 58 games with Dallas and New Orleans. He was the Cowboys kicker for two seasons before a quad injury and some missed field goals cost him the job. He also kicked with New Orleans. He’s 60 of 83 on regular season field goals, or 72.3 percent, which isn’t good enough in today’s NFL.

Last year, Cundiff kicked with Atlanta and was six of seven on field goals, missing only from 54 yards. But he did not get the Falcons job, which ultimately last year ended up in the hands of the most veteran of veterans Morten Andersen. Cundiff did not kick in the league last season.

Novak has 16 games of NFL experience, kicking for both Washington and Arizona. He’s also gone to camp twice with Chicago and kicked in NFL Europa last year with the Cologne Centurions. In the regular season, he’s 13 of 20 or 65 percent. He did not kick in the league last season, after going one for one in pre-season with the Bears.

Barth kicked for four seasons at the University of North Carolina, where he made 54 of 71 field goals, or 76 percent. But he made 37 of his last 42 attempts, beginning late in his sophomore year, or 88 percent.

As an 18-year old freshman for the Tar Heels, Barth kicked a 42-yard game winning field goal with time running out to beat the University of Miami. Apparently, he can handle pressure situations.

Question #2: who will handle the return game?
Last year, the Chiefs picked Eddie Drummond off the waiver wire and believed he could continue what had been a good career with Detroit. They found out why the Lions released him, as Drummond struggled all season. His longest kickoff return was 36 yards and his longest punt return was 22 yards. Early in the season there were problems with blocking, but later in the season the guys in front of Drummond got better, but he could not produce. Nobody else who stepped in, whether Eddie Kennison on punt returns or Benny Sapp and Jeff Webb on kickoff returns, was better than Drummond.

Only Webb remains. But he doesn’t figure to be a factor in this competition. Right now, it will be between veteran B.J. Sams and draft choice Kevin Robinson. Sams comes to the Chiefs from Baltimore, where he played in 43 games over the last four seasons. But he missed time in 2006 with a broken ankle and then suffered an ACL knee injury in the 2007 opener that ended his season.

His career average on 138 kickoff returns is 22.9 yards and 10.9 yards on 121 punt returns. He scored twice on punt returns in 2004.

Robinson had eight return touchdowns during his college career at Utah State. He averaged 24.8 yards on 110 kickoff returns with four touchdowns and 14.2 yards on 78 punt returns with four touchdowns. Last season, he scored three times on kickoff returns, including a 100-yarder against Hawaii. In that game, Robinson also caught a 77-yard touchdown pass.

Another draft choice, third-round running back Jamaal Charles could be a factor on kickoff returns as well, although he did not handle those duties at Texas.

The Chiefs would like one man to handle both jobs, but more than anything else, they want a returner or returners who can help change the game, whether on the scoreboard or in field position.

Coming on Monday: the questions on defense.

The opinions offered in this column do not necessarily reflect those of the Kansas City Chiefs.

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A former beat reporter who covered the Pittsburgh Steelers during their glory years, Gretz covered the Chiefs for the Kansas City Star for nine years. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Board of Selectors. He has been the senior columnist for the Chiefs web site since its inception.