Trying to Make the Kicking Game Special

Nov 21, 2008, 8:42:12 AM by Bob Gretz - FAQ

”The way I look at it, it’s just another challenge.”

That’s the mantra these days for Chiefs special teams coach Mike Priefer.

In this 2008 season, nobody has faced more challenges than Priefer in putting together cohesive units each and every week.

“I don’t want to say I haven’t batted an eye at what’s happened, because there have been some sleepless nights,” Priefer said. “But I have to come in every day with the energy and attitude to get this job done.

“It’s a new challenge and you have to be up to that challenge. My job is to get the players prepared and the only thing I know how to do is work. So we continue to work at it.”

Chan Gailey had his quarterback roulette there for awhile, but the offensive coordinator has now had the same guy for the last four games. In the last month Gunther Cunningham has been patching together a defense each week, trying to overcome a rash of injuries. But he’s getting some familiar faces back for this Sunday’s game against Buffalo.

In the kicking game, the winds of change continue to blow. Just about every Wednesday for the last month the Chiefs have added new players to the active roster, and the next Sunday they are part of Priefer’s kicking game units, blocking or covering. Or snapping, or kicking, or punting. This week LB Curtis Gatewood and DE Andy Studebaker were signed. Both will be part of the kicking game this weekend.

Priefer doesn’t even know how many changes he’s made. Oh, he knows. He’s got it all documented, but he refuses to look at the numbers.

“I’ll see them at the end of the season,” Priefer said. “Right now, there’s too much work to get done to worry about those types of things. I don’t want to give myself any excuses, which is only human nature in a situation like this.

“The way I look at it is this is a challenge, it’s rare, but we still have to line up on Sunday at noon.”

The Chiefs have had 73 players on their active roster now over 11 weeks. Of that number 64 have played in a game. That means a lot of those players have been on the field for the kicking game. Right now, 26 players have been credited with at least an assistant on a special teams tackle. Nine of those players are no longer on the active roster, including two of the top three: Erik Walden and Dimitri Patterson. Of the top 15 tacklers from last year, only John McGraw and Jarrad Page are still on the team.

Compare the Chiefs punt coverage team for the season opener against the one that they’ll field against the Bills this Sunday. There are only two players left: punter Dustin Colquitt and McGraw. And Colquitt missed games because of a groin injury.

On the kick coverage team there are only four players who are still on that unit from the first game. One is RB Jackie Battle, who has made two trips back and forth between the active roster and the practice squad since the start of the season.

On opening day, Priefer’s units were led by Colquitt, kicker Nick Novak, deep snapper J.P. Darche and returners B.J. Sams and Dantrell Savage.

This Sunday, the units are led by Colquitt, kicker Connor Barth, snapper Thomas Gafford and returner Kevin Robinson.

Continuity is vital to any unit. The offensive line needs snaps to play together and make the offense work. If the defense is going to stop the running game, linebackers need the experience of working together and understanding the scheme and working with the defensive line in front of them.

That’s not gotten done in the kicking game because the faces keep changing. And now this Sunday, they must face the Bills, with one of the most potent and effective special teams groups in the league. After 11 games, Buffalo is first in the NFL in kick returns, second in punt returns, seventh in kick coverage and eighth in gross punting.

You want continuity? They have 19 players who have made tackles in the kicking game this season and 10 were part of the special teams last year.

“When you look at the better (special) teams in the league, San Diego, Buffalo, Jacksonville, they have the same players out there in the same spots week after week,” Priefer said. “A lot of time they also have veteran guys in those roles.

“Here, we’ve had young guys this year. And then with the injuries we’ve had young guys trying to replace young guys. That’s where it gets tough.”

It means extra work after practice, as Priefer did on Thursday afternoon with his new linebacker Gatewood, and with backup deep snappers. It also means having to keep things simple in preparation and hopefully execution.

“It’s what we have to deal with,” Priefer said. “They aren’t going to cancel the game because we have to keep changing the people on our units. Bobby April (Buffalo’s special teams coach) isn’t going to feel sorry for us. He’s going to come in and want to kick our butts just like he would any other week. Nobody is going to feel sorry for us.

“So we can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We’ve got to work, we’ve got to get prepared and we have to go out and play.”

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.