Socci: Pats Special Teamers Doing Their Best To Ensure Playing Field Is Not Level
By Bob Socci, 98.5 The Sports Hub
BOSTON (CBS) -- Ryan Grigson was at home, inside the Lucas Oil Stadium club that had been converted into a media workroom for last February's NFL Combine in Indianapolis.
But standing at a podium, presumably to discuss the league's newest class of draft prospects, a series of unrelated questions left the Colts general manager appearing anything except at ease. A couple of questions into his press conference, Grigson was hit with a flurry of inquiries regarding the Wells Report and his role in raising suspicions over the air pressure of Patriots footballs before January's AFC Championship Game.
After all, if not for Grigson's email to the NFL on the eve of that title game, as referenced by a reporter, some (Most? Almost all?) of us would still be in the dark when it comes to the rule regulating pounds per square inch, let alone the ideal gas law.
"We had concerns, and just like any general manager would do, he wants their team to play on an even playing field," Grigson said of his Jan. 17 message to league headquarters. "We took the proper steps to try to ensure that."
Nine months later, back inside Lucas Oil, Grigson discovered that the field on which his Colts hosted the Pats was tilted against his players. It had nothing to do with any allegedly improper steps or under-inflated balls. Rather, the uneven surface on that Week 6 Sunday night was largely the result of New England's execution on special teams.
And, to a lesser though still unforgettable and unfathomable extent, a lack thereof by Indianapolis -- specifically, on its bizarre fake punt nearing the final minute of the third quarter. Grigson and the Colts helped give us the saga known as DeflateGate. But it's the Swinging Gate that will truly haunt their season.
Throughout the evening, the Colts looked at long fields on offense. Their average starting field position was their own 18-yard line. Only one of 12 series started outside their 20-yard line, compared to five originating inside it.
No one was more instrumental in unleveling the deck than the Patriots who did the kicking and those who covered their kicks. Stephen Gostkowski kicked off seven times; six went unreturned for touchbacks. Meanwhile, Ryan Allen's net average for five punts was 44.8 yards.
New England had enjoyed a similar performance a week earlier at Dallas and a week later vs. the New York Jets. The Cowboys had also begun on offense, on average, from their 18-yard line, while the Jets were forced to take off from their 22-yard line.
Although both Indy and New York scored after several long drives, having the field repeatedly flipped in their disfavor made it that much more difficult to keep up with New England's offense, in the face of mounting pressure from the Patriots' defense.
"Obviously, we feel very confident in our specialists," Pro Bowl gunner Matthew Slater said Monday of his unit's importance in the overall complexion of a 6-0 start. "We feel like we have the best kicker in football. We feel like we have one of the best young punters in football. We have a lot of confidence in what they do. You hear coach say it all the time, 'We're only going to be as good as they are.'
"They've been doing a great job this season. When they give us our opportunities as coverage players or as players blocking for our returners, we have to do a good job."
Like Slater, listed as a wide receiver, reserve safety Nate Ebner makes an earning almost exclusively in an often overlooked phase of the game. He too expressed great respect for his fellow specialists.
"They're both extremely hard workers and take their roles very, very seriously," Ebner said Tuesday of Allen and Gostkowski, who's converted 24 straight field-goal attempts and an NFL-record 435 consecutive extra-point tries. "They're as hard of workers as anyone else. For anyone to (under appreciate) that would be a mistake. That's why Steve has been so consistent for so many years and Ryan's having a good year and being consistent for us. I can't say enough about those two."
Such consistency in their concentrated phase of the game surely reflects the overall weekly emphasis the Pats place on it as a whole.
"Everything we do on a day-to-day basis during the week is a direct reflection in the game, of how well we did during the week," Ebner says. "We've just been putting a consistent piece of work together throughout the weeks and it's shown up in the games when we get the opportunities."
Tonight against the Dolphins, Ebner et al will be tested by emerging star Jarvis Landry, a second-year receiver and punt returner. Landry had a 74-yard return last fall vs. Kansas City, before opening this season with a 69-yard return for a score against Washington.
"He's kind of got a little bit of everything," Ebner says of the 5-foot-11, 202-pound Landry. "He's a dangerous returner; very quick, very strong. There's plenty of film of him running all over the place. He's definitely a guy you've got to be prepared for because he's very dangerous when he gets the ball in some space.
"With a guy like that, you have to use your leverage and use your teammates and don't quit until that guy is on the ground. He's not going to go down without a fight, every time."
The Dolphins are also adept at blocking punts and place kicks. Since Darren Rizzi, a former tight end and coach at the University of Rhode Island, became its special teams coordinator in 2010, Miami has blocked 13 kicks. One of the Dolphins' seven punt blocks under Rizzi occurred against the Pats in the 2014 opener.
"They're a good team that brings pressure, mixes it up," Ebner said. "Definitely a dangerous team from all angles."
Therefore, once again a key tonight is to angle the field against the Dolphins. Like at Indianapolis, where, much to Grigson's dismay, the Pats' special teams showed that opponents aren't always entitled to an even field.
Bob Socci is the radio play-by-play voice of the New England Patriots. You can follow him on Twitter @BobSocci.
