Word out of Oakland this morning is that Raiders special teams coach John Fassel is going to join Jeff Fisher's staff in the same role. Fassel had been with the Raiders since 2009. And yes, that name looks familiar: Fassel's father is former NFL head coach Jim Fassel. So if you're not buddies with Jeff Fisher, or not related to somebody, do continue not to send your resume to Rams Park.
Fassel was a Raiders special teams assistant in 2008 before taking over as coordinator the last three years. He was a special teams assistant for Baltimore from 2005-07, coming there after a two-year stint in Las Vegas. New Mexico. He was head coach for Division II New Mexico Highlands University. He has also been wide receivers coach at Bucknell and with Amsterdam in NFL Europe.
It'd be advisable not to give Fassel a ton of credit for Oakland's impressive kicking game, but at least give him credit for not messing up a good thing. The Raiders were almost the AFC's entire special teams unit in this year's Pro Bowl, placing kicker Sebastian Janikowski, punter Shane Lechler and long snapper Jon Condo. Unlike the Rams, the Raiders had the sense to keep a top-functioning snapper/punter/kicker combination together. Didn't somebody around here say Josh Brown and Donnie Jones were going to have it worse off last season without Chris Massey? And didn't they both have bad seasons? Fassel could become my favorite special teams coach of all time just by recommending the Rams bring Massey back.
Except here's how the Raiders' special teams units performed in Fassel's three seasons:
2011: 18th in kick returns (23.5 ypa), one TD. 24th in punt returns (8.9 ypa). (The Rams were 10th!)
Rookie Denarius Moore was the main punt returner. Jacoby Ford came into the season as the main kickoff returner, and had a 101-yard TD, but was injured much of the year.
The Raiders were a meager 27th in the league defending kickoffs (25.7 ypa). Perhaps not coincidentally, they were only 27th in touchback percentage (63.3%) despite the availability of one of the most powerful legs in NFL history in Janikowski. If there's a press conference to welcome Fassel to St. Louis, Question Number One needs to be why Seabass didn't just boot the ball into the stands more often.
NFL.com stupidly doesn't offer yards allowed per punt return, or rankings, but the Raiders were one of the very worst at covering punts, allowing a ridiculous 13.5 a return. Just eyeballing that, it has to be the worst in the league for 2011. Only Arizona gave up more total punt return yards.
The Raiders gave up two punt return TDs and a kickoff return TD in 2011. Those numbers tell me Fassel should have been FIRED somewhere, not hired here.
2010: Kick returns: just 16th, just 22.5 yards, even with Ford returning three kicks for TDs.
Punt returns: 26th, an anemic 7.0 yards, most returns by Nick Miller. Yes, he of the Rams'
punt return TD against Arizona this season.
Kick coverage: 18th, 23.1 yards allowed, also a TD. Unbelievably, only 31.2% of Janikowski's
kickoffs were touchbacks. And that was 2nd-best in the league! I know the tee
was five yards farther back, and I don't know if Janikowski was fighting any
injuries, but he's always had plenty of power to put kickoffs through the back
of the end zone from the 35 or the 30.
Punt coverage: 8.7 per return, roughly the lower-third in the league and about the same as
the Rams did that year.
Against the Chargers in 2010, the Raiders blocked a punt for a safety and another for a TD
(both in the same game). Those points plus Ford's TDs made them 2010's highest scoring
special teams unit in the league.
Fassel's old page on the Raiders website said the Raiders' special teams have led the NFL
in takeaways (10) and turnover margin (+7) the last two years.
2009: Kick returns: 18.2 yards, dead last in the NFL. Jonathan Holland and Gary Russell combined
for most of the returns. No one among 8 different kick returners averaged more
than 20 yards.
Punt returns: 29th with a pathetic 4.9 yards per return by Johnnie Lee Higgins.
Kick coverage: Also the worst kick coverage in the NFL. 25.7 yards allowed, with a TD.
Only 28.8% of Janikowski's kicks were touchbacks, though that was
6th-best in the league. Unleash the Seabass!
Punt coverage: Raiders punted more than any other team, and the practice appears to have
helped. Though it's difficult to eyeball (Thanks, NFL.com!), their 7.3 average
allowed looks like one of the better ones in the league that season.
Takeaway: If this coach's name were John Grabowksi, would he get many second looks? Fassel's coverage units in Oakland were dreadful for the most part. Punt coverage fell to worst in the league, and the punt return unit wallowed at the bottom of the league. Success forcing turnovers probably absorbed much of that blow. Fassel didn't mess up his kickers, and the kick return game did steadily improve. The Raiders blog gives him credit for Ford's development, for installing good blocking schemes and for creativity. NFL insiders seem to believe this is a great hire, and that Fassel is one of the best special teams coaches out there. Would that I got that at all. What I have to go on are the numbers, and they're not telling me that Fassel isn't even a step down from Tom McMahon, who the Rams probably could have kept. The Rams special teams have sucked ever since Frank Gansz, and I don't see that changing in the near future. C-minus
Ex-Rams updates:
- Speaking of McMahon, he has landed on the other side of the state and will coach special teams for the Chiefs next season.
- Jonathan Wade signed with Miami.
-$-
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