Recon_Hawk
Well-known member
After last year's lackluster performance returning kicks, I am super excited to see the special teams back to playing with confidence in all areas of the game. Unlike last year where ST lost us a game or two, I think we'll see special teams WIN us a game or two.
And it all starts with Tyler Lockett.
You could tell last year that a lot of players were frustrated on KO and PR. The entire team seemed to have lost the will to take on 250 pound players to set up key blocks because what was the point? Whoever was returning kicks last season was both too slow to hit the hole and unable to make anyone miss. It kills motivation when that's the case.
Now, I see a want-to from our guys to block on returns. That's because of Lockett and his ability to take it the distance every time he touches the ball. Nothing was more evident than seeing veteran Doug Baldwin blocking his guy for a good 5 second to clear a hole on Lock's TD return (and amazing effort from everyone else).
[tweet]https://twitter.com/nflnetwork/status/637792805763420160[/tweet]
https://twitter.com/nflnetwork/status/6 ... 5763420160
On the other side of the ball, I see a lot of passion and effort from our guys trying to make a tackle on KR/PR. As if there's a competition in the ST's room to make the first hit and if you don't make at least one tackle a game you aren't doing your job.
We still have to wait and see how the team handles fakes and trick plays (Week 1 vs Rams will be a good test), but if the preseason so far is an indicator of the season it will be a year full of holding our breath with excitement and not concern like it was last year.
And it all starts with Tyler Lockett.
You could tell last year that a lot of players were frustrated on KO and PR. The entire team seemed to have lost the will to take on 250 pound players to set up key blocks because what was the point? Whoever was returning kicks last season was both too slow to hit the hole and unable to make anyone miss. It kills motivation when that's the case.
Now, I see a want-to from our guys to block on returns. That's because of Lockett and his ability to take it the distance every time he touches the ball. Nothing was more evident than seeing veteran Doug Baldwin blocking his guy for a good 5 second to clear a hole on Lock's TD return (and amazing effort from everyone else).
[tweet]https://twitter.com/nflnetwork/status/637792805763420160[/tweet]
https://twitter.com/nflnetwork/status/6 ... 5763420160
On the other side of the ball, I see a lot of passion and effort from our guys trying to make a tackle on KR/PR. As if there's a competition in the ST's room to make the first hit and if you don't make at least one tackle a game you aren't doing your job.
We still have to wait and see how the team handles fakes and trick plays (Week 1 vs Rams will be a good test), but if the preseason so far is an indicator of the season it will be a year full of holding our breath with excitement and not concern like it was last year.
