Special Teams: Just So Hit And Miss

The Washington Redskins fought their way to a 44 tie through the season’s first half. At least they avoided a losing record at midseason for the first time since 2007.

- Chris Russell

The Redskins gained that fourth win in Seattle because the Seahawks were anything but “special” and Washington did nothing wrong.

When a team wins a game, or loses – the head coach and the quarterback get the blame or credit. In today’s NFL – it should be noted one unit or group of players almost always contributes one way or another to a win or a loss.

Special teams can be the difference between a “special” team and a volcanic disaster. For the Redskins, they are usually closer to the disaster side, but sometimes all you need is for somebody not to make a mistake.

The win in Seattle was a classic case in point. Nobody did anything outstanding, but the horrible mistakes that were present for a good part of the first half of the schedule did not occur. Coincidentally, they won.

You know what did happen in Seattle? The Seahawks were a nightmare on field goal attempts. They missed three.

In Seattle, Redskins placekicker Nick Rose, who was signed after Dustin Hopkins was put on injured reserve, connected on two extra point attempts, a 28yard field goal and had three-of-five kickoffs go for touchbacks. In other words, the rookie did his job.