The State Of The Raiders: Part 3 (Special Teams)

February 18, 2010   ·   Josh Broudy   ·   Jump to comments

Overall Grade: C+
Shane Lechler continues to prove why he's the best overall punter in the league. He isn't the best directional punter, but his length on his kicks makes him stand out. He can totally alter field position single handily.
Sebastian Janikowski was excellent this season. Did he deserve a $16 million contract? Probably not, but that's another story. Janikowski was 20-21 from 20 yards to 49 yards. That's pretty impressive. Janikowski is the leagues strongest leg kicker (sorry Rob Bironas), so that is why Cable can afford to send him out there for a 61 yard field goal.
Kick Returning was the weakest position in 2009 for the Raiders. Louis Rankin, Gary Russell, and Jonathan Holland SUCKED! Really, really sucked. We sucked so much that we averaged two yards less a return than 31 ranked Carolina. This is a spot that needs to be addressed in the draft or free agency.
Punt Returning was extremely disappointing itself. JLH looked like a pansy returning punts. ...

Read Complete Article at Bleacher Report - NFL
Article is property of BleacherReport.com