DON LANDRY – Argonauts.ca Columnist
TORONTO – Last Saturday night, Toronto Argonauts special teams held Calgary return wizard Larry Taylor to a total of 56 yards on punt and kick returns. That number stands in contrast to the 292 return yards he hung on the Boatmen earlier in the year, including a 125 yard missed field goal return for a touchdown.
So, can we safely re-attach the label “special” to the Argos cover teams now?
“No,” was special teams coordinator Mike O’Shea’s blunt and to-the-point assessment.
“We’re making great strides from where we were, in games 2, 3, 4… that sort of thing,” he continued. “But I don’t know that we’ve put it all together where we’re clicking on coverage and on return in the same game.
I’m still looking for that one.”
It is getting better on Argos special teams and one of the reasons is the emergence of Swayze Waters as a double threat. His punts are high and getting more and more accurate. His field goal attempts are zeroing in as well. After all, what’s the best way to prevent a 125 yard missed field goal return? Right. Make the field goal. Waters went 5 for 5 against the Stampeders, including a 48 yarder — the type that’s ripe for a big return if it does not split the uprights.
“I definitely feel a lot more comfortable,” said Waters, when asked to compare how he feels now as opposed to his first excursion with the Argos in Week 4 versus Winnipeg. He’d been signed earlier that week as a replacement for veteran Noel Prefontaine, who could not continue due to a lingering and worsening hip injury. Waters missed his first CFL attempt against the Bombers, from 45 yards, then converted a chip shot 18 yarder later in the evening. His punting average in that game was a decent 45.4 yards.
Compare that to Saturday night’s 5 for 5 outing, with 4 punts ripped for an average of 50.8 yards.
One observer at Argos practice asked if Waters was now one of the best kickers in the league. It’s a little early to be determining that, but his increased comfort and apparent accompanying reliability would have Argos fans hopeful that that assessment might be made when season’s end comes.
His perfect night in Calgary brought his field goal percentage up to over 85%, good on 12 of 14 attempts.
“I think we have a real good operation now,” Waters said of the field goal trio that includes long snapper Chad Rempel and holder Trevor Harris. “Our times are good, everybody’s comfortable. That helps me out, knowing that the snap and hold are going to be there at a certain time and way every time. “
The mistakes on field goals are diminishing. Waters even points to success on a less than perfect “operation” in the Calgary game.
The 48 yarder that I made? I hit it good, I hit it solid, but the rotation (of the ball) was a little off. We had a slight problem with the operation there. But that’s what I’m proud of. We’re to the point now where, our mess-ups, we can still get away with it. Our mess-ups aren’t as bad. Instead of missing 5 or 10 yards to the left, we’d be a couple of yards off.”
But, he notes, that still isn’t good enough.
“There’s always work to do. We’ll keep working hard to try and get that margin of error to be less and less and less,” he said.
On the punting side of things, Waters’ healthy hang time is a bonus, but only if the cover team plays it intelligently. Because, perhaps surprisingly to some, hang time isn’t everything in the Canadian Football League. O’Shea explains:
“That’s the thing I’m starting to learn and I think the fallacy with the CFL. The comparison between the CFL and the NFL is that the NFL’s all about hang time because of the ‘fair catch.’ The CFL is not necessarily about hang time because of ‘no yards’ and the halo and the 15 yard penalty when you infringe on the halo.”
Basically, a high arching punt that seems to stay in the air forever can actually hurt a cover team in the CFL, because the downfield tacklers might already be within the five yard encroachment zone when the returner makes the catch. That’s a 15 yard penalty, and since the average punt return is just over 10 yards, it’s a bad play.
(Incidentally, the reason you’re seeing so many teams ignore the no yards rule once the ball bounces on the turf is because it’s worth taking the penalty, as the 5 yards is LESS than the average punt return. According to the CFL rule book, it’s within the officials’ discretion to call a 15 yard penalty on such an infraction, if they deem the offending player or players to be “hovering” near the returner and making no attempt to back away. But, it is a rule that seems to be ignored as it is rarely, if ever, called.)
Waters spent a good portion of Thursday’s practice working on targeting his punts. O’Shea’s insistence that direction is as valuable as loft is one that the young kicker is getting used to.
“The main thing I’ve been working on is direction,” Waters said. “The field’s so wide here. In the past I’ve just drilled it up and tried to get it 45 or 50 yards. There’s not a ‘no yards’ rule in American football. If you can get it up with hang time of about 4 and half to 5 seconds, they don’t have a chance for a return. So that’s always what I’ve done and direction hasn’t really mattered as much. But here, with the ‘no yards’ and how wide the field is, I’ve really had to work on that.”
How’s that coming?
“We’re getting there,” he said.
That’s a sentiment that seems to tie in with the special teams coach. O’Shea wants more, but allows for at least some satisfaction over the way his units performed in Calgary.
“I’m very pleased with the last game, very pleased,” he said, with a slight smile.
If the nightmarish start to the season Argos special teams suffered through caused head coach Scott Milanovich to lose sleep at night, he won’t let on.
“Truthfully, I never really worried about special teams,” he said after laughing at the question. “I thought it was kind of an aberration when it wasn’t good early. I trust Mike (O’Shea). We have great special teams players.”
“Last week was a big test and, man, they were awesome,” the coach said of the Calgary game. “I have a lot of faith in what’s going on with special teams right now.”