Football Outsiders: Special teams should be Cardinals’ biggest priority in free agency
Mar 6, 2017, 7:56 PM | Updated: Mar 7, 2017, 11:36 am
Arizona Cardinals kicker Chandler Catanzaro (7) watches as the ball bounces back after the extra point was blocked during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 11, 2016, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
It was an ominous sign that the Arizona Cardinals only made it through Week 1 last season before fans began worrying about their kicker.
It was scary the team was reevaluating its rookie long snapper by September.
From kicker Chandler Catanzaro, to punter Drew Butler, to long snapper Kameron Canaday, Arizona lost games in 2016 because of botched special teams play. Butler and Canaday lost their jobs because of it.
With so many holes remaining, it won’t be so easy for the Cardinals to address all of their special team needs in free agency. Football Outsiders’ Carl Yoder, writing for ESPN, believes Arizona must use the next few weeks to patch up a problem or two.
The Cardinals need to bring in camp competition for kicker Catanzaro, stop churning through mediocre punters, and acknowledge that Patrick Peterson hasn’t been strong on punt returns since his rookie season.
Arizona finished 7-8-1 on the season, but by Football Outsiders’ “Pythagorean Theorem,” it was projected to reach 9.4 wins. It’s easy to find where those potential two-plus wins went.
Catanzaro missed a game-winning field goal attempt in a loss to the New England Patriots in Week 1 and later on missed an overtime attempt against the Seahawks in what became a tie. Seattle, by the way, took advantage of a blocked punt to score late in that game.
By Football Outsiders’ metrics, the Cardinals special teams unit ranked 30th of 32 teams in its DVOA statistic. Breaking it down by area, Arizona came in 29th in field goals/extra points, 31st in punt returns and 26th in punting.
Skeptics of advanced analytical formulas would find it hard to argue about those figures.
Plainly put, the Cardinals’ special teams weren’t good.
Now it’s a wonder if getting healthy — several key special-teamers were lost to injury — and making key signings of specialists will be enough to bring the Cardinals’ special teams production back to respectability.
