Houston Texans Positional Breakdown: Special Teams
By Randy Gurzi
Dec 21, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans kicker Randy Bullock (4) celebrates with punter Shane Lechler (9) during the game against the Baltimore Ravens at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
The Toro Times positional breakdown has come to the unit that gets overlooked until there is a major problem, the special teams. The Houston Texans have an up-and-down special teams unit as they employ one of the top punters in the game, but most other spots seem to fall just short.
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With punter Shane Lechler among one of the best in the business, it was nice to see kicker Randy Bullock step up in 2014 after a disastrous season the year before as he moved his average up nine percent in just one season.
Then there is the return game, and the team was an embarrassment in the kick return game last season totaling 422 yards returning, an average of 21.1 yards, while surrendering 1,169 yards at a 26 yard per return average. Top kick returner, safety Danieal Manning was not retained as he was not cutting it in either position he held for Houston.
The punt return stats did not fair much better as the top player averaged 6.2 yards per return and the team as a whole averaged 6.1 yards per punt return. For some perspective, opponents averaged 12.4 yards per punt return against Houston.
These stats show why there was such an overhaul of reserve players throughout the roster. Let’s check out how the team looks now at these important positions.
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