Houston Texans looking to improve special teams after rough start

Houston Texans are looking to improve their special teams after struggling in their first couple of weeks in the regular season.

The Houston Texans released second-year punter Trevor Daniel and added Bryan Anger to the roster on Tuesday afternoon. Daniel initially beat out Anger in the punting battle the Texans held through the preseason, but it was short-lived as Daniel was waived after their game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2.

The Texans have shown very little inclination to be patient with players that have put the team in a tough predicament early on in the season. Texans waived cornerback Aaron Colvin after he continued his trend of struggling to play up to par in the secondary since last season. Daniel was no exemption after he had a difficult time pinning the opposing team deep in their territory throughout the first two games.

He had 11 punts with only two being placed inside the opponents’ 20-yard line. Seven of his punts were returned by the opposing team and put additional pressure on the Texans special teamers to get downfield to limit the potential yardage that could be returned on Daniel’s punts.

Daniel’s regression could have been temporarily after having a solid season last year as a rookie, but the Texans are hoping for more consistency moving forward in a veteran punter like Anger. Texans had a net average of 40.9 yards per punt and those short punts played in a factor in their opponents having a shorter field to move their offense down the stretch of the game.

A punter can be an ally for the defense and give the opposing offense a long field until they are in scoring range. Texans are hoping with the change of punters that they can rekindle with the success they had last season and improve their level of play on special teams.