Yesterday, the Houston Texans and former roster member Dare Ogunbowale agreed on a contract to bring the running back and special teams ace back to his former team for another season.
Some may question the move, as there are definitely big ticket problems that Houston is facing that Ogunbowale's presence won't fix (defensive miscues, holistic offensive ineptitude, etc.). However, one thing that Ogunbowale has had a knack for in the past was making plays in the special teams department, which desperately needs any kind of spark it can get after another unsteady performance this past Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.
As a result of the blowups, special teams coordinator Frank Ross has been facing increasing pressure to right the ship before things continue to spiral out of control. For context, his portion of the game planning has been responsible for a bevvy of beneficial field positioning outcomes for Houston's first three opponents.
Can Dare Ogunbowale help fix the Houston Texan's struggling special teams unit?
Buffalo Bills starting field positions
Kickoff coverage
- First Drive: Kick lands at Buffalo's 8 yard line, runner stopped at Buffalo's 34 yard line (26 yards)
- Third Drive: Kick lands at Buffalo's 1 yard line, runner stopped at Buffalo's 38 yard line (37 yards)
- Fourth Drive: Touchback. Ball brought out to Buffalo's 35 yard line
- Ninth Drive: Kick lands at Buffalo's 5 yard line, runner stopped at Buffalo's 34 yard line (29 yards)
- 10th drive: Kick lands at Buffalo's 1 yard line, runner stopped at Buffalo's 20 yard line (19 yards)
Average field position on kickoffs: Buffalo starts at the 32 yard line
Punt coverage
- Fifth Drive: Kick goes 57 yards to the Buffalo 4 yard line, downed.
- Seventh Drive: Kick goes 48 yards to the Buffalo 28 yard line, runner stopped at Buffalo's 36 yard line (8 yards). A penalty brings Buffalo back to their 14 yard line.
- Eighth Drive: Kick goes 44 yards to the Buffalo 47 yard line, runner stopped at Houston's 43 yard line (10 yards)
- 11th Drive: Kick goes 59 yards to the Buffalo 4 yard line, downed.
Average distance on punts (air yards): 52 yards
Average return yards allowed: 4.5 return yards (not counting the accepted penalty)
Cincinnati Bengals starting field positions
Kickoff coverage
- First Drive: Kick lands at Cincinnati's 1 yard line, runner stopped at Cincinnati's 41 yard line (40 yards)
- Sixth Drive: Kick lands at Cincinnati's 3 yard line, runner stopped at Cincinnati's 28 yard line (25 yards). A penalty moved Cincinnati back to their 18 yard line.
- Ninth Drive: Kick lands at Cincinnati's 3 yard line, runner stopped at Cincinnati's 28 yard line (25 yards)
Average field position on kickoffs: Cincinnati starts at the 32 yard line (not counting the accepted penalty)
Points lost on missed field goals: 6 points
Punt coverage
- Second Drive: Kick goes 39 yards to the Cincinnati 46 yard line. Downed.
- Third Drive: Kick goes 47 yards to the Cincinnati 40 yard line, then travels to the 48 yard line. Runner stopped at Cincinnati's 40 yard line.
- Seventh Drive: Kick goes 35 yards to the Cincinnati 29 yard line. Runner stopped at Cincinnati's 44 yard line (15 yards). A penalty gives Cincinnati 15 more yards, advancing them to Houston's 41 yard line.
- 10th Drive: Kick goes 49 yards to the Cincinnati 14 yard line. Runner stopped at the Cincinnati 18 yard line (4 yards).
- 11th Drive: Kick goes 45 yards to the Cincinnati 15 yard line. A penalty gives Cincinnati five more yards, advancing them to Cincinnati's 20 yard line.
Average distance on punts (air yards): 43 yards
Average return yards allowed: 3.8 return yards (not counting the accepted penalty)
Indianapolis Colts special teams summary
And then there's this past Sunday's failure of a showing against the Colts. Just on starting field position alone (both kickoff and punting), Houston's special teams unit allowed:
1st Quarter
- Colts begin at their own 36
- Colts begin at their own 31
2nd Quarter
- Touchback, Colts begin at their own 35
- Colts begin at their own 9
3rd Quarter
- Colts begin at their own 28
- Colts begin at their own 30
4th Quarter
- Touchback, Colts begin at their own 35
- Touchback, Colts begin at their own 35
Indianapolis lived in plus territory all throughout the game this past Sunday, which created even more pressure for a Texans' defense that had already been leaking oil across their first two contests beforehand. And as we already know, advantageous field positioning was also key in the Colts' game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter on Sunday.
After a second consecutive touchback by Fairbairn ahead of Houston's "gotta have it" final defensive possession, Houston could only watch as Colts quarterback Daniel Jones proceeded to walk his offense 29 yards down the field in order to set up the eventual matchup-securing 53-yard field goal.
While an entire unit won't be fixed by just one player, Ogunbowale still represents one of the first real attempts at at least addressing what could be a personnel issue with the special teams unit. Even if just a little bit, I feel better about at least one component to an otherwise sputtering unit through the first three weeks of NFL play.
We'll see how much Ogunbowale's return can help as Ross continues to try and figure out how to help his formerly stellar unit.
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