Miami Dolphins still stumbling on punt coverage

[BAMAPHIN 22]

Dolphins punter Brandon Fields hit the ball on the sweet spot, sending it soaring 64 yards downfield at Tampa's Raymond James Stadium.
It was a picturesque boot with an unsightly and all-too-familiar result.

The Bucs' Clifton Smith returned it 30 yards, igniting a scoring drive and re-igniting memories of the Dolphins' punt-coverage problems last season.
"We don't want to be that handicap this year," said running back Patrick Cobbs, who is part of the coverage squad. "We definitely have to step up."

Many steps remain for the punt coverage unit to resemble coach Tony Sparano's brand of mistake-free football.

In three pre-season games, opponents have averaged 12.3 yards per punt return, including a 58-yard runback by Carolina.

In 2008, the Dolphins allowed 13.1 yards per punt return, 29th in the league. Those returns included two pivotal touchdowns - a 70-yarder in a one-point loss at Houston and a 93-yarder by Oakland that Miami survived only because of a last-minute comeback.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/dolphi...0831dolphins.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=46

 

[arsenal]

yeah why cant we field a decent special teams unit? maybe all the new blood in there will need some time to get it all together... with new faces like Clemons, Hartline, Wake, etc those guys might need some time to tighten their techniques and responsibilities on special teams... hopefully they will, they got 1.5 more weeks!

 

[Ferretsquig]

The phins haven't had even average coverage units since Westhoff left. Maybe it was the personnel and JJ's willingness to put starters out there....who knows. But Westhoff sure has been making the phins look foolish for letting him go to New York.

 

[So Be]

yeah why cant we field a decent special teams unit? maybe all the new blood in there will need some time to get it all together... with new faces like Clemons, Hartline, Wake, etc those guys might need some time to tighten their techniques and responsibilities on special teams... hopefully they will, they got 1.5 more weeks!

I'm not concerned, YET. We played a bunch of guys who will not make the team. When we settle in, we have players like Davis, Smith, and the ones you mentioned coming down to cover. That's a far cry from what we had last year.

Last season, none of our picks were ST guys. This draft is much different, and the talent should make a big difference.