Countdown to Camp: Identifying the New Special Teams Aces

For the first time in years--maybe for the first time in franchise history, now that we think about it--the Giants have brought in a head coach that doesn’t specialize in either the offense or the defense.

In recent years, we've seen how Ben McAdoo and Pat Shurmur, both hired to be the head coach of the team, insisted on keeping their respective reputations as "offensive playcalling gurus" alive by retaining the weekly playcalling. And as we saw in both instances, devoting so much time to calling plays when you're a head coach impeded their ability to manage the team from a holistic perspective.

The new head man in charge is Joe Judge, a long time assistant of Bill Belichick and the special teams coordinator for the Patriots since 2015. The Patriots saw a lot of success with Judge calling the shots on special teams--they blocked four kicks last year and routinely did well in terms of field position.

The Giants special teams coordinator from last year, Thomas McGaughey, was retained, allowing Judge to focus on performing the job that he was hired to do. This should result in a more unified approach and (hopefully) better results.

But still, let's look at special teams, one-third of the game which sometimes doesn't get its just due despite its importance in deciding starting field position. According to Pro Football Focus, the Patriots have finished in the top 10 of special teams units ever since Judge took over as the coordinator (outside of 2017 where they were 11th). The Patriots were third last season, fifth in 2018, and first in 2016.

As for the Giants under McGaughey, the special teams unit finished 13th in 2018 and third in 2019.

The Patriots historically have done an excellent job allocating roster spots almost exclusively to special teams aces. Not many NFL teams follow this format and mostly rely on back-up defensive players and skilled-positon players to execute special teams roles.

However, New England has had WR Matthew Slater, RB Brandon Bolden, and DS Nate Ebner playing almost exclusively on special teams.

Judge added the latter player, Ebner, to the Giants in the off-season, and the former Patriot is going to look to team up with Giants’ special teams aces Cody Core and Sean Chandler.

The two players will look to form a similar unit to the Patriots under Judge and McGaughey's tutelage. Both Chandler and Core were vital to the special teams’ units in 2019. Chandler had three tackles, and Core had five, but their ability to cover punts and limit returns while keeping balls from going into the end zone on punt coverage was very good.

For reference, only eight players in the NFL had double-digit tackles on special teams, so it’s not a very common phenomenon. (Ebner had seven tackles last season and nine in 2018.)

The 2020 Giants are going to emphasize players who can excel on special teams. There will be available roster spots for players like Montre Hartage, Chris Williamson, and Josiah Tauaefa that may be up for grabs--perhaps even over a player like Chandler--if any of those three can prove their worth on specials.

The familiarity with Judge and the overall effectiveness through the last several seasons leads me to conclude that Ebner is going to be the special teams ace on this squad, with Core also being a primary contributor.

Judge used Ebner in a variety of different ways on a punt block. Ebner also showed an exceptional ability to locate ball carriers and tackle in space in return situations. I won’t be shocked if Ebner blocks a punt or two in 2020 since his role allowed him to come away unblocked a few different times in 2019.

Core is going to be interesting as a gunner on punts too. He should be the primary gunner who will have the first attempt to make a tackle while also being tasked at pinning the ball before it goes into the endzone on deep punts.

Both of these players will hopefully be unsung heroes on the 2020 Giants, and both are very valuable. The Giants have the personnel, coaching, and they should be looking at improving the unit from a coverage perspective, but the kicking situation is a whole other animal at the moment that will need to be resolved pending Aldrick Rosas' pending legal issue.