Miami's Shannon winning off the field

July 28, 2009

Posted by ESPN.com's Heather Dinich

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Despite the mounting pressure for him to win, there are certain things Miami coach Randy Shannon doesn't have to worry about entering his third season as head coach. He doesn't have to go into the locker room to make sure the players are keeping it neat. He doesn't have to be on campus making sure the players are in class. He trusts the players who are of drinking age know when to call it a night.

"That's easy for me now," Shannon said.

Not all of the positive changes at Miami during Shannon's short tenure have showed up in the win column. At the ACC Football Kickoff, I got a chance to ask him what he thought about his neighboring rivals being in the news so much for off-field incidents when Miami has had no reports of legal troubles. That's right, none. Florida State and Florida, however, could combine to field an entire team of players who have run into trouble with the law in the past year.

"I feel bad for other schools because we're all coaches and we're part of a coaching family and everybody goes through it," Shannon said. "When it hits you, you just have to weather the storm and get back in control of it. That's one thing we've done -- we went out and recruited the right type of players that are great athletes, great students, and the only thing they believe in is Miami. What I mean by that is they're going to represent the University of Miami, they love the University of Miami and the players on the team and that's the only thing they think about.

"Also we go into places that have winning programs," he said. "If you go look at what we've done in three years, you're going to see a lot of players from winning and state championship programs, and it's like anything -- if you're used to winning, it's going to come, and when it comes, it's going to be hard to stop."

It's only a matter of time before it starts.

Look for Colts TE to have a monster season

July 29, 2009

NC Sports clients lead Browns' special teams

Kick game more than numbers

Key is production, not time on the field

July 29, 2009

Tony Grossi

One of the common exaggerations in the NFL is that the kicking game is one-third of the total game. There's offense, defense and special teams, right? And each is weighted equally in the minds of coaches.

However, a review of the statistics would seem to dispel that myth.

Last season, the Browns ran 921 plays on offense and 1,004 on de fense. The total number of plays on special teams - in volving kickoffs and kickoff re turns, punts and punt returns, field goals tried and de fended, and extra points tried and defended - was 369.

That means that in 2008, the Browns spent 44 percent of their time on defense, 40 percent on offense and 16 percent on special teams.

This is not to devalue the importance of special teams. Surely, the Browns have won games - and lost them - primarily because of the play of special teams.

Phil Dawson's two windswept field goals in blizzard conditions against Buffalo in 2007 are an example of how important specialists are. Last year, also against Buffalo, Dawson accounted for 17 points - five field goals and two extra points - in the Browns' 29-27 win. Dawson's career-long 56-yard field goal with 1:39 left in the game provided the winning points. It was his 11th game-winning kick in 10 years with the Browns.

Special teams also account for the "hidden yardage" in games. For instance, when the Browns finished eighth in the NFL in scoring in 2007, their offense was boosted by the best kickoff return unit in the AFC, and second overall in the league. On the average, they took over possession at their 33-yard line after every kickoff - which means they reduced the field to 67 yards.

The new Browns special teams coordinator is Brad Seely, who has coached the kicking game for 20 years in the NFL, the last 10 with the New England Patriots.

Seely brings a solid reputation as one of the best special teams coaches in the league. He inherits a fairly solid nucleus of special teams players here.

“It’s been a team that I’ve played against before and felt like they gave you some real difficulties because of the players,” Seely said. “I think you can always improve that by maybe a change of the scheme, maybe a change of how you are going to get these guys motivated to play a little bit differently or a little harder, or somewhat come across with a different message of how we are going to be successful.”

Specialists

• Phil Dawson: Made 84.8 percent of field goals last two years, including 16 of 22 from 40 yards or more.
• Parker Douglass: Indoor Football League Kicker was signed in May when Dawson skipped voluntary workeouts.
• Ryan Pontbriand: The AFC Pro Bowl long snapper each of the past two years.
• Dave Zastudil: Has developed into one of the league’s best cold weather punters.