At least 1 Bears specialty
Tabor’s special teams a redeeming element in forgettable season
When the Bears gathered in April for the start of the offseason program, questions were swirling outside Halas Hall about the team’s kicking competition.
Inside the building, the returning special teams players wanted to know one thing: Who won coordinator Chris Tabor’s point-production system?
The race was tight entering the wildcard-round playoff game against the Eagles. Tabor’s detailed system, which adds or subtracts points for just about everything imaginable — tackles, key blocks, knockdowns, penalties drawn, penalties committed — hadn’t been finalized when players left in January.
Sitting in the front of the meeting room the first time they gathered was a framed jersey for rookie linebacker Joel Iyiegbuniwe with a plaque detailing his standing as the top points earner.
“We didn’t know there was any kind of award until the season was over, until the meeting,” Iyiegbuniwe said. “So this year going in, guys are like, ‘Oh, yeah, I want my jersey.’ ”
The competition for a framed jersey might not seem like a whole lot, but for core special teams players who play sparingly on offense or defense, it means a great deal. It’s what a group of grinders, many playing on minimum contracts, aims for.
Halfway through this season, another tight race has emerged. Tabor estimates six players are in the mix to be No. 1, and the competition has paid dividends for the team.
The Bears boast the second-best special teams units in the NFL, according to Football Outsiders’ comprehensive ranking. That implies there is much more to the group than the intense focus on Eddy Pineiro, the winner of the kicking competition.
Yes, the Bears would have defeated the Chargers in Week 8 had Pineiro not missed two field goals, and there was an unsightly blocked punt for a safety the week before against the Saints. But the Bears have been very good on special teams, a dramatic improvement from a year ago, when they finished No. 26 according to Football Outsiders.
“We talk about it,” Tabor said of the rankings. “There’s a standard we want to set and chase and go after, and I don’t think there is anything wrong with talking about it. Obviously, there are plenty of areas we have to improve.
“I take it so personally because when you think about the Chicago Bears, you’re supposed to play good special teams, and we’ve still got a long way to go.”
The standard Tabor refers to was established by former Bears special teams coordinator Dave Toub, for whom Tabor worked during his first stint with the Bears in 2008-10. Under Toub, who ran special teams for Lovie Smith from 2004 to 2012, the Bears had a dominant run, ranking first in 2006, ’07, ’10 and ’11 and finishing no lower than sixth between 2006 and 2012.
Since then, the only time they have finished in the top half of the league was in 2013, when they ranked 11th under Joe DeCamillis.
The front office deserves credit for ending a long-running return problem by signing free agent Cordarrelle Patterson to a two-year, $10 million contract. Patterson, who declined two interview requests for this story, is the most dangerous kickoff returner in the league and had a 102-yard touchdown against the Saints. He’s the primary reason the Bears rank fifth in average starting field position, at the 25.2-yard line.
The Bears lead the NFL in punt-return average, too, with Tarik Cohen averaging 11.3 yards while handling all 20 opportunities.
The presence of an elite returner, or two in this case, raises the level of the other 10 players on the field, something those who played with Devin Hester used to talk about.
“We have two returners that can do something with the football,” Tabor said. “It is a fact — and it doesn’t matter whether it was here when we were with Devin or when I was in Cleveland with (Josh) Cribbs or Travis Benjamin — if there is a guy they know can do something with the ball, the other players don’t want to be the guy who lets their guy make the tackle. That always helps.”
The Bears sank in the special teams rankings last season for a variety of reasons. The kicking situation was a well-documented mess with Cody Parkey. The kickoff-return game was among the least productive in the NFL. Patterson, then with the Patriots, hit the Bears for a touchdown return. Factor in a group of young players learning the system Tabor and his assistant, Brock Olivo, were installing, and there were growing pains.
Pineiro has been steady since winning the offseason competition. He’s 12-for-15 on field goals and 14-for-14 on extra points. His strong leg has been good on kickoffs. Now he must adjust to the cold weather, something he’s preparing for with weekly trips to Soldier Field to practice.
“Pat O’Donnell’s intangibles with regards to Eddy, people don’t know that,” Tabor said of the Bears punter and holder. “And the other Pat (long snapper Patrick Scales), too, I call them the Uncle Pats. Behind the scenes, how they help him in his development, it’s been awesome.”
Ten-year veteran Sherrick McManis, the leader of the unit, has led the team in special teams tackles in six of his eight seasons with the Bears. The core around him is mostly younger players such as linebackers Nick Kwiatkoski and Iyiegbuniwe, tight end Ben Braunecker and safety DeAndre Houston-Carson.
With familiarity in the scheme, it’s easy to make in-game adjustments on the sideline, and the results have been positive.
“We’ve got a lot of guys that make their living on special teams in that room,” O’Donnell said. “Sherrick, CP, obviously the interior guys, a lot of linebackers, so all of those guys love special teams and it’s really cool they take a lot of pride in it.
“It’s the first thing they do in meetings (to start the week): They go in there and look at the point-production chart.”
Players can appeal if they believe they were shorted points in the coaches’ review. They better be armed with facts if they’re going to question the chart, though. Kwiatkoski, who is tied with McManis for the lead with four tackles, currently is atop the chart. He lost out to Iyiegbuniwe by one point last year for a framed jersey.
“The point-production chart all leads back to doing your job,” Kwiatkoski said. “Having that competitive thing going on kind of helps us, kind of gives us a little extra motivation, and that leads to unit success.
“Special teams is one of those things that may get overlooked in the grand scheme of things, but it is responsible for a lot of field position. We take a lot of pride in that when we step on the field.”
The Bears have a nice half-season behind them on special teams, a good start as they aim for re-establishing themselves as one of the premier units in the league.
“Stats are just ideas about numbers,” Tabor said. “The tape is really who you are. We want to make sure we put out good tape and are affecting the game in a positive manner. There are times, unfortunately, we have affected it in a negative manner, and it’s how fast can you get over those plays and how fast you fix them.”
Said Houston-Carson: “There are still things we can clean up. I’d like it if you would ask me about where we are ranked after Week 17 to see where we stand.”