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Buffalo Bills News, 1/31: 2012 Special Teams Rankings Released

Leodis McKelvin and Alex Carrington led the Buffalo Bills to a high special teams ranking before the Buffalo Bills replaced coach Bruce DeHaven with Danny Crossman, whose Detroit Lions were near the bottom in the rankings.

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Rick Stewart
Matt Warren is Associate Director of NFL coverage for SB Nation and previously covered the Bills for Buffalo Rumblings for more than a decade.

NFL special teams rankings: One Cowboy is a hero | Dallas News

"The Buffalo Bills finished 8th overall thanks largely to Leodis McKelvin's punt returns and Alex 'Megahand' Carrington's kick blocking. The team was first in that stat but worst in punt coverage."

So the Bills replaced the guy who led the No. 8 unit with the guy at No. 30? Got it. Bruce DeHaven had an overlooked season in 2012 because of the poor punt coverage, but all around the special teams weren't that bad. Danny Crossman's Detroit Lions special teams, on the other hand, were bad all around.

TMQ - What's really lurking in the psyche of these Harbaughs? - ESPN

"As regards Canton, TMQ hopes this will be Andre Reed's year. He played on a run-oriented team in a bad-weather city, yet left Buffalo as the NFL's No. 2 all-time receiver. On the same draft day Reed was selected, Jerry Rice was chosen by the Forty Niners. Rice played on a pass-oriented team in a good-weather city. If on that draft day, Reed had gone to San Francisco and Rice to Buffalo, there is a strong chance Reed would have become professional football's consensus all-time best receiver, while in 2013, the Hall of Fame selectors would be debating whether this Jerry Rice guy belongs in Canton."

That's a very interesting theory, but part of Reed's greatness was his desire to work hard. Would he have worked as hard as a first-round pick as he did as a fourth-rounder? The same point is made with Thurman Thomas, who says his slip to the second round fueled his competitive drive. Still, Tim Brown and Cris Carter, the two wide receivers forever linked to Reed thanks to the Hall of Fame debate, were the primary options on their teams while Reed had to contend for touches. That point has traditionally put Reed ahead of the other two despite lower numbers.

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