Special teams play is often overlooked. For the Washington Redskins in 2018, that was one of the team’s few consistent bright spots.
There’s nothing particularly sexy about special teams. Generally speaking, punters, kickers, long snappers, and other specialists aren’t talked about in the lead up to games. But at the end of the day, these players are often what helps to decide a game, as they often control the field position battle.
In 2018, the Redskins had a more than solid special teams unit. The squad saw Ben Kotwica lead a great attack that saw the team’s primary kicker and punter put forth the best seasons of their respective careers. Losing Kotwica is certainly going to have an impact on the ‘Skins moving forward, and it will be interesting to see what happens for the unit in 2019.
For now, we’re going to take one last look at the 2018 season to see how the specialists fared. Here’s look at the special teams grades for last season.
Long snappers
I’m grouping the long snappers because there simply isn’t a lot to say about the position. Generally speaking, it’s better for a long snapper to be completely unknown or unheard of. If you’re a long snapper and the casual fan knows your name, chances are it’s not for a good reason.
In 2018, the Redskins had to use two long snappers. Nick Sundberg, who has been with the team since 2009, started the season as the lone player on the roster. Per usual, he was a solid, steady contributor for the squad.
However, Sundberg missed the final three games of the season after suffering a back injury. It was an unfortunate development for the team’s longest-tenured player, but he ended up on Injured Reserve. It marked just the second time in the past five years that Sundberg hasn’t played a 16-game season.
The good news for the Redskins is that Sundberg’s replacement, Andrew East, was a solid replacement. He didn’t make any major mistakes in the final three games of the season, and that could be enough to earn him a starting long snapper job somewhere next year. At the very least, he will be on the short-list for the ‘Skins if Sundberg misses time in 2019.
Overall, the play of the long snappers was fine. They’ll both get a solid grade for their performance in 2018.
Grade for Sundberg and West: B
Dustin Hopkins
In 2017, there were cries from some to move on from Dustin Hopkins. He missed half of that season with an injury, and his replacement Nick Rose proved to be solid for the Redskins. However, the team stuck with Hopkins and didn’t bring in any competition for him in 2018. That move paid off.
Hopkins rewarded the Redskins with the best season of his career. He made nearly 90 percent of his field goals and only missed one extra point. In total, he didn’t miss a field goal from inside of 40 yards but also proved that his leg strength and accuracy from deep was improving.
Coming into the 2018 season, Hopkins’ biggest weakness was his ability from 50-plus yards. In four season as the Redskins primary place kicker, Hopkins had only gone 5-for-13 from that range. In 2018, that drastically improved.
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Hopkins attempted five kicks from beyond 50 yards last season. He made four of them. He demonstrated much better accuracy and has clearly learned how to control his kicks while still getting enough on them to make them. In short, he has improved his range which makes him more of a viable option for the NFL.
Hopkins won’t turn 29 until October, so there’s a chance that he could continue to kick for Washington long-term. Kicker was once thought to be a weakness for the squad, but if Hopkins proves that his performance last year wasn’t a fluke, he will solidify this spot on the depth chart.
For the first time in awhile, the Redskins have hope at kicker. For that reason, Hopkins deserves a high mark, and he will squeak out a grade in the A-range.
Grade for Hopkins: A-minus
Tress Way
A good case can be made for Tress Way as the Redskins MVP. That may be seen as an indictment of the season — after all, Way is a punter — but Way’s name should be celebrated for the phenomenal season he put forth.
Last season, Way was the best punter in the NFL. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. On 79 kicks, Way averaged 45.3 yards. That was good for 13th in the NFL, but the more impressive number was his punts inside the 20.
Way landed 41 punts inside the 20-yard-line. That alone would be great, as that led the league. However, Way did that without recording a single touchback. That is borderline impossible to do, yet Way was able to achieve that. No other team had fewer than two touchbacks on punts. Somehow despite this, he didn’t earn Pro Bowl or All-Pro nods.
For the Redskins, Way constantly flipped the field and gave their defense a fighting chance. Even when their offense sputtered, Way did everything he could to help the team win the field position battle. He’s clearly one of the best punters in the league and will continue to succeed moving forward, especially since he can fake the occasional punt, as he showed with is one completion last season.