FOXBORO, Mass. — New England's kickoff coverage unit has finished up its first week of practice with new kicker Shayne Graham, and the adjustment period was nice and smooth.
What the Patriots will most miss about Stephen Gostkowski, who was placed on season-ending injured reserve this week, was his outstanding ability on kickoffs. Gostkowski's kickoffs traveled an average distance of 67.9 yards this season, which was a career best, and he registered 15 touchbacks on 42 kickoffs (an astounding 35.7 percent).
Here are the rest of Gostkowski's career kickoff stats:
2009: 91 kickoffs, 21 touchbacks (23.1 percent), 67.8 average distance
2008: 95 kickoffs, 17 touchbacks (17.9 percent), 64.0 average distance
2007: 112 kickoffs, 15 touchbacks (13.4 percent), 64.5 average distance
2006: 81 kickoffs, 12 touchbacks (14.8 percent), 65.5 average distance
Those are some pretty remarkable numbers, and that’s what will separate him from Graham. Coincidentally, Graham (85.2 conversion percentage) and Gostkowski (84.3) are the sixth and seventh most accurate field-goal kickers in NFL history, respectively, so that area projects to be a wash.
But here are Graham's career kickoff stats:
2010: Five kickoffs, one touchback (20 percent), 60.2 average distance
2009: 69 kickoffs, eight touchbacks (11.6 percent), 63.3 average distance
2008: 52 kickoffs, eight touchbacks (15.4 percent), 63.2 average distance
2007: 86 kickoffs, eight touchbacks (9.3 percent), 61.7 average distance
2006: 84 kickoffs, 13 touchbacks (15.5 percent), 63.9 average distance
2005: 91 kickoffs, two touchbacks (2.2 percent), 60.2 average distance
2004: 82 kickoffs, two touchbacks (2.4 percent), 60.5 average distance
2003: 77 kickoffs, four touchbacks (5.2 percent), 62.2 average distance
2002: Five kickoffs, zero touchbacks, 66.0 average distance
2001: 21 kickoffs, zero touchbacks, 55.5 average distance
Because Graham doesn’t have the same kickoff power as Gostkowski — really, that’s not a fault, it's a basic fact of life for most kickers — the Patriots' coverage unit will have a greater responsibility to limit their opponents' field position.
"We have to come with the same intensity," said Matthew Slater, who is second on the Patriots with eight tackles on special teams. "Shayne is a veteran in this league. We know what he can do. He's proven himself time [after] time in this league, and we have to have his back and cover down. You can never run down there expecting a touchback. You're always covering until you hear the whistle, and even then, you run through the end zone. We're going to cover with the same intensity with Shayne kicking it, have his back, be out there as a unit and cover down."
The coverage unit's greatest adjustment this week came with syncing up with Graham's timing as he approached the ball. Graham's steps toward the ball are different than Gostkowski's, so that forced the unit to get it together quickly.
"It's just more about his pattern, how he approaches the ball," said Devin McCourty, who has four special teams tackles. "We worked on timing, making sure you don’t go offsides. Shayne does a good job of getting the ball down the field, and now once he kicks it, we've just got to cover."
The Patriots' kickoff coverage unit has been strong this season and shouldn’t have a problem adjusting to a different kicker. With a slew of fast, disciplined players and strong tacklers, the Patriots should be in good shape.
"They're kind of the same," said Tracy White, who has a team-high nine tackles on special teams. "[Graham] can do kind of the same thing that Steve can do. It really wasn’t too much different. It's a little different alignment. Other than that, it's just about your assignment and getting the timing down."
