The 2015 Special Teams Unit, aka The Bomb Squad, won't be much different than the 2014 unit that dominated the league in a manner that hasn't been seen since Jim Brown was running over fools in the Cleve back in the day. In fact, you should expect it to be nearly identical to the one we had last year, domination of fools included.
But, because we like to be thorough here at Cat Scratch Reader, here's a look at the 2015 Bomb Squad who are amped up and ready to take the league by storm.
J.J. Jansen, Long Snapper
The long snapper is probably the most important cog in the whole machine while also being the least appreciated. If you were to poll a hundred Panthers fans, I would guess that over half of them wouldn't even be able to tell you the long snapper's name. Of course, you'd have to ask them before they read this article, or they would be able to tell you... but that's a different story for a different day.
Think about it: field goals and punts don't have much of a chance at being successful if Jansen is poor at his job. The only time you ever hear about the long snapper is when he screws up, so honestly it's a good thing that very few Panthers fans know who J.J. Jansen is. He rarely screws up, and he is one of the better long snappers in the league. He's also the most likely guy on the team to walk through a crowded mall without a single person realizing he's an NFL player. He's basically a walking incognito mode.
But it's okay J.J., we know who you are and we think you're pretty swell.
Chance of making the roster (and starting since we only keep one LS): 99.9%
Graham Gano, Place Kicker
Graham Gano is a good kicker. He's excellent at getting touchbacks and pretty good at making field goals. When he came to Carolina a lot of fans were worried that he wouldn't be very good (with good reason; he did have a subpar career in Washington before he arrived). But he's been better than expected, and that's a good thing.
Here are his stats from last season:
Year | Games | FGM | FGA | Lng | Pct | Blk | XPM | XPA | Pct | Blk |
2014 | 16 | 29 | 35 | 53 | 82.9 | 1 | 34 | 34 | 100 | 0 |
Expect more of the same this year. I'm sure there will be a camp body kicker brought in to save Gano's leg during training camp and the preseason, but I don't expect anyone to come in and take his job away from him (unless that rogue band member decides to come back and get his revenge by taking him out during training camp, which is unlikely but you never know with band people).
Chance of making the roster (and starting since we only keep one K): 99.9%
Brad Nortman, Punter
Brad Nortman. The Nortmeister. The Best Damn Punter in the World. Or B52 as his friends call him.
Future Hall of Famer Brad Nortman.
Okay, I'll stop with the superlatives and get to the point: Nortman's a good enough punter for most teams. Honestly, it would be best if he never saw the field because that would mean the offense was doing its job of moving the ball and scoring points, but when he does have to punt it's not a disaster (most of the time, anyway).
Here are his stats from last season:
Year | Games | Punts | Yards | Net Yds | Long | Avg | Net Avg | Blk | OOB | Dn | In-20 | TB | FC | Ret | Ret Yds | TD |
2014 | 16 | 72 | 3236 | 2701 | 72 | 44.9 | 36.5 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 26 | 5 | 20 | 28 | 435 | 1 |
Let's just forget the Minnesota game ever happened and act like those two blocks aren't there, okay? They weren't Nortman's fault so they shouldn't count. That seems fair, right?
Statistically, he's an average punter. He would be expendable if the right person came along to compete for his spot, but don't expect that to happen this season.
Wait, what did I just type?!
Kidding aside, a camp body punter will be brought in to save his leg, but Nortman's job is pretty safe.
Chance of making the roster (and starting since we only keep one P): 99.9%
Chance of being league MVP: 5%
Chance of a punt making me say something silly on Twitter at some point this season: 100%
The Return Game
I'd rather not discuss the punt returner situation from last year because it was an absolute disaster, so I'll just sum it up by saying thank goodness we re-signed Ted Ginn, Jr. He'll take over punt return duties this season and hopefully rescue it from the bottom of the abyss it fell into last year when we watched eight different guys find new and creative ways to screw up one job.
The backup punt returners are Corey "Don't Call Me Philly" Brown and Brentin Bersin.
Please stay healthy, Ted. Please.
The kick returners for this year will likely be Ted Ginn, Jr. and some combination of Brentin Bersin, Corey "Don't Call Me Philly" Brown, Fozzy Whittaker and Jarrett Boykin, depending on how the final 53-man roster shakes out. If I had to make a prediction I'd say that it will be Ginn, Jr. and a rotation of Whittaker and Boykin, but don't hold me to that (unless I end up being right; then I expect you to remind me of how smart I am).
The 2015 return game can be summed up in one statement: As long as it's not a complete disaster like it was in 2014, then we can't really complain too much. (Of course, we will anyway, right?)