Atlanta Falcons special teams are the symbiotic glue

The Atlanta Falcons have started the second half of the season the way many of us expected them to play all year, going 2-0 after the bye, with the offense burning up yardage and time as they pile up points, and the rightfully maligned offense playing to potential and allowing no touchdowns.

The Atlanta Falcons offense and defense are playing in sync for the first time since 2017, which helps the special teams’ performance. But quality special teams are the symbiotic glue that often spells the difference between a W or a frustrating loss. And the Falcons special teams have been especially tight during this good run.

Time to give props to the Atlanta Falcons special teams.

It hasn’t been obvious, but the squad has been showing signs of improvement since the first of the year after taking the reins from long-time special teams coach and Hard Knocks showboat Keith Armstrong and handing them to Ben Kotwica; especially on both sides of the punt return game.

The West Point grad immediately set about strapping some military discipline to the sloppy unit. Though the numbers aren’t startling, they’ve been playing all year with a crisp physicality long-missing. In spite of injuries to punter Matt Bosher, who also handled kickoff duties, the coverage on both kickoffs and punts has been earlier to arrive and more efficient when getting there. There have been some hiccups, but the difference has been noticeable.

NFL journeyman Kenjon Barner has handled the bulk of the returns, and while he isn’t a burner in the Devin Hester mode, he’s a heady player who makes good decisions. The fair catches inside the ten don’t happen like they did regularly in the Armstrong era.

His TD return in Charlotte was a textbook example of playing within the game, with Barner using his elusiveness to buy some vision and time, then finding a wall of teammates to escort him to the end zone, taking out the second-wave of Panthers defenders out on the way.

Barner’s punt return for a touchdown was just the 16th in franchise history and the first since Devin Hester five years ago.

Unfortunately. the team has parted ways with long-time kicker Matt Bryant and brought in Younghoe Koo the former Georgia Southern kicker and Youtube star. We may be finding him at that sweet spot in a kicker’s career when they learn the craft of their game, relying less on pure leg power and more on placement.

Atlanta Falcons fans have long had kicking game chops. We spent years watching Hall of Famer Morten Anderson and Balls of Steel Matt Bryant, and long-time fans will remember perennial prow-bowler and coffin-corner specialist John James.

While special teams in Atlanta aren’t special yet, they have come a long way very quickly and will continue to get even better under Kotwica.