Patriots Special Teams Report: Week 2 vs. Miami Dolphins

While special teams appeared to make little impact on Sunday’s nail-biter of a win against the pesky Dolphins, Ryan Allen’s struggles throughout the day had great significance in the field position battle. Miami’s average starting field position after Allen’s punts was the Miami 17, which, on paper, seems to indicate that Allen was able to flip the field successfully on several occasions.

However, Allen left a ton of “hidden yardage” on the field, meaning that the Dolphins mediocre field position could have easily been worse if Allen had been able to place his punts with better accuracy. None of his four punts landed inside the Miami 14 yard line, despite the fact that not a single one was from deep in Patriot territory. In fact, the deepest Allen was forced to punt from was the NE 41. He punted from the MIA 47, MIA 44, NE 41, and the NE 46, meaning that Allen had a relatively easy chance to back the Dolphins up to their own goal line, and failed to do so each time.

One particularly glaring example of Ryan’s inability to pin the Dolphins deep in their own territory occurred at the 10:49 mark in the 4^th quarter. Ryan could muster only a 28-yard punt that was downed by Shea McClellin at the Miami 26. Miami would go on to capitalize on this favorable field position, driving down the field and scoring a touchdown to draw within one score of the Pats late in the 4^th. Had Ryan been able to place his punt inside the Miami 10, that drive might have looked very different.

This particular punt highlights the overall struggles Allen has had in the young season. He is at a career low 36.2 yards per punt (not including return yardage), and his longest punt this season (45 yards) doesn’t even reach his average from his first three seasons (Allen’s career high is 46.4 yards per punt in 2014, and has never been below 45.9 in his three years as a pro, per the NFL’s website). While two games is far too small a sample size to begin to worry about Ryan Allen, he is off to a sluggish start that needs correcting.

Allen’s scuffles have yet to cost the Patriots a game, but his inability to pin the Dolphins deep Sunday was very nearly costly in terms of the end result. Allen must improve, and quickly, given that the field position battle will prove consequential this Thursday night, with rookie Jacoby Brissett slated to start his first ever professional game against a potent Texan defense hungry for a statement win in Foxboro. Pay close attention to how Allen adjusts Thursday night in what the Patriots hope to be a defensive battle with a heavy emphasis on field position throughout the night.