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Raiders' Special Teams Exploring Possible Advantages

Originally posted on FanNation Raider Maven
By Ezekiel Trezevant IV | Last updated 12/6/23

One of the many traits of Las Vegas Raiders Special Teams Coordinator Tom McMahon is his in-depth preparation.

With kicker Daniel Carlson punter and AJ Cole on in the roster, Las Vegas boasts one of the best such combinations in the National Football League.

The Raiders are near the top of the league in fewest kickoff and punt return yards allowed.

As the rules of special teams continue to change regularly, McMahon shared his process of finding as many competitive advantages as possible.

"My process is, I'm going to watch it; if I see it, I'm going to attack leverage," McMahon said. "So, if I see a leverage breakdown in an opponent, I'm going to try to attack that.

"If I see something that's going to allow us to create leverage, such as hang time, which is leverage, or kicking the ball to a red line, if I find a technique or a way to put the ball on a tee, I think we owe it to our organization and to our players to experiment with it."

McMahon views the future of traditional kickoffs and onside kicks as ever-changing, but believes that no matter how much the rules might change, both kicks are here to stay.

"I think we're always going to have kickoffs," McMahon said. "I think we'll always have kickoff returns. I think it's just one of those things where, at the end of the day, the No. 1 thing is player safety. I do agree with that."

For McMahon, player safety is important, but he doesn't see the NFL's increased focus on that as reason enough to eliminate kickoffs.

"As a special teams coach, I want to protect these players and that's, no different than anybody else," McMahon said. "Do I want to eliminate the kickoff? No, but if you can come up with a rule that protects them, and we are still allowed to kick off and tackle, I'm all for it.

"No different than the fair catch rule this year or any of the other changes. I think that guys are not going to let this play die. There are too many great kickers and too many great returners. It's how you start every single game. I think it will always be in the game, but I think we're going to have to make adjustments."

McMahon said he and Las Vegas' special teams unit enjoy searching for new ways to give themselves a competitive advantage on game days.

As recovered onside kicks continue to decrease across the league, McMahon hopes the Raiders' special teams are the unit to generate more creative ways to get the ball back when called upon.

"That's the thing I like with these guys," McMahon said. "I'll say: 'Hey, you want to hit a banana ball, you want to hit this?' and they hit it. If they can really really hit it consistently, then we stick with it. If they can't, then we move forward and find something else. They like that.

"I think we need to get in that lab and find that kick. Once one of us finds it, that percentage will go up, and we'll learn how to stop it. I like that part, I like the schematic part. I want to learn from other coaches. I hope that I can find that one kick when we need it. I hope that we have it. I hope in our lab, we have the kick that we need."

The Raiders continue to search for advantages in every facet of the game and Las Vegas will continue to expect much from what is considered one of the better special teams units in the NFL.

The Silver and Black will return home to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas to take on the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, December 10, at 4:05 p.m. EST/1:05 p.m. PST.

This article first appeared on FanNation Raider Maven and was syndicated with permission.

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