Last weekend, in the NFC and AFC Championship games, special teams played a huge factor.
At Foxborough, Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff missed a 32-yard field goal attempt with 11 seconds left the Patriots’ 23-20 victory.
At San Francisco, Kyle Williams, a reserve return man filling in for the injured Ted Ginn Jr., muffed his second punt of the game - this one in overtime - leading to Lawrence Tynes’s 31-yard field goal and the Giants’ 20-17 win.
“The thing I love about playing here is that we have a lot of veteran players as part of our special teams unit,’’ said Slater, the group’s captain. “Many of us have made careers out of it, so we really appreciate and respect how valuable special teams can be to a game.
“We realize at any given point in time a special teams play can change the outcome of a game. I think we have guys who really buy into that and really believe that and we prepare in such a way that, even though we might be out there for just 10-15 snaps a game, those 10-15 snaps are just as important as offensive and defensive snaps.’’
When it comes to filling out his roster, Bill Belichick said the number of position players who also play special teams has to complement those core special teamers.
“You just have to strike a balance,’’ Belichick said. “You have to send somebody out there on the punt team, you have to send somebody out there to cover kickoffs, you have to send somebody out there to return them, so who is that going to be?
“You have to have somebody to back up your offensive and defensive starters, so who is that going to be? What’s the best balance?’’
Asked who ranked as the best special teams player he ever coached, Belichick replied, “There have been a lot. Obviously there are a lot of good players. Certainly Larry Izzo did a great job for us here as a player and special teams captain, leader. He was a great tone-setter. I would definitely put him up there at the top of that list of the players I’ve coached.’’
