Miami should expect good return on Ginn investment
When coaches preach about football, they always emphasize the three phases of the game: offense, defense and special teams. The third phase, however, doesn't often get the attention it deserves.
An effective return game is vital to special teams, obviously. Many important games are won and lost as a result of a big return. Unfortunately for the Miami Dolphins , such an event has been a rare occurrence during their long history.
Here is a brief recap.
On Jan. 2, 2005, Wes Welker returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens . That was the team's first kick return for a TD since 1989. The last punt return for a score came in 2000, when Jeff Ogden scored on an 81-yard scamper against the Green Bay Packers , the first since 1993. That makes four touchdown returns in 17 years. To be fair, Welker was an adequate punt return man (he averaged 9.2 yards per runback in 2006), but with his departure to New England, Miami had to find a replacement this offseason.
Enter rookie Ted Ginn Jr., the ninth overall pick in last month's draft, a former Ohio State star.
Ted Ginn Jr. set a Big Ten record with eight touchdown returns (six punt return TDs and two kickoff scores) in only three seasons with the Buckeyes. He capped off his special teams heroics for OSU by returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown in the National Championship game against Florida; unfortunately, he injured his foot shortly after.
Crunch the numbers for a second. Ted Ginn Jr. has produced twice as many big plays in the return game in three years than the Dolphins have in nearly a two-decade span.
It's clear that Dolphins head coach Cam Cameron was enamored by that fact. Upon drafting Ted Ginn Jr., Cameron immediately justified his decision.
He described Ted Ginn Jr. as "just a football player." The new coach said that Ted Ginn Jr. "has tremendous speed and with that comes a rare ability to change the game. It is so vivid, in my mind, what an impact kick and punt returner can do to your team, especially if you're a good defensive team."
The addition of a playmaker of Ted Ginn Jr.'s caliber should be the determining factor in reversing the Dolphins' historic return woes. Of course, this is contingent on him making a full recovery from his injury. But when Ted Ginn Jr. is ready, he will surely impress and mesmerize Dolphins fans clamoring for a special teams gamebreaker.
He has the support of Cameron, who promised to the fan base, "you will be thrilled every time you watch him as a punt returner."
Considering past history, if the rookie has any impact whatsoever, it will be a dramatic improvement.
Read more at www.realfootball365.com
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