Friday, 21 February 2014

Breaking Down The 49ers roster: Special Teams

We round off my break down of the San Francisco 49ers roster with a look at the special teams.

Put simply the 49ers need to make only one change in the special teams, and that is to find a kick returner capable of providing an actual scoring threat. 

The departure of Ted Ginn left San Francisco without a specialist return man prior to this past season and, while LaMichael James performed to a solid standard following the release of wide receiver Kyle Williams, the running-back rarely threatened to score from either a kick or punt return.

Finding a decent return man in the off-season should be a priority for the 49ers, who will undoubtedly look to re-sign kicker Phil Dawson after a near-perfect season.

Dawson made 32 of his 36 field goals in the regular season and kicked the game-winners against the Seattle Seahawks in week 14 and the Green Bay Packers in the wild card round.

Meanwhile, Andy Lee remains a Pro Bowl calibre punter and Kevin McDermott has not made any mistakes at long-snapper.

Look for the 49ers to make every effort to re-sign Dawson, while Kassim Osgood, arguably the special teams player of year behind the kicker, has surely done enough to earn a new deal.


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