Man, our DEF is really starting to look rock-solid. This frees up Tanny. The man is really smart. This is gonna be some draft for us this year....really looking forward to it now.
Bold statement... not like our special teams have set the world on fire. Outside kick-off returns last year, and than Leon for that, our special teams have been far from stellar by any stretch of the imagination. Let's hope it motivates the special teams...
Incorrect. Although he undoubtedly SUCKED, it was nowhere near as bad as picking Tony Mandarich number two overall in '89. The three picks immediately following him? Barry Sanders, Derrick Thomas, and Deion Sanders. Carrol went by many nicknames here, my two favorites were "Highway 28" and "Turnstile 28".
In 06' they were probably without a doubt the best in the league. Not a single kick return past the 40 yard line, among the best in the league in almost every measurement (downed inside 20, KR avg, PR avg, avg starting position). In 07' they fell apart like every other part of the team, and they rebounded last year, though not up to 06' levels. With Izzo, Carroll, Smith and Wright, four players who are either very good or great on special teams (though their o/d output is questionable at best, though my Smith argument is for another time) and this fact alone should make a huge impact towards the betterment of the special teams, that weren't really that bad last year.
