Here's To You Steve Hoffman

From the FanPosts. -Chris

For those of you who don’t recognize this name right away don’t worry, Steve Hoffman was a relative unknown before the start of the 2009 season. But make no bones about it, Steve Hoffman is a football guy and a kicking wiz.

Hoffman went to Dickinson College where he not only was the teams place kicker and punter but also played quarterback, running back and wide receiver. He got his start in coaching at the University of Miami where he coached punters and kickers including his prize pupil Jeff Feagles.

Hoffman then went on to coach for the Cowboys, Falcons and Dolphins. He never held a position where he was the head man in charge. He spent the majority of his time as a special teams assistant but made a name for himself by being able to quickly develop young kickers/punters into top performers.

Last year in Miami, Hoffman coached rookie kicker Dan Carpenter. Carpenter went on to make 21/25 field goals including a Miami Dolphins rookie record 14 straight. This year Miami is tied for first in FG percentage, making 19/20 for 95%. Obviously Hoffman is a Bill Parcels type of guy, he was one of two coaches retained after Cam Cameron’s firing in the 2008 offseason.

Hoffman also coached a handful of rookie punters and kickers for the Cowboys while leading his specialists to achieve 15 separate club records during his time in Dallas. I could continue on about Hoffman’s achievements, but you get my point. This guy has been apart of some pretty impressive special teams units albeit in an assistant position and has gained respect around the league for his work with rookie specialists. This is one offseason hire that we should applaud Scott Pioli and Todd Haley for. They took a chance on a guy who had been a career assistant to date and gave him full reign over our special teams. And you know what, the numbers are backing this hire up, lets have a look.

The 2008 Chiefs kickers made 16/22 FG’s or 72.7% with a long of 45 yds for a total of 79 points. This year, through 12 games our rookie kicker has made 18/22 field goals or 81.8% including a long of 53 yds for a total of 72 points. Hoffman was a guy who helped push the chiefs to draft Succop out of South Carolina and I have to say that it feels good to have a young kicker with a bright future ahead. Our kick return team has become slightly better increasing our return avg. to 22.5 yds/return this year which is up from 21.5 yds/return last year. But lets not forget we did have a 97 yd kickoff return for a TD, go Jamaal! Our kickoff coverage team has become one of the best in the league. They are allowing only 21.6 yds/return with no TD’s, that’s top 10 in the league. If its one thing the 2009 Chiefs have improved upon its field position. I can’t remember how many times last year we put our defense’s back against the wall by giving up a big return.

Now it would be foolish to think that Dustin Colquitt wasn’t that good before Steve Hoffman came along. The guy averaged 44.4 yds/punt last year with a net average of 41.4 yards, pretty solid numbers. This year Colquitt has improved on those numbers, increasing his average to 45.8 yds/punt with a net average of 41.9 yds/punt. But the statistic that really stands out to me is punts inside the 20. In 2008 Colquitt boomed 27 punts inside the 20 yard line for a inside 20 percentage of 38.6% with 8 touchbacks. This year through only 12 games Dustin has placed 32 punts inside the 20 or 42.1% with only 4 touchbacks. Punting a ball inside the 20 is all about concentration, technique and accuracy rather than raw power. By the numbers, Dustin has improved in all areas and I not only attribute that to a great punter developing and maturing but also to good coaching. Our punt return average has stayed about the same, 6.6 yds/return this year vs. 6.5 yds/return last year. However, I attribute this to the fact that the Chiefs haven’t had a legitimate punt returner since Dante Hall. Our punt coverage unit also ranks among the best allowing only 6.9 yds/return with no touchdowns given up, that’s good for #7 overall in the league.

So Chiefs fans, it appears we do have a bright spot in these dark times. Our special teams unit has gone from a burden in 2008 to a team strength in 2009. They have improved in just about every statistical category including scoring 2 special teams touchdowns this year, one on a blocked FG and the other on Jamaal’s kick return. Steve Hoffman has turned this unit around and given us diehard fans hope that this is only the beginning of things to come. One of the keys to rebuilding a successful team is a solid special teams unit and its nice to know that we now have one.

Go Chiefs!