Will Blackmon's season returning punts and kickoffs for the Packers in 2008 was quite the mixed bag.
On the one hand, he ranked fourth in the NFC and ninth in the NFL with an 11.1-yard average on punt returns, and he was one of only five players to return at least two punts for touchdowns.
But on the other hand, his 21.0-yard average on kickoff returns tied for 34th in the league among players with at least 20 returns, and the Packers' team average of 20.1 yards on kickoff returns ranked last (32nd).
So where does that leave Blackmon and the Packers in 2009? There's obviously plenty of focus on kickoff returns, but Blackmon insists he's not resting on his past success - three career touchdowns in 44 attempts - with punt returns, either.
"Even if I returned 10 (for scores) last year, I always feel I can improve," Blackmon said. "You never feel satisfied. There's always room for improvement."
What makes Blackmon so dangerous on punt returns is his ability to make tacklers miss. He proved last year that with lightning-quick stop-and-start ability, defenders couldn't just get him in their sights and bear down on a so-called sitting duck as a punt returner.
That makes him a threat anytime he's not calling for a fair catch, and the aggressive Blackmon fair-caught only 11 of 47 punts he fielded a year ago. New special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum said that as Blackmon matures as a returner, he's starting to see the entire field better, which only increases that threat if there's even the slightest opening.
"He's growing into the returner position," Slocum said. "He's learning how to do it, how to set up blocks. There's some fine techniques a guy learns as he gets experience, and he looks good doing it."
Technique - specifically blocking technique - was the buzzword coming from Slocum and his special-teams units throughout the offseason program, OTAs and mini-camp, and it's what Blackmon and his coach believe will turn things around on the kickoff-return unit.
Only one of Blackmon's 55 kickoff returns last year went for longer than 36 yards, a 45-yarder against Atlanta in Week 5. He did have a 99-yarder for a touchdown in Week 14 vs. Houston called back on a holding penalty, but those opportunities were too few and far between for a runner of Blackmon's caliber.
Fellow returner Jordy Nelson had two kickoff returns of 40-plus yards in just 11 attempts, but he still averaged only 18.9 yards, which doesn't say much for his other nine runbacks.
"We were last in the league, so it's something we need to work on," Blackmon said. "It got real frustrating, but I kept faith in my guys and we just kept trying to work through. We have great schemes this year and we're going to improve tremendously.
"(Coach Slocum) has just brought a whole new mentality, attitude. He relies on the guys that have experience to help him bring everybody together, but he also teaches a lot of technique. Technique is what's going to win games."
A change in the kickoff return rules may benefit the Packers as well. The traditional "wedge" of three to four blockers in front of the return man is no longer allowed, the new maximum of conjoined blockers being two.
That should keep kickoff coverage units more spread out, which in turn could give Blackmon more one-on-one opportunities in the open field, where he excels at dodging tacklers.
"You're going to see a difference - there are going to be more unique blocking schemes," Slocum said. "The thing about a wedge, it draws people to the returner. You're going to see more spread out returns and the guy that can find those open holes and be all over the field. I think you're going to see the kickoff return start to resemble the punt return in that regard."
That should be good news for Blackmon and the Packers, but it still gets back to technique. Without the wedge, blockers will be one-on-one more often as well, and they must win those battles.
{sportsad300}Slocum described how blockers with the best technique are able to stay square with their blocks, which provides two advantages. A blocker who's squared up can hold his block longer, and he gives the returner the option of going either way off his block, rather than have his path determined for him.
"I think our whole team is going to improve," Slocum said. "There are 11 guys involved, and (Blackmon) can only do one thing and that's run the ball. We have aiming points with our various returns, and the blockers have to have a great understanding of that.
"They have to pass like two ships in the night. Run fast, make breaks fast. It's sudden."
For the Packers to get their kickoff return ranking up where its punt return was will require a rather sudden turnaround. But Blackmon believes they can do it, just as strongly as he believes there's more to come on punt returns as well.
"We have the ability, I know that," he said. "Some guys have been here as long as I have and even longer, so it's just technique and trust, and being excited that they're blocking for a good runner."
