The Las Vegas Raiders’ special teams have played well for much of the season, but they did have a pretty bad miscue against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4. After holding the Chiefs to fourth down in the first quarter, the Raiders got tricked by a fake punt that was converted for a first down.
On the play, the Raiders sent several players back to cover the punt, which left a big hole open for Chiefs punter Matt Araiza to run through. It was a confusing call that led to a lot of criticism for special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis.
Even former Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano went on the “Pat McAfee Show” to criticize the play. Well, DeCamillis saw Pagano’s comments and decided to throw shade at the former coach.
“We did it in the first game too against Miami,” DeCamillis told reporters. “So, we did it from a little better position, but you’re trying to block people downfield. It’s something that a lot of people do around the league. I saw on some podcast where the guy said, ‘I’ve never seen anything like that.’ Well, we scored a touchdown against you, dude. So obviously you have. So, it’s just one of those things that schematically that you try to work on, and it was obviously a bad play at that point in the game. Defense bailed us out, though. They did a heck of a job. I think we ended up getting a touchdown on that drive. So, kudos to them.”
DeCamillis Did Acknowledge He Made Mistake
Getting caught on a fake is every special teams coordinator’s worst nightmare. DeCamillis is clearly a little salty that he let one work on him. Even though he’s defending himself against Pagano, he did admit that he got ahead of himself with the call.
“That was not for that part of the field,” DeCamillis said. “And really, I should have been much smarter than that because the last time we played (Chiefs ST coordinator Dave) Toub, he talked about some of the battles. Well, the last time we played him in Kansas City, we ran a fake, got a first down on him, and we also got a turnover. So, I guarantee he was probably irritated just like I was after this game. So, that’s just how it goes. But it’s a great call on their part, and I’ll learn from that situation and not get greedy.”
DeCamillis Doing Good Work
Though the fake punt stood out, the Raiders’ special teams have been playing very well. Kicker Matt Gay has made all of his field goal attempts this season, and Dylan Laube leads the NFL with a 33.4 kick return average.
DeCamillis has been a very strong coordinator for the Raiders this season. Special teams haven’t been a problem outside of a few miscues here and there. Even the converted fake punt didn’t end up hurting the Raiders, as the defense was still able to stop the Chiefs. Head coach Klint Kubiak should be happy with how the group has been playing.
Raiders Coach Throws Shade at Former Head Coach Over Criticism