While most NFL fans might not give much thought to the guys playing special teams, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick certainly isn’t one of those people. When the team lost special teamer Cody Davis to an injury this week, Belichick knew exactly how big of a loss it was.
Davis plays on field goals, punts and punt returns, kickoffs and kickoff returns for the Patriots. When a player is that versatile, Belichick said he’s “impossible to replace one-for-one.”
“With a player like Cody, you lose that player on five different units,” Belichick said, according to Pro Football Talk. “Each unit has its own dynamics, each unit has its own responsibility with what he does. No team has a player that can replace a player like that. So it would have to be some type of multiples. You don’t just plug in a guy and get what Cody Davis has given us. . . . It’s five replacements that you have to come up with, and that’s part of the challenge of special teams. . . . Cody is a player it’s really impossible to replace one-for-one, so it’s going to have to be some maneuvering and shuffling.”
Obviously, the Patriots will have to fill Davis’ void somehow – likely with multiple players. But Belichick’s comments just show how important some of the unsung players are to NFL teams at times.
