The significant news today was that the Cowboys refused to allow the Oakland Raiders to interview special-teams coach Joe DeCamillis, who has been with the team since 2009.
Dallas didn’t have some of the special teams gaffes compared with last year, when the coverage units often struggled. The Cowboys ranked 5th in average yards allowed per kickoff return (21.4 yds/return on 52 kickoffs) and 14th on average yards allowed per punt (9.3 yds./return on 30 punt returns). The team did not give up a return touchdown on special teams.
However, the return units didn’t provide much of a benefit.
The Cowboys tied with three other teams for 20th in average return yards per return with 23.3 yards (the Giants and Rams were the other two teams). Dallas was worse on punt returns, averaging only 7.1 yards per return, which tied for 27th in 2011.
Dallas was among 12 teams that did not record either a kickoff return or a punt return for a touchdown. The Cowboys had three punt returns for touchdowns in 2010 but have not returned a kickoff for a touchdown since Felix Jones returned one against the Eagles during week 2 of the 2008 season.
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