O'Brien Putting His Stamp On Special Teams Unit

While there were major moves on offense and defense this offseason for the Patriots, no unit saw more important changes than special teams.

The Patriots have lost several key faces on special teams this offseason. Longtime long snapper Lonie Paxton departed for Denver, the recipient of a sweet free-agent deal. Returner Ellis Hobbs was traded to Philadelphia. Special teams captain Larry Izzo found a new home with the New York Jets. And after 10 seasons with New England, special teams coach Brad Seely left the Patriots to become the assistant head coach/special teams coach with Cleveland.

To replace Seely, coach Bill Belichick reached into his past for an old friend. Scott O’Brien, who had worked for Belichick in Cleveland from 1991-95, was named the Patriots' new special teams coach on Feb. 3. O’Brien enters his 19th NFL season in 2009, and spent the last two seasons as Denver’s special teams coordinator.

O’Brien has previously served as special teams coach for four NFL teams -- Cleveland (1991-95), Baltimore (1996-98), Carolina (1999-2004) and Denver (2007-08), and has made Pro Bowlers out of players like punter Todd Sauerbrun and returners like Eric Metcalf and Steve Smith. Current Patriots who have worked with O’Brien in the past swear by him and his approach, saying he inspires confidence and loyalty.

That group includes new long snapper Nathan Hodel, who worked with O’Brien briefly earlier in his career, and said he wouldn’t be in New England without O’Brien.

“Once I became available, he kind of got in contact with my agent and kind of set it up to come out here and talk to him,” Hodel said. “I’m real appreciative of that, because I just had knee surgery and thought it might be a few months before anybody called, and a day later I was on the phone and getting set up to come out here. I’m real appreciative of that.

“That just makes me work that much harder -- that someone is going to put their word out there for you. That makes you want to not only succeed for yourself and the team, but for that coach as well.”

The Patriots have always put an added emphasis on special teams -- they are always at or near the top of the league in most special teams categories. Last year, Gostkowski was 40-for-40 on extra points and 36-for-40 on field goal attempts, good enough for a Pro Bowl berth, while Hobbs averaged 28.5 yards every kick return, second in the NFL. And over the course of nine years as New England’s long snapper, Paxton was the picture of consistency, routinely delivering smooth and steady performances in the biggest of games.

While the Patriots' overall emphasis on special teams will not change, it looks like -- at least early on in O’Brien’s tenure -- there are slight changes in overall practice styles. O’Brien’s fingerprints were all over Tuesday’s organized team activity (OTA). Punter Chris Hanson was working with new long snappers Hodel and Jake Ingram on punts. Hanson was also trying to get used to the new long snappers while working as the holder for Stephen Gostkowski’s field goal attempts. And punt returners Kevin Faulk, Wes Welker and Joey Galloway were all fielding punts … while already holding a football in their hands, making the returners' job that much harder on a cold, rainy afternoon.

It’s still very early in the process, but Gostkowski is happy with the way things are going with O’Brien.

“Everyone is different and everyone has their own different ways they do things, but they’re all good coaches. They all know what they’re doing. I don’t think Bill would hire a guy if he wasn’t a good coach,” said Gostkowski, who had worked with Seely in his three previous seasons with the Patriots.

“I just … trust and believe everything they say and work and do everything they want me to do. They’re coaches -- they’ve been around a lot longer than I have. So I just believe in everything they say, say, ‘Yes, sir … no, sir,’ and go to practice.”

One player who seems extremely happy to see O’Brien is second-year return man Matthew Slater. The UCLA product struggled as a rookie returner, averaging just over 14 yards per return, with his most infamous moment coming when he juggled a kickoff in an ugly November loss to the Steelers. Slater, who is hoping to figure into the mix in the return game this season, says O’Brien has helped him develop the confidence he needs to be a successful special teams performer.

“Working on my return game stuff with Coach O’Brien has been very helpful. He’s done a lot of things that have definitely helped my confidence and have me feeling a lot more comfortable back there,” Slater said.

“We all know I had some struggles back there last year, but he’s really helped my confidence,” Slater added. “He believes in me and he has confidence in me, and as a player, that’s helpful, that your coach is behind you. It makes you feel that much better about going out there and doing the job you need to do.”