In Third Year Together, Seahawks' Specialists Aim to Stay Atop NFL

RENTON, WA - It's in the nature of the NFL that specialists—even the best ones—and their roles are not taken all too seriously. But with Seahawks punter Michael Dickson and kicker Jason Myers resting ahead of Sunday's mock scrimmage, receivers John Ursua and Tyler Lockett put themselves in the shoes of a professional kicker and were quickly humbled by the difficulty of the position's duties, missing four combined kicks with none coming close to the uprights on Saturday.

“How was it? Not good," Dickson assessed following practice. "[Ursua] has a bit of potential, but Lockett not so much.”

Of course, the trash-talking between Seattle's specialists and the rest of the roster is all in good fun. And while the jokes will never stop coming, it's impossible to disparage a special teams unit that produced two Pro Bowl selections in 2020.

"We always joke around with the guys that they see us living the life out on the third field by ourselves," long snapper Tyler Ott told reporters. "And they’ve always got something to say. ‘Must be nice.’ You could do it too if you want to do it on gameday, but I think they’re all pretty happy with their jobs.” 

Specialists typically fall into the spotlight only when something bad happens. Jobs can often hang in the balance of a single kick. With that added pressure, the mental fortitude it requires to fill these roles is nothing to be scoffed at.

As one of the two aforementioned Pro Bowlers last year, Ott and his peers championed the "ice in the veins" mentality specialists need to perform at a high level. In doing so, he consistently delivered accurate snaps that helped make Myers' perfect 24-for-24 season on field goals and a strong bounce back campaign from Dickson possible. 

That may be a tough act to follow in 2021, but the long snapper is confident in the unit's ability to make that level of success the standard in the Pacific Northwest.

“We really just need to continue what was happening last year," Ott explained. "In a lot of ways, we lined up and said we are going to do this, and we want you to try and stop us. We got a lot of good guys coming back for us in our special team’s core. ... Just keeping the mentality from last year, competing with each other, having fun on special teams and bringing the energy is something we always talk about. It doesn’t have to be pretty, as long as you’re giving 100 percent effort and our guys are going down there, flying around and making plays. That’s how good things happen on special teams.”

As good as each specialist was for the Seahawks last season, a significant portion of their successes must be accredited to special teams coordinator Larry Izzo. Stepping in for Brian Schneider, who took a leave of absence in early September and has since departed the team, Izzo helped turn Seattle into one of the most efficient and well-rounded squads in the third phase of the game. 

“It was a smooth transition last year," Izzo said. "Obviously, it was my third year here. I’ve been in the system for a while and we’ve got a great group of guys, a good core group—the specialists, the veterans, guys that we use in the kicking game. It was really smooth for us. Again, we did nice job of playing consistently throughout the year, each week helping our team win. That’s our goal going into this year as well, is to go out there every week, one play at a time, win one play at a time and help our team with the field position battle.”

Now the Seahawks' full-time special teams coordinator, Izzo's mindset remains the same: take everything, whether it's a practice or a game, one play at a time. His specialists echoed that sentiment on Saturday, particularly when asked about the return of fans and how that will test their mental toughness after playing in empty stadiums for most of the 2020 season.

“One of the first things I was told early on in snapping is you can’t ride the highs or the lows," Ott revealed. "It’s just one kick at a time. One snap at a time. If you’re too high on something, you’re going to try too hard. If you’re too low, you start overthinking something will go bad. It’s really just preparation through the week. Preparation through practice. It’s something now that we’ve done a million times that you just go out and trust how you’ve prepared and be ready.” 

“I mean, it took some getting used to last year with no fans in the stadium so I’m definitely going to get used to the fans," Myers added. "When they come here, and the atmosphere is amazing especially at home, that’s why you play football and that’s why you play in the NFL. So, very welcomed to have them back. ... When we’re on defense, maybe I get a little excited for the guys but our line of work for the three of us is very flatlined so we’re in our own little world kind of. We just keep working, and it’s a good atmosphere, and you enjoy it when you look back at it after the game but we’re a very flatlined group of guys.”

This is now Myers, Dickson and Ott's third season together and having that long-term rapport is crucial to sustaining success. Each one knows their role and responsibility, and can comfortably hold one another accountable in keeping an even keeled approach. Working away from the rest of the team for the majority of practices, they've built something of a Breakfast Club-style friendship that, in turn, makes up one of the best specialist groups in the entire NFL. 

“Yeah it’s great on and off the field," Ott expressed. "Coming in now with us being together for a few years in a row here, it’s been really nice for our operation. You build chemistry off each other; you know cues and timing and rhythm. Something I went through not having my first couple years here going from having a new kicker, then a new kicker, then a new kicker and punter, and then me and Jason and Michael now being here for a while. For us, it’s a huge comfort coming in knowing what to expect. On gameday we know, if I’m not snapping my best game, I got Dickson and Jason to make up for it. The same goes the other way that if someone’s not having a great day, we’re just there and we can just feed off how everybody’s doing that day.”