CFL Special Teams Power Rankings - A Week 19 Review

There are now only 2 weeks left of the regular season for the CFL and Special Teams have once again proven to be a dynamic force on the field. Join me as we discuss how the CFL Special Teams units performed in this week's review; If you're looking for a more in-depth highlight package, check out Week 19's Special Delivery!

Kickers

Here are the CFL Week 19 Kicker Power Rankings;

In Week 19, the Kickers collectively had a stellar showing, going 25 out of 26 (96.2%) on field goals. This performance was second only to their Week 10 display where they were a perfect 13 for 13 (100%).
Boris Bede (TOR) shone brightly, going 6 for 6 on field goals and 2 for 2 on PATs during Toronto's victory over Ottawa. Bede's highlight included a 53-yard field goal, a new season high and the longest field goal in Week 19.
The only miss this week came from Dean Faithfull (EDM) on a 41-yarder that sailed wide right.
Kickers also achieved a 95.2% (20/21) success rate on PATs, with the only miss attributed to Jose Maltos (MTL).
Notably, Ryan Meskell (SSK) made his 2023 debut after Brett Lauther was sidelined with an "Illness", becoming the first Australian-born player to kick a field goal in CFL history.
Sean Whyte (BC) kicked through a clutch 48-yard, game-winning field goal to put the Lions overtop of the TiCats 33-30 with 00:00 left on the clock.

Here are the CFL Week 19 Punter Power Rankings;

There were 41 total points this week, a bit below the average of 47 punts per game we've seen thus far.
Punters faced some challenges, averaging just 42.4 gross yards per punt, marking a season low.
Kaare Vedvik (HAM) led the punters with an average of 47.3 yards over three punts.
Punters averaged 36.6 net yards per punt, in line with the season average of 36.3.
Richie Leone (OTT) recorded the highest net average this week at 39.4 net yards per punt.
Punters had 22% (9-41) of their punts remain inside the 20-yard line, with 3 being downed inside the 10-yard line. This is slightly lower than the season average of 27% and is just shy of the average of 4 punts landing inside the 10-yard line per week.
Cody Grace (CGY) stood out with 3 of his 11 punts (27.3%) staying inside the 20-yard line with another going out of bounds at the 8-yard line.
There were nine punts that exceeded 50 yards, accounting for approximately 22% of all attempts, a drop from the season average of 36.5%.
Cody Grace (CGY) once again impressed with 4 of his 11 punts travelling over 50 yards.
Two penalties were awarded this week to Stefan Flintoft (BC) and Richie Leone (OTT). Richie Leone has the most penalties this season with 5.
There were no rouges scored this week.

Here are the CFL Week 19 Long Snapper Power Rankings;

There were 27 long snaps shown in the CFL Highlights this week, which is slightly below the average of 29 long snaps shown per week.
Of these, 23 were recorded as strikes, resulting in a Strike Percentage of 85%, just shy of the season average of 88.7%.
Louis-Philippe Bourassa (MTL) excelled with all 5 of his long snaps being strikes, marking his 9th consecutive week with a 100% strike rate.
There were 4 balls that were handed out to Aaron Crawford (CGY), Tanner Doll (OTT), Jorgen Hus (SSK), and Adam Guillemette (TOR).

Here are the CFL Week 19 Kickoff Specialist Power Rankings;

There were 33 kickoffs, exceeding the average of approximately 30 kickoffs per game.
Kickoff Specialists averaged 63 yards per kickoff, slightly below the season average of 64.6 yards per kickoff.
Boris Bede (TOR) continued to shine with an average of 70.3 yards per attempt over four kickoffs, with one staying inside the 30-yard line.
There were 8 out of the 33 kickoffs (24.2%) that remained inside the 30-yard line, slightly above the season average of 23.1%.
Stefan Flintoft (BC) was extremely precise kicking off, averaging 66.3 yards over 4 attempts. He was able to keep 3 of those 4 kickoffs (75%) inside the 30-yard line in what was his most impressive performance since Week 5.
Jose Maltos (MTL) had a promising performance in his second week kicking off in the CFL, doing so 5 times for an average of 66.4 yards per attempt. If Maltos can continue this over the next 2 games he might just see himself rising in the Power Rankings.
Ryan Meskell (SSK) took to the field for the first time this season and averaged just 60.3 yards per attempt. He was able to keep 1 kickoff inside the 30-yard line and I expect he will improve with more practice just as Maltos has.
There was 1 kickoff penalty, awarded to Richie Leone (OTT) after a kickoff went out of bounds at the Toronto 26-yard line.
There were no rouges scored this week.

Here are the CFL Week 19 Kickoff Returner Power Rankings;

Kickoff Returners made 32 returns and averaged 22.6 yards per return, surpassing the league average of 21.9 yards per return.
Tobias Harris (OTT) led the CFL this week and was by far the most impressive Kickoff Returner. Harris was able to return 4 kickoffs for a total of 165 yards, averaging 41.25 yards per return. Tobias was also able to record the second Kickoff Return Touchdown of the 2023 CFL Season on this 93-yard return against the Toronto Argonauts. In total, Harris had 2 of his 4 returns go for more than 30 yards, which also led the CFL.
There were 4 kickoff returns (12.5%) that went for more than 30 yards, slightly below the season average of 16.6%.
There were 2 fumbles recorded this week, one from the aforementioned Tobias Harris (OTT) and one from Deontez Alexander (EDM).

Here are the CFL Week 19 Punt Returner Power Rankings;

There were 32 punt returns this week, but Punt Returners averaged just 7.5 yards per punt return, marking the lowest performance of the season.
James Letcher Jr. (MTL) led the Punt Returners, averaging 13.3 yards over 3 attempts and recording the longest return of the week at 16 yards.
Only 3 punt returns (9.4%) exceeded 15 yards, the worst performance since Week 5 when only 7.5% of punts were returned for over 15 yards.
The 3 punters who had a return over 15 yards are Kyran Moore (EDM), James Letcher Jr. (MTL), and Mario Alford (SSK).
There were 2 fumbles by Mario Alford (SSK) this week.

Here are the CFL Week 19 Coverage Team Power Rankings;

Coverage teams allowed an average of 7.5 yards per punt return on 32 punt returns, significantly lower than the season average of 11.2 yards allowed.
he Ottawa REDBLACKs performed exceptionally well, allowing only 12 yards across 4 returns, equating to an astonishing average of 3 yards per punt return
Coverage teams allowed an average of 22.6 yards on 32 returns, slightly above the season average of 21.7 yards allowed.
The Edmonton Elks were particularly efficient, conceding just 14.5 yards over 4 kickoff returns.
The Toronto Argonauts struggled in terms of kickoff return yardage allowed, surrendering 165 yards and a touchdown over four attempts.
There were 13 penalties handed out this week, slightly below the season average of 15.5 penalties per week.
The BC Lions, Calgary Stampeders, and Saskatchewan Roughriders received three penalties each, leading the CFL in penalties this week.
There were no blocked punts or kicks this week.

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