One area the Raiders hope to improve in 2018 is in kickoff and punt returns.
In 2017, the Raiders ranked 30th in the NFL in punt returns, with an average of just 5.7 yards per return. Oakland’s longest was 19 yards. The Raiders were better returning kicks, ranking 16th at 21.7 yards per game, with a long of 49. Neither return unit produced a touchdown.
New head coach Jon Gruden hired veteran special teams coach Rich Bisaccia to lead the units. In 2017, the Cowboys were No. 3 in the NFL in kickoff returns, averaging 24.8 yards; they were 13th in punt returns, at 8.9 yards per attempt, with one returned for a score.
Bisaccia now will have at least three members of those Cowboys units this coming season in fullback Keith Smith, return man Dwayne Harris and linebacker Kyle Wilbur.
Recently, Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett told Kyle Martin of the Raiders website that Bisaccia will have a big impact in Oakland.
“He’s a great football coach and he’s a great friend,” said Garrett. “He’s done such a good job wherever he’s been, at the college level or the NFL level. Not only impacting the players he coaches, but the coaches on the staff, and I know I’m indebted to him forever for the contributions he made to us.
“He’s a great teacher, connects with the players. I think Keith (Smith) saw that up close each and every day. It’s not only a scheme standpoint, a technique standpoint when you’re talking special teams, but also how you coach and how you teach. His contributions have been enormous.”
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Harris, who returned punts and kicks for the Giants the past three seasons after doing it four years in Dallas, has a career punt return average of 9.7 yards and a kickoff return average of 26.1. He’s returned three punts and one kickoff for TDs. Harris says Bisaccia made him better.
“Being a good returner you’ve just got to know the blocking scheme and know how to set up your blocks,” Harris told Raiders.com. “That’s one thing when I was with Bisaccia that he taught me how to do, and he taught me how to do a lot of things. I had bad habits that he broke me out of, so we’re going to get a lot of returns. I think this is the perfect system for me to get returns, and perfect system for me to be a good returner.”
