Photo Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

Today we take a look at how the Detroit Lions specialists performed during the 2012 season with a little help from the fine folks at Pro Football Focus.

The radar chart below shows the Pro Football Focus grades for each Lions specialist and compares them to the best, worst and league average ratings. PFF grades each player on each play to produce a massively useful tool for evaluating the totality of a player’s season compared to others at his position.

2012 Season Review
Jason Hanson – At this point it is fair to wonder if Jason Hanson is subject to aging. A missed potential game-winning field goal on Thanksgiving Day is a bad memory stuck in Lions fans’ minds but that was just one kick in a season that saw Hanson make 88.9% of his field goals. That’s better than his career average of 82.4%. He still has plenty of leg as shown by his two makes in three attempts from at least 50 yards. Hanson finished the year with a +22.1 overall rating, good for 13th best among all kickers.

Nick Harris – While the Lions have been able to plug Jason Hanson in at kicker for over two decades, they’ve had less success at punter. The trio of Ryan Donahue/Ben Graham and Nick Harris has been underwhelming over the last two seasons and Harris takes the heat for the 2012 as the man who made most of the team’s punts. His +3.5 overall rating from PFF ranks 30th. The Lions punt coverage units took some heat early on for allowing a couple returns for touchdowns but while that eventually got fixed, Harris performed poorly all season.

Stefan Logan – Danny Crossman was special teams villain number one early in the season but by the time the season concluded, Crossman’s seat had cooled while the vitriol was directed at Stefan Logan. The uproar wasn’t without merit and the final Pro Football Focus kick return ratings reflect that fact. Logan’s paltry +0.6 overall rating (including a -0.1 for kick returns) ranked him 53rd overall. It’s a nearly unfathomable level of futility for someone who had so many chances. Buffalo’s Marcus Easley finished with a higher overall rating one spot ahead of Logan despite returning a grand total of two kicks and zero punts. It’s not that Easley did more with less so much as Logan did less with more.

Offseason Plan
Kicker – The decision here is solely in Jason Hanson’s hands. He has shown no evidence of an eroding skill set so if the fire still burns, the Lions should be glad to have him back. The Lions best option is for Hanson to agree to return.

Punter – It isn’t likely to be a popular thought but the Lions should consider using a late draft pick on a punter. Otherwise they are doomed to repeat the cycle that they currently find themselves in – the one that has left them with options like Ryan Donahue and a cast of retreads. An intriguing option is Brad Wing out of LSU. He has a very strong leg and is a native Australian who came to the U.S. for the opportunity to punt professionally. He has the ability and was draft eligible so he declared despite having college eligibility remaining. There are red flags, reports of failed drug tests primarily, but Wing would be an instant upgrade.

Kick Returner – Stefan Logan’s contract expired following the season and there is no reason for the Lions to bring him back. He isn’t a productive return man, has no role on offense and isn’t a young player. It would seem that a full offseason would allow the Lions to try out some internal options in a way they were unable, or unwilling, to during the season when it was painfully obvious that Logan was part of the problem rather than solution on special teams. With a tight cap situation it may not make sense to carry a player whose sole purpose is returning kicks. Whether it is a player currently on the roster or a player to be drafted in April, the next kick returner should have a place on the offensive or defensive depth chart.

That concludes this series, be sure to get caught up on any position groups you may have missed along the way. Previously: Wide Receivers, Offensive Tackles, Guards, Center, Tight Ends, Quarterback, Running Backs, Outside Linebackers, Inside Linebacker, Safeties, Cornerbacks, Defensive Ends, Defensive Tackles

Nov 11, 2012; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Detroit Lions running back Stefan Logan (11) returns a kickoff 17 yards to open the game against the Minnesota Vikings at the Metrodome. The Vikings win 34-24. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Stefan Logan’s most recent kick return gaffe has caused fans and media members to call for his release, but the Detroit Lions are currently unwilling to remove the lackluster return man from the roster. Dave Birkett had a piece in the Detroit Free Press on Sunday where he stated that the Lions wanted more production in the return game but lacked viable alternatives:

As much as the Detroit Lions may want to make a change in the return game, it doesn’t appear that they have the personnel to do it.

Lions coach Jim Schwartz conceded he’ll “certainly look at everything” in an effort to get more production out his return units before Sunday’s season finale against the Chicago Bears. But injuries have left the Lions with few options beyond current returner Stefan Logan.

After reading this I wanted to know just how much value the Lions were getting from Logan. With the help of Pro Football Reference’s play finder, I found the 82 kickoffs that were either (1) returned by Logan or (2) taken for a touchback (removing the kicks that were received in the field of play by an upback). Here’s the breakdown:

• 55 of the kicks went for a touchback.
• 18 of the kicks were caught (by Logan) on or inside the goal line and were, on average, returned to the 19.9 yard line (22.9 yards per attempt average).
• 9 kicks were caught (by Logan) in the field of play and were, on average, returned to the 25.1 yard line (19.3 yards per attempt average).

Or, worded another way, 73 of these kicks (89%) could have been returned just as effectively by Riley Reiff as Stefan Logan. Slightly more effectively, actually, if Reiff would simply take a knee every time the ball came into the end zone (this would have netted the Lions about two yards total for the season). Simply put, there are 52 other players currently on the roster (and any number of fans in the stands) that could replicate 89% of Logan’s total kickoff return production by being little more than a warm body.

The only portion of his game here that might not be easily offset were the nine balls that he caught in the field of play, but his 19.3 yard return average doesn’t look stellar to me. I’m not really in the position to say what is or isn’t good here — the 25.1 yard line seems like reasonable starting field position to me — but we’re only looking at a total of nine opportunities here, and chances are someone like Mike Thomas or Joiquie Bell could (at least) come close to these numbers.

Of course, kickoffs are just one half of Logan’s job. He also returns punts where he owns a somewhat middle of the road 9.3 yard per return average. Of course, Logan also calls for a lot of fair catches — 6th most among qualified punt returners — which helps to artificially inflate his average. When factoring in all punt return opportunities (fair catches included), Logan ranks 22nd out of the 28 qualified returners in average yards gained. Color me unimpressed.

52 options for replacement is more than a bit of hyperbole — Riley Reiff really isn’t going to return kicks — but any sort of fifth string-type running back or wide receiver could likely fill in without anyone noticing a drop off in production. The Lions are apparently getting half the solution right, they’ve announced they’re taking Logan off of kick and punt return duties, but he probably shouldn’t be on the roster at all at this point. The Lions are hurting for depth at the wide receiver position and, although he’s made six catches on the year, Logan really can’t help in the capacity. His roster spot probably could have, should have been used on a scrap-heap guy that can actually run routes and make catches.

If Logan isn’t going to be effective in the return game then he’s taking up a roster spot that could be otherwise used to address depth concerns. Perhaps this season is lost and it doesn’t really matter, but there’s no way that Logan should remain on the team into next season.

Oct 14, 2012; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Akeem Jordan (56) knocks the ball from the hands of Detroit Lions running back Stefan Logan (11) during the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. The Lions defeated the Eagles 26-23 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The Detroit Lions had a lot of issues on special teams early in the season with the biggest blunders coming as result of poor kick and punt coverage.

Those have been corrected and the heat is mostly off special teams coordinator Danny Crossman as a result. That isn’t to say all the issues have been corrected, it’s just that now they are more on the order of individuals rather than the big picture.

Cockroaches have amazing survival abilities with some saying they could even survive a nuclear bomb. Stefan Logan has been the source of many facepalm-worthy moments this year yet he has survived.

Logan’s most recent “nuclear” moment came last Saturday night when he downed a kick at the four yard line thinking he was in the end zone. Let’s relive the “glory”, shall we?

When the Lions win the coin toss and choose to receive yet again next week, will it be Stefan Logan standing near the Lions’ goal line to receive the kick? It shouldn’t be, but that’s been said for weeks. If it is, it’s officially time to start referring to Logan as the cockroach.