ASHBURN — By the time Dustin Hopkins had flipped his hips in his pursuit of J.D. McKissick, the Atlanta Falcons’ wide receiver was well on his way to a 101-yard kickoff return touchdown.
The special teams miscue, compounded by second year safety Deshazor Everett running offsides on the kickoff, was an ugly start to the third quarter of last week’s 23-17 loss to the Falcons.
It was also the first time that Hopkins had been part of a kickoff returned for a touchdown since the eighth grade. It never happened at Clear Lake High School in Houston or at Florida State and he hopes it never happens again in an NFL game.
“Do I count it? It’s a preseason game,” Hopkins said. “But man, [McKissick] was moving. I was trying to catch up to him, but didn’t fill the gap, didn’t flip my hips fast enough and didn’t have the speed to catch him.”
The kick coverage went awry long before Hopkins had his chance to make a touchdown-saving tackle. As McKissick turned toward the middle of field, several Redskins players were turned away toward filling their lane assignment, which opened an easy passage for the Falcons’ returner.
As the Redskins prepare for their second preseason game against the New York Jets on Friday at FedEx Field, the kick coverage is one aspect of the game they’d like to improve on. Part of the challenge, according to second-year outside linebacker Houston Bates, is getting younger players acclimated in the special teams game. On McKissick’s return, undrafted rookies Joe Kerridge, Mariel Cooper, Valdez Showers and Robert Kelley were all involved in coverage.
“It’s the first game,” Bates said after Wednesday’s practice. “Guys got the jitters out, it’s their first time seeing live bullets, so it’s challenging. I thought we did well as a unit but we’ve got a lot to improve on.
“Just young guys making silly mistakes, offsides on kickoffs, little things like that. Guys not getting over, crossing face when the ball is kicked a certain way. Those are things we have to improve on.”
Bates played 40 percent of the Redskins’ special teams snaps in 2015, which ranked sixth-most on the roster. The Redskins did not re-sign fullback Darrel Young, who played 68 percent of the snaps, the most on the team, and was the veteran leader of the group. Jeron Johnson, who played 55.5 percent, was also not re-signed.
With the absence of Young, Bates said special teams coach Ben Kotwica has asked him to step up and lead the group, something the outside linebacker is looking forward to in his second season.
“I do consider myself a leader,” Bates said. “Coach Kotwica wants me to step up and lead the troops so I’m going to do that, do everything right on and off the field and be an accountable leader.”
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