The Buffalo Bills’ kicking game struggled mightily in 2016, as kicker Dan Carpenter had a tough time converting point-after attempts into extra points. Punter Colton Schmidt had a rough season, as well, and many predicted that his time with Buffalo would be numbered.
What a difference a year makes.
After the Bills decided to replace Carpenter with veteran Stephen Hauschka, Schmidt won a training camp battle to retain his punting job. Along with long snapper Reid Ferguson, Buffalo’s triumvirate of specialists combined to help the “teams” unit move from number 24 to number 7 in Rich Gosselin’s annual special teams rankings.