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Can Skyy Moore Help Buoy the Packers’ Special Teams? New teams coordinator Sam Achord is bringing in some interesting new wrinkles. By Kevin Gibson Now that the Green Bay Packers are past the specter of calling its special teams units “We-fense,” the big question is … what’s next? Let’s face it, when Matt LaFleur hired Rich Bissacia to take over the Packers’ tanking special teams in 2022, we all looked at his relative success with the Raiders and got excited. But in four years, Green Bay’s special teams – which Bisaccia dubbed, “We-fense” – never even ranked in the middle of the pack in the NFL. Even with Bisaccia bringing in some of his own guys from Oakland, it didn’t improve, save for the first season highlights with Keisean Nixon as kick returner. And we all know how that situation has played out. Now, Cam Achord takes over. Skyy Moore was signed to boost the return game since, ahem, Romeo Doubs isn’t around to manage the job. But will Moore really help? The Packers brought in Mecole Hardman last year to take over the job, and he couldn’t even make the roster. A big swing and a miss from GM Brian Gutekunst. But Moore comes over from San Francisco – by way of Kansas City – with a pretty good special teams resume, even if he never proved much as a wide receiver. Last year, he compiled 907 kickoff return yards, good for eighth best in the NFL, on 33 returns, along with 291 punt return yards while playing in all 17 games. He averaged 27.5 yards per kick return, but it’s a start. Like Bissacia, Packers fans are intrigued about what Achord might bring to teams. He’s been described by a couple of his players as “crazy” (maybe not a bad description for a special teams coordinator), and this week in his media availability he literally talked about everything from fielding punts cleantly to situational holding – as in the position of the ball for field goal attempts in certain situations – which certainly had the Packers media and fan base buzzing. So, what does Achord think about Moore? Well, he didn’t really say when asked about the prospective kick returner. He did say the two most important aspects of a returner is 1) That they can cleanly and consistently catch the ball, and 2) That they can protect the football when they’re running with it. For what it’s worth, Moore 27.5-yard average put it on the ground last season in the kick return game, but he did fumble one punt return. The “crazy” Achord also brought in some interesting drill work to help the returner(s) – look up the tennis ball drill. And then there’s rookie place kicker Trey Smack. Great name, but it’s way too soon to accurately predict what might happen there. But with the memory of Anders Carlson’s Green Bay flameout and Brad McManus’ horrific Wildcard performance so fresh in our collective minds, there may be a little tension in the kicker department. Smack started 3 for 5 in training camp, which obviously is not ideal, but Achord talked in his media availability about the wind at Ray Nitschke Field being quite different from the wind inside Lambeau Field. He also said he pays close attention to how well the kickers are hitting the ball – even on misses. “I don’t put as much stock on the practice stuff as I will on the stadium stuff,” Achord said. “... ‘Cause it’s totally different.” And as for ball placement, he even put on a little demonstration for the media in attendance which, well, is a little crazy if you think about it. He even talked about Justin Bethel once breaking his nose. In other words, keep a close eye on Smack at Family Night and in the preseason, and hope. If only the Packers had the technology to de-age Mason Crosby PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHEESEHEAD NATION WEEKLY NEWSLETTER HERE. __________________________ Kevin Gibson is a professional writer and author based in Louisville, Ky. He's also a former sports writer who covered high school, college and professional sports, a Packers shareholder and a fan since 1975. Even John Hadl couldn't break him. Follow him on Twitter: @kgramone __________________________