By Ted Carlson
November 28, 2008 1:15pm CST

If you've played fantasy football for long enough, you've both praised and cursed special teams. Fantasy owners often spend hours fretting over their running backs, wide receivers, and other starters, but they rarely give even a brief thought to special teams. Kick and punt returners can make an impact in fantasy football leagues. Sometimes it's as a component of the team defense, and other times individual running backs or receivers pile up extra points via their return roles.

Each week during the regular season, we'll look at the matchups ahead and discuss the prospects of the kick and punt returners. The three Thanksgiving tilts provided no fireworks in the return game, but it was good to see Chris Carr back in action.

Indianapolis Colts at Cleveland Browns
Rookie running back Chad Simpson has breathed a bit of life into the Colts' return game, which isn't saying much. Tony Dungy's units have been awful all year, and we don't have much reason to believe Simpson or punt returner Keiwan Ratliff are ready for a breakout game.

Josh Cribbs has posted a pair of quiet weeks after perking up in late October and early November, but he remains a weekly threat as both a punt and kick returner. The Colts' kickoff unit has had a decent year, and their punt coverage squad has been flexible without breaking. It's a good bet that the Colts will punt away from Cribbs, as he is an X-factor that Tony Dungy would like to avoid.

Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals
John Harbaugh isn't happy with his special teams, but the Ravens will apparently stick with Yamon Figurs, for now. He has not had a strong year on kickoffs and punts. His best effort was a 35-yard punt return, way back in Week 1 against the Bengals. Figurs could find some room against a weak punt coverage unit again this week, but he hasn't been playing well enough for us to bank on anything.

The Ravens allowed a kickoff return touchdown during last week's thrashing of the Eagles. It's the second score they've ceded in the last four games. The bad news is that Bengals return man Glenn Holt has been working like a man who can't wait for the end of the season. He was excellent early in the year, so hopefully he can find some pep this Sunday. T.J. Houshmandzadeh continues to handle punts but won't have much room against a strong coverage unit.

Miami Dolphins at St. Louis Rams
The inconsistent Ted Ginn will run into a kickoff coverage unit that has managed to generally hold down guys like Ellis Hobbs, Leon Washington, Allen Rossum, and Danieal Manning over the last five weeks. The Rams will bend, and it may only be a matter of time before they break. We can't predict a return touchdown for Ginn, but we like the thought of his speed on the turf.

Rookie receiver Derek Stanley ripped off a 75-yard kickoff return and handled punts for the first time last Sunday. We're still getting a feel for the seventh-round pick out of Wisconsin-Whitewater, but we have to like a matchup against the NFL's worst kickoff coverage unit and second-worst punt coverage unit. We'd be mildly surprised if Stanley doesn't produce at least one notable return.

San Francisco 49ers at Buffalo Bills
Ace return man Allen Rossum is out for this game with a bum ankle, which will be really bad news if the weather is rough. Delanie Walker is likely to handle kickoffs, but the team's second punt option, Arnaz Battle, has a foot injury. All in all, it looks like the 49ers will be fortunate to simply handle all the kicks cleanly, and it's an excellent day to use the Bills' special teams.

Leodis McKelvin has averaged 48.8 yards per kickoff return over the last three weeks, and he has also been red-hot on defense. The Bills also feature one of the league's top punt returners in Roscoe Parrish. The 49ers coverage teams aren't anything special, and they could be in for a rough day against this outstanding duo. Fantasy owners should love the outlook for Dick Jauron's club.

Carolina Panthers at Green Bay Packers
Return man Mark Jones has been handling both duties since Week 6, and outside of an excellent Week 9 in Oakland, he has been very quiet. Expect more of the same this Sunday. The Packers coverage units are decent, and Jones is still looking for his first career return touchdown. He is up to 182 attempts.

The Panthers are coming off a rough game in Atlanta where, along with Michael Turner, punt returner Harry Douglas ran all over them. John Fox's punt unit had issues with blocks earlier in the year, too. Will Blackmon has two punt return touchdowns this year, both against the Vikings. Maybe he can pretend the Panthers are wearing purple and find an opening. Blackmon and rookie Jordy Nelson haven't been much of a threat on kick returns.

New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Saints grabbed Courtney Roby during their Week 9 bye, and he has managed kick returns of 41, 54, and 62 yards in his three weeks with the club. When the Saints get Reggie Bush back on punt returns, they might really have something going. We're not expecting a big week, though, because Jon Gruden typically employs sharp coverage units. The punt team has shown some rough play, but Bush probably won't handle the work this Sunday.

It took a little more than three decades, but the Bucs may have finally found their ace return man. Clifton Smith has a kickoff return touchdown and a punt return touchdown over the last three games, which means the franchise now has three return scores in their 32-year history. The Saints coverage units have yet to break this season, but they've been pretty bendable. Heck, their punt unit has been gymnast-like at times. The smoking Smith could be in for another big day.

New York Giants at Washington Redskins
Even if Brandon Jacobs returns this week, we pray that Tom Coughlin has seen the light on kick returns. Ahmad Bradshaw was awful for 10 games, and Domenik Hixon took over last week. Hixon ripped off a 63-yard return, and the receiver should be on both kick and punt duties this Sunday. We hope. The Redskins cover kickoffs very, very well, but they've had some issues on punts.

Yawn. Can we move on? The only good news is that Santana Moss handled a punt last week. He occasionally drops back for a return and gives us some hope for a dynamic play. Rock Cartwright (kicks) and Antwaan Randle El (punts) are boring. We have no other way to say it. The Giants coverage units are strong, and they won't be tested this Sunday unless Moss takes a crack.

Atlanta Falcons at San Diego Chargers
Now we know why the Falcons made a move from Adam Jennings to Harry Douglas. The rookie receiver had a huge game against the Panthers in Week 12, including a 61-yard punt return for a touchdown. Jerious Norwood is already dangerous on kick returns, and now the Falcons have a complete set. The Chargers haven't allowed a return touchdown since 2004, so our expectations for the Douglas-Norwood team aren't too high this week.

The Falcons rank seventh in lowest kickoff return average (21.7), and opponents average a paltry 1.3 yards per punt return. Much credit goes to Michael Koenen, who handles kickoffs and punts. They've already squashed some quality return men, and they won't be intimidated by Darren Sproles. The mighty mite hasn't had a notable return since Week 6, and we don't expect that to change this Sunday.

Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots
Gary Russell's efforts on kick returns have led to the Steelers moving all the way up from 32nd to 30th in average. Nice. The Patriots' kickoff coverage team has had serious issues over the last three weeks, but Russell and the Steelers won't likely keep them reeling. Santonio Holmes continues to handle punts, but the Patriots will surely avoid him, just like they have everyone else. Chris Hanson has allowed only seven returns all season.

The Steelers rank as the NFL's best kickoff coverage unit, and they are third in lowest punt return average (4.8). Ellis Hobbs, Wes Welker, and the rest of the Patriots special teams have had a slow time in recent weeks and dropped from their previously lofty rankings. We always like Hobbs, but the advantage this week definitely goes to Mike Tomlin's excellent coverage squads.

Denver Broncos at New York Jets The Jets have yet to allow a kickoff return of more than 44 yards or a punt return of more than 25 yards, which is fairly impressive. They'll be heavily tested by rookie Eddie Royal, who is having an excellent all-round year. Royal has yet to notch a return touchdown, and he is unlikely to change that stat this week. Still, he is a threat to Eric Mangini's quality coverage units.

One week after allowing a punt return touchdown to Johnnie Lee Higgins, the Broncos get to face Leon Washington. Uh oh. Washington is always a threat to score, and he is sure to find room both on kickoffs and punts. The Broncos rank 31st in kick return average allowed and 28th in punt return average allowed. Fantasy owners should love this matchup.

Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders
Rookie wide receiver Kevin Robinson got some help last week, but he remains the primary option on both punts and kicks. The Chiefs have cycled through numerous options this season, and we can only hope Robinson proves to be a solution. The Raiders coverage units are not good (shocking, right?), but we haven't seen enough of Robinson to predict a productive week.

Do you think Dustin Colquitt might boot the ball out of bounds this Sunday? Punt returner Johnnie Lee Higgins has found the end zone in two straight games and has given fantasy owners one reason to like the Raiders defense/special teams. We'd be surprised if Herm Edwards kicks to him this week. Kick return man Justin Miller is also a threat and is facing a bad kickoff coverage unit.

Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings
The Bears return men didn't do much against the Vikings in Week 7, but the special teams units scored twice thanks to a blocked punt and a mishandled punt return. The Vikings units have had an awful, awful season, and our hopes are high for this matchup. Danieal Manning (kickoffs) and Devin Hester (punts) don't have a touchdown return this season. This week seems like a good time to change that stat.

The Vikings thankfully ended the Maurice Hicks experiment and turned kickoff duties over to undrafted rookie Darius Reynaud. If nothing else, we like the name. He had a very quiet first game and isn't likely to find much room against the quality Bears coverage units. The same goes for Bernard Berrian, who took over punt return duties last week. The Vikings are simply overmatched here.

Jacksonville Jaguars at Houston Texans
The speedy Brian Witherspoon fumbled another return last week, and Jack Del Rio is likely to let Maurice Jones-Drew handle most (if not all) of the returns this week. We like Witherspoon's potential, but the dude can't keep dropping the ball. Jones-Drew has obvious talent, but he has been a bit boring on returns this year and the Texans coverage teams are solid. Don't expect much from the Jags on Monday night.

Kick returner Andre Davis returned to action last week, and the Texans are back to owning one of the league's most dangerous return duos in Davis and Jacoby Jones. The Jaguars boast one of the elite kickoff coverage units and have also been very strong on punts. We never count out a big return from Jones, but Davis probably won't find much room. All in all, it's likely to be a quiet Monday night from a return game perspective.