Arrington was the team's best gunner — a player who lines up on the wing of the punt coverage unit, storms down the field and is most responsible for containing the punt returner — in 2009, and he has continued to take on that role in the team's 2010 training camp.
The Patriots' coaching staff was more than happy to land Arrington after he was waived by the Buccaneers last September, and they're excited to put him back in the gunning position again. Arrington is also a key member of the kickoff coverage unit, and special teams coordinator Scott O'Brien touched on what makes the third-year cornerback so solid.
"I think in Kyle’s case, he plays positions where physically, he’s a real fast player," O'Brien said. "He plays fast. He’s very instinctive, but he plays positions where he has more opportunities early than a lot of guys, but that’s what you’re looking for. If you have a guy that you’re going to put him in a position to be able to make a play early and he can’t, then we probably have a wrong guy there. But [Arrington] came in, and fit right in, and physically kind of matched up in the positions that we needed him in and was very successful for us. Hopefully we can continue that on with him and this year."
To succeed as a gunner, you've got to be ruthlessly dedicated — a trait Arrington carried after going undrafted out of Hofstra in 2008 — to get to the ball and be strong enough to get off the line. Typically, gunners have to beat two "vices" — the players on the punt return unit who are responsible for blocking the gunner — off the ball, fighting through a double team to get 40 yards down the field and force themselves into position to cut down the angle and make a tackle.
Gunners also watch plenty of film to study the tendencies of the vices. From there, it's the gunner's responsibility to formulate a strategy, determining if they're fast enough to beat the vice down the sideline, or strong, quick and technical enough to win the street fight at the line of scrimmage. They then have to execute the game plan.
"You get a vice, and they're out there trying to beat you up," Arrington said. "It's two-on-one, so you've got to be physical. You've got to fight back — [be] physical, explosive, quick, fast and just [have] a nose for the ball. It's two guys on one, and they're trying to beat you up, so you're already at a disadvantage."
