Special teams play… well, to call it disappointing seems a bit mild, but whatever. Here’s my first suggestion to fix one of the gaping wounds: quit running back kickoffs if you can take a knee in the end zone.
Of course not. Accepting a touchback is an automatic 25 yards. There’s no risk of a fumble. No problem with a stupid penalty call that results in even worse field position than an anemic return gets you. Nobody should get hurt on a touchback.
And if there’s one thing you can call Georgia’s kickoff return game right now, it’s anemic. Georgia is averaging a whopping 14.95 yards per return. Sure, that includes Douglas fielding a couple of pooch kicks upfield, but nobody back on the goal line is averaging even 20 yards a return.
Somebody on the coaching staff should be telling these kids unless the team faces a desperate situation where the potential reward outweighs the risk, if you field the ball in the end zone, stay there.
Get The Picture 
Unless you’re Todd Gurley …
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I would go even farther and tell the KRs that much like a punt, if the ball is going to land inside the 10 yard line, let it bounce into the end zone, so you can field it and take a knee. I’ve seen at least a half dozen times where we’ve caught the ball at or near the goaline and run it out before being tackled at the 15-20 yard line. Makes no sense IMHO.
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I believe if the ball lands between the goal lines, it has to be fielded because it’s a live ball. If the ball is kicked into the end zone, it doesn’t have to be caught.
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I agree, but if the ball lands on the 5 yard line it’s almost assured of rolling into the end zone where it can then be downed for a touchback.
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That’s true but there’s a reason that ball is odd shaped. It can bounce anywhere and can have a worse result than catching the ball and getting as many yards as possible.
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Agree, but the same holds true for punts and coaches routinely tell their players not to field punts inside the 10 yard line and take your chances by allowing it to go into the end zone.
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That’s very different because a punt doesn’t become live until touched as opposed to a kickoff which is live as soon as it goes 10 yards.
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Exactly. Those kind of bounces helped us win the ’80 Sugar bowl.
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And Sony Michel’s fumble on a questionable Kickoff return decision helped us lose the TN game. It wasn’t the only reason, but played a pivotal role. All I’m saying is we’ve had several instances where guys have caught a ball at or around the goal line and run it out instead of allowing the ball to easily bounce into or out of the end zone for a touchback. When we have fielded these balls, our field position has been worse than the 25 yard line.
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This has been one of the glaring problems on ST. Why run it out to the 20 when the ref will spot it at the 25 for you? I haven’t seen a coach get into the player’s face for running it either, so I have to assume the kids are doing what they are told.
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Well–I assume that the kids are being told to block on KO and Punt returns too…but that ain’t happening. Do you think the coaches say “OK–we need a shitty punt right now–go make it happen.” So which is it then? The kids not doing what they are told…or the coaches not telling them the right thing?
Special Teams has never been anything but an after thought to Richt. I think the few bright spots (Boykin, McKenzie, a few kickers/punters) have happened in spite of his Special Teams approach. Lately, the Kickers and Punters get worse every year…the further they get from their hands on personal coaches from HS.
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“Georgia coach regrets not telling his guys to “knock it down””;
…. http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/sports/college/sec/university-of-georgia/bulldogs-blog/article29313343.html
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It appeared to me that UT purposely did not try to kick the ball into the end zone for this very reason. Other teams are scouting us and know this about us.
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And the thing is, they had that luxury to choose.
Meanwhile, we can’t seem to kick it into the other guys’ end zone for love or money.
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Of all the coaches in cfb, you’d think the ‘father of the punt safe approach’, Mark Richt, would enthusiastically pursue touchbacks. Unbelievable!
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Where is Logan Gray when we need him. 🙂
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That stat is all well and good but when the kick is just inside the endzone and is not pinned in a corner it allows for the return man to have a “two way go.” Teams utilize the sideline kicks because the boundary becomes a 12th defender. A deep middle kick is the most likely to be returned for decent yardage because it allows for the full capacity of the blocking to be used. Stats & analytics are an important part of the game, but this is an instance where they ignore scheme.
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Where is Logan Gray when you need him? He could show them how it is done.
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Wasn’t this the point of revising the rule, to make taking a touchback the default rule for return teams?
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Where would you file this data if you are the HC?
Probably under game management. Or not coaching at the level your compensation package demands and expects. In fact I never hear CMR talk about this pregame or post game.
Take a look at the stats and comments at IYh sports uga. That is an eye opener for this season. The player who should read that is the punter. and the OC. Field position is crucial in a game. Can not put a young defense up against any SEC offense inside your 50 yard line on a consistent basis and not expect the opposing team to put up 3 or 7.
Start inside your 20, go 3 and out, and you have the results of the Bama and UT game. Just check the points given up due to poor field position, 3 and out, and special teams…check the points coming out with under 5 minutes to go in the second quarter. Those were the major turning points in the Bama and UT games.
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I feel it should be mandatory to take the free 25 yards, with very few exceptions, and have said so since the rule went into effect. Second, I would put KM in place of Sony or Reggie. We are wasting a talented ball carrier with excellent speed.
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Ironically, this is Pat Fitzgerald’s policy at Northwestern…..he is a smart coach…..
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I guaran-damn-tee if we kept kneeling on KO’s just inside the goal line this crowd would be screaming about Richt’s poor ST decision making.
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Yep, you’re exactly right.
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I highly doubt that considering the ones we field between the 1 and 10 we can’t seem to get past the 20
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