Special Teams

[Mierin]

Alabama coaching staff obviously still learning to take unspecial teams seriously

I'm always suspicious when proportions aren't included. I would guess Alabama has kicked more field goals than most other teams. They've had good offenses lately. I know they've had issues in the past with kicking but it's best to be forthright.

 

[HS_Coach_C]

I'm always suspicious when proportions aren't included. I would guess Alabama has kicked more field goals than most other teams. They've had good offenses lately. I know they've had issues in the past with kicking but it's best to be forthright.

13 seasons and 101 misses works out to about 8 misses per year.

Guess how many Nebraska missed this year.

Spoiler

8

Alabama missed 6 this year going 12-18

 

[Mierin]

13 seasons and 101 misses works out to about 8 misses per year.

Guess how many Nebraska missed this year.

Spoiler

8

Alabama missed 6 this year going 12-18

That doesn't give me the information I'm talking about, though. I want to know how many attempts Alabama has had since 2007 and their % made compared to other teams since 2007. I assume their % is crappy but showing how many they've missed doesn't mean much if you don't show how many they've attempted (in the time span they're talking about).

 

[Danimal]

Does he control anything? He never seems to know answers to questions that I feel a HC should know. 

That is the double-edged sword of Frost of being de facto offensive coordinator. Pretty damn hard to run the offense and be on top of all other aspects of the team as-well. 

 

[Huckleberry Muhammad]

Please correct the title of this thread to “Unspecial Teams”. Calling our unspecial teams special is an insult to that word and the game of football.

They play as if they're untrained, and just run out on the field on cue and that's all they know;  when to run out onto the field and get into formation. 

 

[HS_Coach_C]

That doesn't give me the information I'm talking about, though. I want to know how many attempts Alabama has had since 2007 and their % made compared to other teams since 2007. I assume their % is crappy but showing how many they've missed doesn't mean much if you don't show how many they've attempted (in the time span they're talking about).

2019.    12-18.    67%

2018.    15-20.    75%

2017.    19-28.    68%

2016.    22-29.    76%

2015.    23-33.    70%

2014.    14-22.    64%

2013.    13-20.    65%

2012.    15-20.    75%

2011.    23-36.    64%

2010.    19-25.    76%

2009.    30-36.    83%

2008.    20-30.    67%

2007.    25-34.    74%

Overall.    250-351.    71.2%

For comparison purposes, Nebraska was 207-257 for 80.5% over that same time period. That's a pretty big difference, but we also had Henery, Maher, and Brown over that time period. I don't know how it compares to the average, but I'm guessing it's not far off.

 

[BigRedBuster]

13 seasons and 101 misses works out to about 8 misses per year.

Guess how many Nebraska missed this year.

Spoiler

8

Alabama missed 6 this year going 12-18

That is interesting but, doesn’t factor in all the times we didn’t even try one when we normally would have and that was a major factor in a few games. 

 

[BigRedBuster]

I agree that this is an area that can be improved quickly. Special teams directly lead to at least 2-3 losses this year. They need fixed immediately. The staff was given a rotten egg this year with injuries To our kickers. But, that can’t be a long term excuse. They need fixed next year. 

 

[HS_Coach_C]

That is interesting but, doesn’t factor in all the times we didn’t even try one when we normally would have and that was a major factor in a few games. 

Well stats are stats and you can manipulate them how you like. Our best kicker at the end of the year was perfect on field goals, so should we just say Nebraska would have been 100% on field goals for the year??

 

[BigRedBuster]

Well stats are stats and you can manipulate them how you like. Our best kicker at the end of the year was perfect on field goals, so should we just say Nebraska would have been 100% on field goals for the year??

No

 

[QMany]

Isn’t the general rule to plant your heels on the 10? 

Fair catch v. Colorado at the 3 yard line.  
Fair catch v. Northwestern at the 9. 
Caught and fumbled v. Minnesota at the 2(?). 
Fair catch v. Indiana at the 8. 
Caught and tackled v. Iowa at the 1. 
 

That seems to be a pattern more than a one-off. 

 

[Undone]

I probably should have titled the thread "Average Starting Field Position From Kickoff Unit" instead of just a generic "Special Teams." I'm focusing on the damage done to outcome of games because of touchdown run-backs and spotting our opponent generous average starting field position.

I don't necessarily blame Frost all that much for not having a guy that can kick it into the end zone consistently this year. I'm just hoping he actually understands how much damage it did and works as hard as he personally possibly can to fix it by game 1 of next season. You're not going to beat Wisconsin & Iowa with this kind of kickoff play. Offer a scholarship to somebody - whether they're a high school freshman or a JUCO transfer - that can kick the ball further than we do currently.

And tell Dewitt that he needs to fix the coverage play by game 1.

 

[Mavric]

I'm always suspicious when proportions aren't included. I would guess Alabama has kicked more field goals than most other teams. They've had good offenses lately. I know they've had issues in the past with kicking but it's best to be forthright.

That's definitely true. I'm sure they presented it in a way to draw attention.  But that's still a big number.

When things go wrong, people like to over-exaggerate any perceived slight.  The Alabama/Auburn game yesterday - between two of the better teams in the country who have had really good success over an extended period of time - featured a kickoff return for a TD, an offside on a FG attempt that gave the other team a first down, a potential game-tying field goal that hit the upright, and a substitution penalty on a punt that sealed the win.  People would be losing their minds if that last one happened to Nebraska.  Alabama committed three of them in one game.

Bad things happen.  That doesn't mean we shouldn't be better.  But things are never going to be perfect.  They are just magnified when we've lost as many close games as we have.

 

[Decoy73]

Isn’t the general rule to plant your heels on the 10? 

Fair catch v. Colorado at the 3 yard line.  
Fair catch v. Northwestern at the 9. 
Caught and fumbled v. Minnesota at the 2(?). 
Fair catch v. Indiana at the 8. 
Caught and tackled v. Iowa at the 1. 
 

That seems to be a pattern more than a one-off. 

Yes, but I remember something about Dewitt changing it to heels on the 8 about mid season to prevent downing near the goal.  But still.....that’s been an issue. 

 

[krc1995]

That is the double-edged sword of Frost of being de facto offensive coordinator. Pretty damn hard to run the offense and be on top of all other aspects of the team as-well. 

I know many TO did it, but the game and its surrounding parts, has become more complicated since the TO era. Data analytics, rule changes on the field, rule changes off the field, social media, money, more coaches, constant turmoil, unreasonable expectations, etc. AND Frost was hired in as a HC which I would think would be harder then being promoted and keeping everything and everyone in the program the same. Osborne was just handed the keys and Frost has to build the house. 
 

long winded way to say that maybe he needs to be mire if a head coach then an coordinator.