Juanyeh Thomas

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Kicking.....I get that we're rebuilding but what I don't understand is our lack of touchbacks....
that's not a mental thing....isn't that a "wind it up and kick the damn ball into the sun" thing.
You're telling me neither of our kickers have the strength this far into the program?
Yes
 

KC_Jackets

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Your eyes are deceiving you and/or the marketing bullshit has got you hoodwinked.

2019 SFEI Special Teams Ratings (through Week 10)
#99

2018 SFEI Special Teams Ratings (final)
#65
Any idea how much our place kickers going full retard affects these numbers?
 

johncu

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I love the thought process behind increasing emphasis on special teams. It's a huge part of the game that too many people seem to ignore.

However, the idea that our STs have improved is not based in reality. We sucked before, and we still suck. The UVA game was a clear example - we lost that game largely because of field position.
 

Walton

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Any idea how much our place kickers going full retard affects these numbers?
It did have some effect. We are 127 on FG ranking this year; we were 16 last year.

Kick off return was much better last year; didn't Thomas run 2 back for TDs.

Kick off coverage was even worse last year. Both years are bad; the two USF TDs in 2018 I'm sure make the difference.

Punt coverage is much worse from a ranking POV in 2019. We have had a bad game and let too many long returns this year but some of it is due to the fact that we punt a lot more than we used it. More opportunities for the other team to return kicks so I doubt it was that we were very good at covering kicks last year, we just didn't have to do it much.

Also, just for comparison sake, we were ranked 124 in 2017 but had good rankings in 2016 & 2015. There seems to be a lot of variance in these numbers so I expect a few bad mistakes make a big difference.
 

GoGATech

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It did have some effect. We are 127 on FG ranking this year; we were 16 last year.

Kick off return was much better last year; didn't Thomas run 2 back for TDs.

Kick off coverage was even worse last year. Both years are bad; the two USF TDs in 2018 I'm sure make the difference.

Punt coverage is much worse from a ranking POV in 2019. We have had a bad game and let too many long returns this year but some of it is due to the fact that we punt a lot more than we used it. More opportunities for the other team to return kicks so I doubt it was that we were very good at covering kicks last year, we just didn't have to do it much.

Also, just for comparison sake, we were ranked 124 in 2017 but had good rankings in 2016 & 2015. There seems to be a lot of variance in these numbers so I expect a few bad mistakes make a big difference.
Agree with all of this. I'll add too that while he's still been good, Harvin was better last year. His kicks seemed to all be boomers with massive hang time and not many were returnable. I really haven't seen him get s hold of one like he can this year. He consistently kicks 60-70 yards in-air with good hangtime in pre-game but I haven't seen one like that in-game yet.
 
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Agree with all of this. I'll add too that while he's still been good, Harvin was better last year. His kicks seemed to all be boomers with massive hang time and not many were returnable. I really haven't seen him get s hold of one like he can this year. He consistently kicks 60-70 yards in-air with good hangtime in pre-game but I haven't seen one like that in-game yet.
May not be a fair assessment of Harvin. He is having to do more coffin corner punts this season because we would have gone for it on 4th down last season. As a result, he’s often punting on a shorter field. When he’s punting from deep inside our end of the field, he has consistently booted it high and far.
 

vapspwi

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He consistently kicks 60-70 yards in-air with good hangtime in pre-game but I haven't seen one like that in-game yet.
I noticed this at the bowl game last year - he was putting on a show in warm-ups, but shanking kicks during the game. I know he's having to do more short punts this year, and he's still been pretty effective at pinning the other team deep, but it doesn't seem like we've seen as many of the beautiful long kicks when the opportunity is there.

JRjr
 

G776T

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I noticed this at the bowl game last year - he was putting on a show in warm-ups, but shanking kicks during the game. I know he's having to do more short punts this year, and he's still been pretty effective at pinning the other team deep, but it doesn't seem like we've seen as many of the beautiful long kicks when the opportunity is there.

JRjr
It because he's been putting more work into his passing during practice
 

gtnap

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Does anyone else read this thread and think 'Stingtalk' in their head every time they see ST?
Too much Stingtalk.
 

GoGATech

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May not be a fair assessment of Harvin. He is having to do more coffin corner punts this season because we would have gone for it on 4th down last season. As a result, he’s often punting on a shorter field. When he’s punting from deep inside our end of the field, he has consistently booted it high and far.
Yeah I get that he's punting on short fields a lot, and from mediocre field position he's done well, but it seems he can't get a good one off when we're inside our own 30. I've been to every home game + Clemson and his punts during the game where he can let loose are definitely not the same as when he's punting in warmups. I know it's different live but I still have yet to see one go as far as 90% of them go in warm-ups. The farthest one I've seen him punt ended up about 10 yards short of where he kicks them in warm-ups. Every time we line up to punt, I see the returner and think oh this will be way over his head, and then they rarely even have to move ba
 
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Yeah I get that he's punting on short fields a lot, and from mediocre field position he's done well, but it seems he can't get a good one off when we're inside our own 30. I've been to every home game + Clemson and his punts during the game where he can let loose are definitely not the same as when he's punting in warmups. I know it's different live but I still have yet to see one go as far as 90% of them go in warm-ups. The farthest one I've seen him punt ended up about 10 yards short of where he kicks them in warm-ups. Every time we line up to punt, I see the returner and think oh this will be way over his head, and then they rarely even have to move ba
If the opposing team has done any kind of scouting at all, the returner should know how far back he needs to be.
 

GoGATech

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If the opposing team has done any kind of scouting at all, the returner should know how far back he needs to be.
Yeah that's what I mean. His game kicking is considerably shorter than his warm-ups (when he has the room to kick it deep) if you watch him live. So on film they see how deep he punts it and have their return men set up. If you watch him kick in warm ups, you'd think he should be kicking it over their heads 90% of the time.
 

Tampa Jacket

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Bama had a player do the same thing in the game against LSU. JT is a big-time player. Agree, he will play pro.
 

Walton

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Harvin needs to opt out of Caralla's offseason S&C this winter.
And maybe the kickers also. I remember reading that they fully participated in the player S&C program. They wanted to be "part of the team" and go through the same routine. I have no way of knowing for sure but you have to wonder if this didn't screw them up somehow.

Everyone can benefit from weight training but skill type players have to work that skill to make sure they aren't screwing up their form.
 
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