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Why didn't we return KO's that were 2-3 yds in the EZ?

J

Jmhcane

Sophomore
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Jan 16, 2012
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After UVA took a lead and at the start of the 2nd half JT took a knee barely inside the end zone. It was pi$$ing me off that he wasn't trying to make a play that would give us better field position. Even a good return to the 26 would build some enthusiasm.
I realize it ultimately meant nothing, but we don't seem to use KRs for a team with the speed we have.
 
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Gotta admit this is one of my chief complaints from yesterday. Get that dog his touches anyway you can.
 
I was ****ed at two of them in the stands. The coverage hadn't even crossed the 25 and we didn't come out of the end zone less than 3 foot deep. I was like why are we keep knelling these.
 
For better or worse, our special teams philosophy seems to be don’t kill ourselves with a holding penalty, block in the back, fumble, etc...even Berrios pretty much always fair catches it unless he has a ton of room. I’m fine with it.
 
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Cause it's the smart call. The ball now moves to the 25 instead of the 20 and with the way kickers pop it up, it's hard to consistently get the ball past the 25.

Most importantly, our blocking hasn't been the best and we rarely get it past the 25.
 
Kick off returns should be easy

First line of defense should run straight at the first line of attack , second line should run backwards five yards and the then kill the defenders that leaked through the first line. Third line should stay put and attack. Then Deejay should actually start running forward instead of too thomas.
 
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ShadowSpring said:
Cause it's the smart call. The ball now moves to the 25 instead of the 20 and with the way kickers pop it up, it's hard to consistently get the ball past the 25.

Most importantly, our blocking hasn't been the best and we rarely get it past the 25.
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Makes sense, but too many of these guys have Playstations and XBox's.

Before a half though, you have nothing to lose.

Lastly, JT for all his high school accolades has been underwhelming in the return game. How much of that is him (he's a Frosh and will certainly get better, from a physical and mental standpoint) versus the coverage team is something only those on the team can accurately answer. For all we know, if it's in the end zone, they may be directed to take a knee.
 
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The most frustrating thing this season has been our inadequate return game, whether it's on kickoffs or punts. There are times Berrios fair-catches the ball when he has space, but 90% of the time, he catches the ball with at least 3 defenders within 3 yards of him. Why on earth can we not set up a return for him? He's not the fastest guy in the world, but his elusivess and vision could yield some great returns — as we have seen in the past.
 
Please do not extend this complaint to the punt returning game. I'll take a few fair catches with space over a muff. See UVA yesterday. Plus, Berrios has a knack for big returns when we need it. See FSU game. Kid is mr dependable back there.
 
How many remember the return from maybe the Coker era when the initial returner ran up the right sideline and handed it off to someone retreating from the 40. By the time the kicking team knew what was happening, the second person was running down the left sideline towards the end zone.
 
Jmhcane said:
After UVA took a lead and at the start of the 2nd half JT took a knee barely inside the end zone. It was pi$$ing me off that he wasn't trying to make a play that would give us better field position. Even a good return to the 26 would build some enthusiasm.
I realize it ultimately meant nothing, but we don't seem to use KRs for a team with the speed we have.
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Called statistics and probability’s.
 
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ShadowSpring said:
Cause it's the smart call. The ball now moves to the 25 instead of the 20 and with the way kickers pop it up, it's hard to consistently get the ball past the 25.

Most importantly, our blocking hasn't been the best and we rarely get it past the 25.
Click to expand...

This .
 
TheU1984 said:
Please do not extend this complaint to the punt returning game. I'll take a few fair catches with space over a muff. See UVA yesterday. Plus, Berrios has a knack for big returns when we need it. See FSU game. Kid is mr dependable back there.
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Exactly. Love Berrios back there as he always makes the right play.
 
SPAMM said:
How many remember the return from maybe the Coker era when the initial returner ran up the right sideline and handed it off to someone retreating from the 40. By the time the kicking team knew what was happening, the second person was running down the left sideline towards the end zone.
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That was the bowl game in Orlando against Wisky under Shannon. It was Sam Shields who took the handoff. Didn't score - in fact I'm pretty sure we got a block in the back penalty at the end.

Same game where Graig Cooper tore up his knee. Bad times....
 
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Barely get to the 20 when we receive it at the 5....huess Richt got tired of that ****
 
We're simply super conservative on KO & Punt Returns. Berrios is an MVP type player for us but he does get overly conservative fair catching at times & leave yards on the table. This coaching staff may place a greater premium on ball security & not turning it over than gaining a few extra yards. Our offense has been scoring a lot of points so just make sure we get them as many touches as possible (and avoid disasters). Couple that with our Defense creating 3-4 turnovers per game the last few games & you have a winning formula. It is conservative though. Great Canes like Hester & PBuch showed how deflating it could be for the Canes to house punts or rip off long returns regularly. Those plays were critical for turning around key comeback wins (like the Brock Berlin UF game) and a great return game allows you to suffocate an opponent in every phase of the game (which is demoralizing). I think we may see more fireworks in the years ahead. The good news is -- we're winning! Go Canes!
 
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