I'm warming up my crow....

[AppAttack]

I was a believer after battling back and gutting out a win in the ULM game. That showed me a lot. Despite their record, I still believe that's a solid football team. How much for a quality special teams coach, $100k?

[manonabuffalo]

I was a believer after battling back and gutting out a win in the ULM game. That showed me a lot. Despite their record, I still believe that's a solid football team. How much for a quality special teams coach, $100k?

I would do it if they give me season tickets and a parking space for life. Throw in a small bonus for improvement in productivity and I'm in.

[WVAPPeer]

I was a believer after battling back and gutting out a win in the ULM game. That showed me a lot. Despite their record, I still believe that's a solid football team. How much for a quality special teams coach, $100k?

I'm guessing everyone realizes that we are allowed a Head Coach and 9 Assistants? - We already have reached the limit - we just cant' go out and hire an additional coach ---

[kiddbrewer]

I was a believer after battling back and gutting out a win in the ULM game. That showed me a lot. Despite their record, I still believe that's a solid football team. How much for a quality special teams coach, $100k?

I'm guessing everyone realizes that we are allowed a Head Coach and 9 Assistants? - We already have reached the limit - we just cant' go out and hire an additional coach ---

Does that include GA's?

[tjpappy]

With only two games left (darn it!!) I do not expect to see drastic change in special teams this season. Coach acknowledged personnel/depth concerns, but also mentioned the need to coach the players to be better. I would hope that we focus on coverage (kickoff and punt) and make adjustments that might strengthen that part of the game. I do not expect to see major changes in the kicking game until next season. Critcher is bringing in points (PATs and FGs) and that is surely a positive. He has been asked to do a lot and it does seem to have diminished his punting game somewhat. However, I don't see reason to believe that he won't be able to get back to a stronger punting game. I do hope we reconsider the rugby punts or at least the circumstances in which we employ them.

On the positive side, we did not have concerns about negative yardage on returns during this game.

[WVAPPeer]

I was a believer after battling back and gutting out a win in the ULM game. That showed me a lot. Despite their record, I still believe that's a solid football team. How much for a quality special teams coach, $100k?

I'm guessing everyone realizes that we are allowed a Head Coach and 9 Assistants? - We already have reached the limit - we just cant' go out and hire an additional coach ---

Does that include GA's?

above + 2 GAs

[kiddbrewer]

I was a believer after battling back and gutting out a win in the ULM game. That showed me a lot. Despite their record, I still believe that's a solid football team. How much for a quality special teams coach, $100k?

I'm guessing everyone realizes that we are allowed a Head Coach and 9 Assistants? - We already have reached the limit - we just cant' go out and hire an additional coach ---

Does that include GA's?

above + 2 GAs

Thanks for the info. Not knowing much about the ins and outs of the rules, but I see we have 4 GA's.

[WVAPPeer]

I was a believer after battling back and gutting out a win in the ULM game. That showed me a lot. Despite their record, I still believe that's a solid football team. How much for a quality special teams coach, $100k?

I'm guessing everyone realizes that we are allowed a Head Coach and 9 Assistants? - We already have reached the limit - we just cant' go out and hire an additional coach ---

Does that include GA's?

above + 2 GAs

Thanks for the info. Not knowing much about the ins and outs of the rules, but I see we have 4 GA's.

not sure - but the rule says 2 GAs "employed" by the university - maybe 2 of ours are not getting paid ---

[kiddbrewer]

not sure - but the rule says 2 GAs "employed" by the university - maybe 2 of ours are not getting paid ---

Me neither, but thanks for the info.

[firemoose]

Couple of big problems with special teams. One, coming from someone who was both a D starter and also volunteered to play ST, is you have to be a little bit crazy to be a ST players. Takes a different mind set and the best guys should be locked up in padded rooms only to be let out when needed. And two, when you field a group of athletes as the primary guys on special teams they tend to want to make big plays, which in turn causes them to leave their lanes. Last night/this morning during the Ok St/Az St game Az St lined up for a kickoff after pulling within 1. Looking from the endzone camera they didn't have a single player past the KO team right hash. I just thought to myself "well I know where this returner is heading". It gave him an instant path and also showed Ok St that the kick was going to the left side of the field, from the kicking team's standpoint. Turned into a 60+ yard return.

Once we pull a lot of these shirts we need to id a group of crazy guys who are not going to be starters but want to see the field. And that group needs to spend the majority of their time doing nothing but return and receive coverage practice. There's a reason why the NFL has a group of ST specialists on each team (most of them low picks or UDFA's) and that's how many eventual starters and backups wind up making a team in the first place. It's been years since we've made ST a real priority and it's showed. Time for that to change.

[BUTCH1991]

Couple of big problems with special teams. One, coming from someone who was both a D starter and also volunteered to play ST, is you have to be a little bit crazy to be a ST players. Takes a different mind set and the best guys should be locked up in padded rooms only to be let out when needed. And two, when you field a group of athletes as the primary guys on special teams they tend to want to make big plays, which in turn causes them to leave their lanes. Last night/this morning during the Ok St/Az St game Az St lined up for a kickoff after pulling within 1. Looking from the endzone camera they didn't have a single player past the KO team right hash. I just thought to myself "well I know where this returner is heading". It gave him an instant path and also showed Ok St that the kick was going to the left side of the field, from the kicking team's standpoint. Turned into a 60+ yard return.

Once we pull a lot of these shirts we need to id a group of crazy guys who are not going to be starters but want to see the field. And that group needs to spend the majority of their time doing nothing but return and receive coverage practice. There's a reason why the NFL has a group of ST specialists on each team (most of them low picks or UDFA's) and that's how many eventual starters and backups wind up making a team in the first place. It's been years since we've made ST a real priority and it's showed. Time for that to change.

Somebody get Dwayne Pelham out there. I used to just watch him charge down the field and blow up the wedge. He was a great special teamer.

[Rick0714]

Funny you mention Dwayne Pelham. Holly Wood and I came to App the same year and he was such a good guy but NUTS on the field. I agree you just gotta have at least 1 loose screw on ST, but no matter how crazy you are, you need some discipline. Right now, it's so hard to tell if we have any because we keep putting our coverage teams in such an impossible situation with rugby kicks, popped up kick-offs, and very questionable decisions. Mark is doing a great job with the line, and I know the guy knows the game, but its just a question of time. Yes, we can not hire a full-time ST coach, but almost no colleges, at least none in the state, have a dedicated ST coach. However, many have a GA dedicated to ST or split duties among position coaches. It IS time. The way every other facet of the game is popping right now, we get ST straightened out and Betty bar the door. I played a little ST and have coached it over the years, and if you don't practice it with the same attention and dedication as O or D, you're just not going to get the results. We were spoiled with a HC that loved to put the time in on ST, especially after 2004 when we went to the spread and he knew it wasn't it specialty. Now we need someone who can help put in time and another few Holly Wood's with a whole bucket of loose screws!