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Insane_Pony_Posse wrote:

fivemon wrote:i wouldnt say the depth of our kick offs are the only problem,
our coverage has been terrible as well

We miss this guy very much!

True dat!

Just thought of this....why not put Beasley as our punt returner? The kid's got moves, obviously, great hands, and is freakin' fast.

Insane_Pony_Posse wrote:

fivemon wrote:i wouldnt say the depth of our kick offs are the only problem,
our coverage has been terrible as well

We miss this guy very much!

YUP

First you look for some who can catch a punt 100% of the time. Then you check to see if he
can run with it for some yardage.

I have had nightmares my entire life of my teams blowing high rankings, and championships by
fumbling punts deep in our territory.

Will cost us a very important game this year as is

Please get rid of Darius on punt returns. They guy has failed miserably and almost cost us the game tonight. 2 weeks in a row and the Wash State game (which wasn't his fault but...)

Thank goodness we can block kicks.

I'll take the W! -- but these things HAVE to improve.

and was he the one that dropped the punt early in the tech game to swing the momentum?

That was Acker.

Big Hoss wrote:Sada does not have a strong enough leg, and Johnson seems lost as a punt returner. So the answer, of course, is to keep rolling them both out there?

Sada also does not know how to cover kickoffs. He is supposed to be the safety valve, and yet on more than one kickoff tonight he was too far down on coverage and got passed up. Thankfully, we had fast guys who were able to catch the returner from behind.

Johnson also needs to be introduced to the fair catch.

No kidding about the fair catch.

And what is with our right side of the kickoff coverage. In every game there has been big returns against the right side - not so much to the left. Is Coach McKnight the only one in America who can't see this. Surely this coverage can be improved. Also I don't know what is up with Darius. He makes fantastic catches as a receiver and muffs just about every punt. Maybe he needs glasses. He just has a hard time when the ball is coming from above.

Big Hoss wrote:Just thought of this....why not put Beasley as our punt returner? The kid's got moves, obviously, great hands, and is freakin' fast.

I like it. We often compare Cole to Welker, and Welker holds the Tech records for punt returns.

Also could try Robinson. Johnson needs to never go back there again. Maybe we should just rush 11 and hope it bounces in the endzone.

Acker is the kid that was deemed best for punt returns as witnessed by starting at the position at the Tech game. He made one mistake by not tucking the ball away on a return. Every other return man has made at least one mistake and one returner is personally responsible for 14 points being given up. I say we go back to Acker.

As far as Fields, I do not know if he returned punts before. If you watch him on KO returns, he catches the ball above his head with his hands. That will not work on a punt return catch. It takes a special talent and I vote for the return of Acker.

It's just sad that if we actually didn't have a man back to receive the punt, and just let the opposing team down it, would actually be an improvement from what we are doing now.

Symanskis punting has been horrible and at crucial times. Our kick coverage team I think is doing a decent job considering the horrible kick offs we have had. I have brought this up before but what about burning Loftus redshirt for just kick offs. Like others have said it will lose us a game before its said and done.

Also does the American Flag carrying horse have to take a crap every game during the national anthem. I have been to all home games and the horse is batting a thousand. And can we please get rid of the Stronger As One song... absolutely horrible.

gostangs wrote:The poor coverage is due to the kicks being short and bad.

Exactly...I mean really the coverage never gets set up because the kicks are not only short but have no hang time..they get there quick, low and short. Huge problems! This will be an issue all year unfortunatly, as a hamstring doesnt heal quickly as Symanski is kept in kicking where he won't reagravate it.
We could be even worse if we didn't have Sada who is a walk on from Monterrey, Mexico who has never played at a high level of football.

Containment. Containment. Containment.

There was one kickoff last night could have been stopped within a few feet of where it was caught, but all three players inexplicably ran right by the returner when he stopped, and he then took it up the Pony sideline for a good 25-30 yards.

b_caesar wrote:Containment. Containment. Containment.

There was one kickoff last night could have been stopped within a few feet of where it was caught, but all three players inexplicably ran right by the returner when he stopped, and he then took it up the Pony sideline for a good 25-30 yards.

I will cut the kick off team some slack last night. Number #3 for Tulsa is one of the best returner we will see if not one of the best in the country. As far as the depth of the kickoffs why dont we just kick it out of bounds every time or try an onside kick we would have close to the same result with no chance of a return.

Suit up Loftus.