New NCAA Kickoff Rule will Cost Vols!!!!

[rockydoc]

Let me go the record saying that the new college football rule requiring the kickoff from the thirty yard line instead of the thirty-five yard line will cost us a game or two over the course of the upcoming football season, unless Fulmer gets a dedicated special teams coach, rather than by comittee, as in recent years!

I will admit that we did a little better in 2006, than in 2005 on KO's, thanks to Willhoit sending many kicks deep in the endzone. This will not happen in the upcoming seasons due to the kickoff spot from the 30.

When was the last time that we had a kickoff return threat? It will be a crying shame to waste the tremendous talent and speed of some of the incoming freshman due to poor return schemes as in the past.

 

[ole_orange]

I hate these new clock/play rules the NCAA has tried to establish over these past 2 years.

DONT FIX WONT AINT BROKEN

 

[kptvol]

Fulmer and staff will address this problem right after something horrible happens that causes us to lose a game.

 

[Alley]

Fulmer and staff will address this problem right after something horrible happens that causes us to lose a game.

Hold up cowboy...gotta look at the film first...

 

[vol_in_ar]

I thought Chavis, had special teams as well as defense

 

[kptvol]

I thought Chavis, had special teams as well as defense

I think Chavis does punt and kickoff coverage. Cutcliffe handles returns. Neither of them are that good at it.

 

[GAVol]

I don't think it's any big deal. It's not like it's the first time they've tweaked the kickoff rules. First they kicked from the 40, then they put in that hideous rule where they gave the ball to the receiving team at the 30 if the ball was kicked over the end line, then they backed it up to the 35. Now they are backing up to the 30 like in the NFL. Everybody will adjust.

 

[Alley]

Hopefully the coaching staff will look at this as an opportunity to improve UT's kickoff coverage.

Accept it as a challenge...

 

[hmanvolfan]

With the atrocious punt and kickoff coverage the Vols have been displaying over the past few years, it doesn't make a rats butt where they kick the stinkin' ball from.

 

[rockydoc]

I don't think it's any big deal. It's not like it's the first time they've tweaked the kickoff rules. First they kicked from the 40, then they put in that hideous rule where they gave the ball to the receiving team at the 30 if the ball was kicked over the end line, then they backed it up to the 35. Now they are backing up to the 30 like in the NFL. Everybody will adjust.

We will get it fixed just as soon as we figure how to stop the QB draw(Tebow). Reminds me of when I was taking tests in college, when I finally figured out the answers they kept changing the questions!

 

[volfan2024]

Our kicking game, offensive and defensive, has huge hurdles to climb.

 

[hatvol96]

when I finally figured out the answers they kept changing the questions!

Roddie Piper was one of your professors?

 

[ukvols]

lol:

 

[VolinArizona]

Let me go the record saying that the new college football rule requiring the kickoff from the thirty yard line instead of the thirty-five yard line will cost us a game or two over the course of the upcoming football season, unless Fulmer gets a dedicated special teams coach, rather than by comittee, as in recent years!I will admit that we did a little better in 2006, than in 2005 on KO's, thanks to Willhoit sending many kicks deep in the endzone. This will not happen in the upcoming seasons due to the kickoff spot from the 30.When was the last time that we had a kickoff return threat? It will be a crying shame to waste the tremendous talent and speed of some of the incoming freshman due to poor return schemes as in the past.

So, really, you don't mean that the clock rule will cost us a game, but the coaches' inabilities to coach special teams will cost a game, right?

 

[kptvol]

So, really, you don't mean that the clock rule will cost us a game, but the coaches' inabilities to coach special teams will cost a game, right?

Nothing will really change except the frequency with which we lose games due to special teams.

 

[Vercingetorix]

I can't believe how they keep changing these rules to exploit the fact that George Cafego is still dead. ESPN obviously hates us.

 

[hmanvolfan]

I can't believe how they keep changing these rules to exploit the fact that George Cafego is still dead. ESPN obviously hates us.

The ESPN Evil Empire must be brought down!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Tenn_Vol_Authority]

Hopefully the coaching staff will look at this as an opportunity to improve UT's kickoff coverage.

Accept it as a challenge...

lol:

 

[JAllen18MVP]

Kickoff Return Yardage Defense:

28th-Tennessee-35 returns/657 yds-18.77 average

If you take the Georgia kickoff return out of the equation, that average goes down to 16.41 which is good enough for 7th in the nation. So what is with this myth that we were horrible at kickoff return defense last year?

Notably, National Champion Florida was 39th. Sugar Bowl winner LSU was 48th. Sugar Bowl loser Notre Dame was 50th. Rose Bowl winner USC was right behind us at 29th. Rose Bowl loser Michigan was 92nd. Air Force was 1st. Purdue 2nd. Ohio 3rd. Tulsa 4th. Army 5th.

Maybe kickoff coverage is not as important as you think.

Now when UT is returning the kickoff, then it's a totally different story. That is truly awful, and it doesn't matter who the returner is because the kickoff return team can't block anybody.

 

[TennNC]

...then they put in that hideous rule where they gave the ball to the receiving team at the 30 if the ball was kicked over the end line...

When did they do this? I don't remember it.

 

[TennNC]

Now when UT is returning the kickoff, then it's a totally different story. That is truly awful, and it doesn't matter who the returner is because the kickoff return team can't block anybody.

Yeah - I think that's what most of us are concerned with. We start every possession at our own 22.

 

[GAVol]

When did they do this? I don't remember it.

It would have been sometime in the late 80s I think. I'm pretty sure it only lasted 1; maybe 2 years.

 

[TennNC]

It would have been sometime in the late 80s I think. I'm pretty sure it only lasted 1; maybe 2 years.

Weird. I must have completely forgotten. I was a teenager then, but I can't remember it at all. That is a bush league rule BTW.

 

[rockydoc]

Kickoff Return Yardage Defense:

28th-Tennessee-35 returns/657 yds-18.77 average

If you take the Georgia kickoff return out of the equation, that average goes down to 16.41 which is good enough for 7th in the nation. So what is with this myth that we were horrible at kickoff return defense last year?

Notably, National Champion Florida was 39th. Sugar Bowl winner LSU was 48th. Sugar Bowl loser Notre Dame was 50th. Rose Bowl winner USC was right behind us at 29th. Rose Bowl loser Michigan was 92nd. Air Force was 1st. Purdue 2nd. Ohio 3rd. Tulsa 4th. Army 5th.

Maybe kickoff coverage is not as important as you think.

Now when UT is returning the kickoff, then it's a totally different story. That is truly awful, and it doesn't matter who the returner is because the kickoff return team can't block anybody.

Hey, don't try to confuse us with facts!! There are too many lawyers on this board to get away with that!lol:

I think those numbers are skewed by the fact that so many of Wilhoits KO's were not returned last year (zero return yardage), wheras moving the kickoff back 5 yards will be a killer for us.

(does anyone know, if when calculating average KO yardage, if a kick that is downed in the endzone figures in? Example: A team receives 4 KO's in a game, the first three sails thru the endzone: no return, But the fourth is returned for 100 yards. what is the average KO return yardage? 100 yards/game or 25 yds./game?)

 

[GAVol]

I would think that the average would be based on just the returns, but I'm not sure.

Wilhoit was not only good at banging it into the endzone, he was a also a good directional kicker. We abused Georgia last year kicking it into the corner at the 1 yard line and then pinning them deep.