nicksjuzunk
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Kick-offs: C+ I cannot say whether the philosophy of the coaches in the kicking game is to kick it shorter and higher to allow coverage units time to get down, but we did not get it into the endzone often. Palardy managed to get 6 touchbacks, (1 in 14 average) with at least one of those coming from a shortened field penalty. Two kick-offs went out of bounds which is inexcusable. Coverage was excellent on kick-offs with an average start on the 24 yard line for the opponent. More touchbacks would have brought that average down considerably and reduced the possibility for big returns, so great job by the coverage team.
Field Goals: D Possibly the most frustrating aspect of a frustrating season. Much hyped kicker Michael Palardy did not progress this off-season, after it was reported he played injured and was overworked last season. What happened to the kicker on those highlight videos where he kicked balls through uprights seemingly miles away? No one knows. But this version was 9-14 and a dismal 4-9 over 30 yards. 2 kicks were blocked (3 if you count the Vandy penalty and subsequent Rogers touchdown) and the height of the kicks was often too low, coming off of his foot like a wounded duck. These misses cost us at the very least, overtime against KY and We need a serviceable kicker in the worst way.
Punting: D+ 38.1 Yards per punt for Darr and 36.8 yards per punt for Palardy. :ermm: This is what the top rated Highschool kicker and punter according to recruiting services two years ago have been able to manage this year. Maybe we have been spoiled with various Colquitts pinning it in the corner on the two yard line over the years and opponents turning their heads to watch a Tennessee punt soar 15 yards over their heads, but this is sad. Not only were our punts consistently short, we had to worry about 18 yard punts squirting off the sides of our punters feet on a regular basis. Outside of the comedy of errors that Joe Adams induced during his amazing punt return for Arkansas, the coverage was very good and several punts were muffed.
Return Game: B-
Devrin Young: B We need to separate the hype from the truth. I love me some Devrin Young as much as the next guy (no homo) but let's critique his performance a bit. In 9 games, he only returned 8 punts, many times opting for the fair catch when he may have been able to generate yardage, and sometimes letting it bounce over his head when he play may have been made. His return average was a solid 11.8 yards per kick and a long of 43. Most of us held our breath every time he dropped back, but he needs to average more than one return per game, especially if he is not being kicked away from, which he was not IMO. Devrin also averaged 23.3 yards per kick return, with a long of 63. He displayed good shiftiness, but did not have that "extra" gear that separates the good from the great. We will have to see how he does next year. He also did not run many out of the endzone, especially when we could have used the potential spark it would have provided. Unless being specifically told by the coaches (which we don't know), I felt he should have taken a few more chances. His ball security was fair, but not fantastic.
Other returners: B- Contrary to popular belief, our kick-off return average was about the same with other returners as it was with Young. Lane and Rogers handled most of the duties before Young but did not have the "big" returns that Devrin did occasionally.
Blocking: C This one is tricky to judge. Punt returners did not get many returnable punts (so they judged) so we could do a better job holding people up on the line. On kick-off's they did a solid job, but did not spring "the big one" that would put them over the top.
Field Goals: D Possibly the most frustrating aspect of a frustrating season. Much hyped kicker Michael Palardy did not progress this off-season, after it was reported he played injured and was overworked last season. What happened to the kicker on those highlight videos where he kicked balls through uprights seemingly miles away? No one knows. But this version was 9-14 and a dismal 4-9 over 30 yards. 2 kicks were blocked (3 if you count the Vandy penalty and subsequent Rogers touchdown) and the height of the kicks was often too low, coming off of his foot like a wounded duck. These misses cost us at the very least, overtime against KY and We need a serviceable kicker in the worst way.
Punting: D+ 38.1 Yards per punt for Darr and 36.8 yards per punt for Palardy. :ermm: This is what the top rated Highschool kicker and punter according to recruiting services two years ago have been able to manage this year. Maybe we have been spoiled with various Colquitts pinning it in the corner on the two yard line over the years and opponents turning their heads to watch a Tennessee punt soar 15 yards over their heads, but this is sad. Not only were our punts consistently short, we had to worry about 18 yard punts squirting off the sides of our punters feet on a regular basis. Outside of the comedy of errors that Joe Adams induced during his amazing punt return for Arkansas, the coverage was very good and several punts were muffed.
Return Game: B-
Devrin Young: B We need to separate the hype from the truth. I love me some Devrin Young as much as the next guy (no homo) but let's critique his performance a bit. In 9 games, he only returned 8 punts, many times opting for the fair catch when he may have been able to generate yardage, and sometimes letting it bounce over his head when he play may have been made. His return average was a solid 11.8 yards per kick and a long of 43. Most of us held our breath every time he dropped back, but he needs to average more than one return per game, especially if he is not being kicked away from, which he was not IMO. Devrin also averaged 23.3 yards per kick return, with a long of 63. He displayed good shiftiness, but did not have that "extra" gear that separates the good from the great. We will have to see how he does next year. He also did not run many out of the endzone, especially when we could have used the potential spark it would have provided. Unless being specifically told by the coaches (which we don't know), I felt he should have taken a few more chances. His ball security was fair, but not fantastic.
Other returners: B- Contrary to popular belief, our kick-off return average was about the same with other returners as it was with Young. Lane and Rogers handled most of the duties before Young but did not have the "big" returns that Devrin did occasionally.
Blocking: C This one is tricky to judge. Punt returners did not get many returnable punts (so they judged) so we could do a better job holding people up on the line. On kick-off's they did a solid job, but did not spring "the big one" that would put them over the top.
