Examining Tennessee's punt coverage: with video and soothing anti-emetic soundtrack!

by Joel on Sep 19, 2007 7:38 AM EDT in Tennessee Volunteer Football Comment 7 comments

Tennessee ranks 108th in the nation in net punting with an average of 29.29 yards per punt. Of course, this is primarily due to the fact that we've given up a 77 yard return to Cal's DeSean Jackson and an 83 yard return to Florida's Brandon James in only three games.

You know what they say about quarterbacks? That if you have two of them you really have none? Well, last I heard Tennessee has something like eight coaches responsible for special teams. Now I know next to nothing about punt coverage, but I figure, what's one more cook in the kitchen?

There are some decent articles on punt coverage strategy, so go read up, but here's an important bit (caveat, they're talking about the NFL rules, but I don't know that this part is any different for college):

Other than the punter and the snapper, the ends are the most important players on a punt coverage team. Variously called gunners, bullets, fliers or hawks, they are the only players on that unit who can run downfield before the ball is punted. So they are double-teamed, usually by a couple of defensive backs who try to jam the ends at the line of scrimmage and cut off their paths to the punt returner. As ends, they are eligible pass receivers. But unlike a regular scrimmage play, where contact is allowed only within the first five yards, the ends can be molested all the way downfield.

Okay, so next to the snapper and the punter, the gunners are the most important. So let's have a look to see if we can figure out what went wrong on what are probably the two worst plays of the season so far. Because this could potentially be quite traumatic for Vol fans, I decided to add some soothing music in hopes that it will have an anti-emetic effect. First, DeSean Jackson:

Feed readers, click through if you don't see the videos.

So decent execution with horrible tackling and a good plan by Cal for once Jackson makes a couple of people miss. And now, Brandon James:

Conclusion? What do y'all think? Could it be just as simple as gunners beating defenders at the line, then slowing down as they get closer to the returner so that they're not as susceptible to jukes? Does anyone with more knowledge of this stuff see something wrong with the scheme? Leave your thoughts below, and feel free to leave a comment on the videos themselves.

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Thoughts

First off...soothing music? As much as I enjoy classical guitar, I could only think of a one-liner from a popular movie, which I find to be somewhat fitting of the situation at hand:

Lt. Mitchell...Goose...is dead.

Onto pertinent points, the biggest flaw that I recognize is that the coverage team is converging on the ball carrier from the moment of the kick. It's very clear in the James video that when he's on the 25, there are 6 white jerseys within 4-5 yards of the guy. One juke, and half of the coverage is beaten. While convergence is generally what you want to force a tackle, it's not what you want to cover a kick return. The coverage team MUST INTIALLY STAY IN THEIR LANES! Once the returner becomes impeded, then the coverage may converge to make the tackle.

Our gunners need to be the two fastest dudes on the team. Period. Often times, a kick return is the result of out-kicking the coverage (i.e., booting the ball 55+ yards so that there's a 15 yard gap between the carrier and the 1st wave of coverage.) Our punters have only been kicking 40-42 yards with sufficient hang time. There's no reason to not have somebody, or more preferably a pair of guys, in the returner's face before the ball arrives, thus forcing a fair catch and negating a return. I know we have some burners on our team. Its time to use them.

With that said, we must give credit where credit is due: both Jackson and James are playmakers and they made good, err, great of their job. It's kind of like the "Demotivational Poster" for Success...just backwards.

I do find it unsetling that the Vols refuse to add a Special Teams coach. Troubles rarely fix themselves, and right now our punt/kick coverage is broken.

by Aerobab on Sep 19, 2007 8:57 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Read this

From a story on gatorcountry.com

"In life, it is good to quit smoking. It is acceptable to quit at politics. And, yes, apparently even not so bad these days to quit at marriage. But among the things where quitting is frowned upon is in the heat of sports competition and in fox holes. Derek Baldry has been in both.

Baldry never saw anybody quit in Afghanistan, where he served two tours of duty as an Army Ranger. And until last Saturday, Baldry had never seen anybody quit on the football field until a player from Tennessee pulled a "no mas." On the 49th point, the Vol defender waived the white flag.

`I don't want to rush this s--- anymore, I'm too f----g tired." the unidentified player reportedly told Baldry about defending Florida's extra point.

When the exhausted Vol begged off the contact in the fourth quarter, the Gator tight end couldn't wait to run off the field and tell strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti.

It wasn't about gloating or chiding the opponent. In Urban Meyer's "Plan to Win," the players begin pushing themselves in the off-season so they can be in tip-top shape. It is uppermost in their minds to win the fourth quarter --- and in doing so, finish off the opponent. They just don't expect SEC players in big-time programs to give up."

by Smitty on Sep 19, 2007 10:19 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Holy Cow

Oh. My. God.

Shouldn't be too hard to identify the "unidentified" player, knowing that they were likely assigned to TE Baldry on the PAT of TD #7. Joel, some Tivo help, please? This sissy-boy (who could probably still whoop all over me) needs to be called out and publicly chastized. A little public humiliation will pay dividends to his character.

This is the definition of a poisonous attitude...the same mindset that contributed to TSOWWDNS.

In other news, thanks to Orson's pointing out, the Ledgendary Phil Steele now has us slated to win our games vs. UGA, @ MSU, vs. Spurrier, and vs. Vandy! Bad news is that we'll endure losses @ Saban, vs. Arky, and @ UK. 4-4 in the SEC, 3rd in the East; will that be the breaking point in Fulmer's tenure?

by Aerobab on Sep 19, 2007 11:19 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs