Well this just says it all...

[Alagator]

Just read an article from Gator Country and it broke down our special teams:

Miscellaneous

• The average starting field position in the FBS is the 30-yard line. The Gators average start was at their 16.8-yard line and the Vols at their 44-yard line.
• The Gators rank 99th in the country in kick return yardage and 97th in punt return yardage and have two fumbles (one lost).
• The Gators rank 87th in kick return yardage allowed

They dominated the field position battle all game. Some of that was an ineffective 2nd half offense but a large part of that was due to our complete ineptitude on special teams. We've talked about this but actually looking at the numbers... WOW... Our special teams are abysmal. Do we even have a ST coach?

After last year and the start to this year, how the hell is Nord not demoted? We NEED a midseason adjustment and NOW. Special teams has cost us too many games and is largely responsible for the on field abortion we had the unfortunate privilege of watching on live television this past Saturday.

The Gators rank 108th in penalties per game; 106th in penalties per play, and 116th in penalty yards.

The Gators are allowing 2.75 first downs via defensive penalty per game – 117th in the country.

Wasn't Mac bragging this time last year that the penalities and undisciplined football was a thing of the past? He kinda had the whole, "There's a new sheriff in town" thing going. From the looks of it, we are exactly the same in regards to stupid, selfish penalties and undisciplined behavior.

http://www.gatorcountry.com/feature/crunching-the-numbers-florida-gators-vs-tennessee-volunteers-2/

 

[SGG]

Nord needs to gtfo, like yesterday.

 

[EyeDocGator]

He kinda had the whole, "There's a new sheriff in town" thing going

So you're saying Barney Fife is not the answer to our problems.

 

[SGG]

Maybe we should send Nord a care package to show him how we feel about his presence on the staff.

https://dicksbymail.com/?variant=22442711745

 

[2ndAmend]

Further proof UF is a notch below average football team... was expecting/hoping mark improvement this season... it is what it is, too late into this young season for positive change to above stats an overall play... SAD... pray that I'm dead wrong.

 

[AlexDaGator]

We've ALWAYS had great kick returners around here. There was always somebody who was a threat to take it all the way. Lito Sheppard, Brandon James, Andre Debose, Quez Green, etc.

For the most part, it was somebody who had time to practice the skill.

Remember the Auburn game we lost where Auburn didn't score a single offensive touchdown? We had Chris Rainey returning punts. He was coming off injury or suspension and was our featured back that game. Clearly he didn't have enough practice time fielding punts. An Auburn player interfered with one of his catches (no call) and he fumbled costing us the game. You have to practice fielding punts at game speed. You get a sense of when you can try a return and when you need to signal fair catch. You get a sense of when to field the punt and when to let it go (and hopefully roll into the endzone). You get a sense of where your blocking is and where the tacklers are. If you don't practice it, you are no good at it.

Last year, Callaway was excellent in punt returns. I don't like Callaway in this role because he's our featured receiver but when the offense is struggling, sometimes you have to create offense on special teams. That's what we did with him last year. As for last week, he's not an idiot. Callaway is a GREAT player. But coming off the quad injury, he clearly didn't put in the practice time at punt return and it showed. He got spooked by the tacklers and lost his sense of where he was on the field. I would have rather seen us pick another sure-handed receiver (maybe Worton) and have him practice with the punt return team all week. Going forward, I think Callaway will be fine in punt returns as long as he stays healthy and gets those practice reps in. Punt returns aren't as dangerous as kickoff returns in terms of injuries to the returner, but punt returns require a lot more practice than kickoff returns.

Brandon Powell was terrible in kickoff returns last year. I don't remember a worse kickoff return game in my entire life of following Gator football. I posted earlier in the year that Dre Massey's season-ending injury was going to hurt us in the kick return game more than anywhere else. We have to identify a decent kick returner. Somebody on this team can do it. Typically the best punt returners are slippery and the best kickoff returners are blazers.

We are the University of Florida. Surely there is SOMEBODY on this roster capable of bringing a kickoff past the 20.

When we are limited at OL and QB, a team with the kind of athletes we have should be able to help the offense out with a robust and strong return game. Let's do this.


Alex.

 

[MidwestChomp]

I think Dre Massey is suppose to be our next Brandon James. My kingdom for a Brandon James type kick/punt returner, but that won't work if you can't block. We need to have monster special teams again.

 

[TN G8R]

I think Dre Massey is suppose to be our next Brandon James. My kingdom for a Brandon James type kick/punt returner, but that won't work if you can't block. We need to have monster special teams again.

You're correct. Dre Massey, from what I understand, was supposed to be one of the most athletic players we had on the field. I believe the intention was to have that talent returning kicks to provide field position. As for a "monster special teams," I couldn't agree more. I remember when Meyer was here, he made special teams a high priority. He believed being on special teams held a great significance almost like it was an honor. He had starters out there because he valued field position and flipping the field so much. Blocking kicks were also a high priority. We need that mentality back!

 

[MidwestChomp]

That is exactly it. I loved Meyers approach to special teams. If you win the field position battle, your chances of winning the game increase dramatically. Mac better find a great special teams coach, and I mean great. Maybe the ST coach from LSU will be available?

 

[T REX]

Didn't Meyer actually COACH special teams for a while? Talk about emphasis.

I'm not a fan of any of our coordinators. If you are going to replace 2/3 or even 3/3 you might as well change the head coach too.

 

[ATXGator]

Meyer had starters on the special teams unit. He made it a big point of pride and it showed. Special Teams are key and we need to get better if we want to be a championship team.

 

[LagoonGator68]

Didn't Meyer actually COACH special teams for a while? Talk about emphasis.

I'm not a fan of any of our coordinators. If you are going to replace 2/3 or even 3/3 you might as well change the head coach too.

He coached special teams the whole time.

 

[TheDouglas78]

Special Teams players took it as an honor, they got to go first for meals, team activities... etc. Under Meyer

 

[Chomper]

Some old timers on this board may remember the legendary Ga. Tech coach Bobby Dodd who was a pit bull when it came to field position. He would punt (quick kick) on third down if it meant flipping the field and he always had the D to back him. Many things in CFB have changed since Dodd's time, but the theory of field position has not changed one bit. Coach Mac complained about field position Saturday. Well, coach, it is up to you to do what is needed to get it back.

 

[ThreatMatrix]

I get the impression from looking at Nord's resume that he isn't so much a special teams coach as he is the guy that they assigned the special-teams duties to. We've obviously played the last few years as if we don't have a special teams coach

 

[TLB]

Field position killed us.

It obviously effected the offensive play calls.
Eddie never had a chance to kick.
TN had short fields to work with EVERY time.

ST wasn't the only factor, but it was a major factor.

 

[LagoonGator68]

Field position killed us.

It obviously effected the offensive play calls.
Eddie never had a chance to kick.
TN had short fields to work with EVERY time.

ST wasn't the only factor, but it was a major factor.

It was THE major factor...starting inside your 5 is a killer.

 

[Alagator]

It was THE major factor...starting inside your 5 is a killer.

Yup. Go back up and look at those stats. It's a HUGE advantage for them. Their average starting position was the 44 yard line. That's basically midfield. Hell, they were one more decent special teams play away from having an average starting position on OUR SIDE of the field.... Meanwhile, our average starting position was our own 16 yard line. That is HUGE... especially when your playing in front of 100,000 screaming lunatic hill people...

Special Teams killed us, our momentum, and any chance of winning that game.

ST has been miserable for too long and it's costing us big time. Mac had better make it a priority.

 

[diehardg8r]

Calloway put on a clinic of what NOT to do when rec. punts. First he covered the worst outcome by fielding a punt inside the 10 and fumbling. Then he went with the basic fair catch inside the 10, AFTER you just did it and fumbled. And for his coup de taut, he demonstrated how to actually fair catch one inside the 1 yd line, a feat that has to be somewhat respected because of the difficulty level. That takes talent, just not the kind we are looking for. If they ever remake "Waterboy" he can get a role.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

It depresses me that Ala isnt pumping. Or maybe I should say it shakes me a bit. Im still in the "I like Coach but hate some of the staff hires; hope it works out but this recruiting class is make or break" mode. Ala and some others were still pumping Dawgchump a year after 4-8 and Ga So.

St problems, the kind we are having, should actually be the most correctable problem we have right now.

There is no F#$@#_& excuse for it, but it is correctable assuming we actually practice this stuff at all.

We are STILL a dumpster fire.