This has been discussed in the Club level for a while and I thought I would put this theory out there for a discussion. I remembered the last kickoff in the Raiders game being a short, punt style kickoff, that was Very sucessful, and I thought they might be onto something. Soooooo......................... I have gone back and watched each of our kickoffs in the Raiders game to see what the Raiders field position turned out to be and how far the ball was kicked. Turns out, I was RIGHT about the short, punt style kickoffs workin for us. We only kicked off 4 times the whole game, but the difference in field position is pretty big considering where the ball landed. On the opening kickoff, the ball came down on the goal line and they ran it back to the 40. Thats a 40 yard gain. After Ginn ran the end around for a score, we kicked off to the 3 yd line and they ran it back to the 32. That isnt a huge difference, but............ The next kickoff went to the 10 yd line, and they ran it back to the 25. Thats only 15 yards and much better. The LAST kickoff was the ONE I was referring to in my previous post, where it was kicked very high and not so deep. It landed at the 25 yd line, and we were just a few yards away when it came down. It was picked up and he was tackled for a 5 yard LOSS at the 20. I realize it is only 1 game of looking back. I dont have all the games recorded, so that is all I have, but I dont remember them kicking off like that, short and high, any other time this year. It could have happened, I just dont remember. Anyway, this leads me to 2 different conclusions on this. #1......Kicking off short and high gives our guys time to get to the returner before they can get a return set up. #2.......I think Carpenters kickoff style is our special teams problem. When he kicks it deep, it is on more of a line instead of having alot of hangtime. This has basically the same effect as out kicking your coverage on a punt. THIS.........IMHO, is what needs to be fixed. Just kick it very high and short........around the 20 or so, and we will have our guys in position to make the tackle. No long runbacks.........or else sign a kickoff specialist, which is NOT going to happen with Sparano at the helm because they put to much of a premium on guys being able to do multiple jobs. While my confidence in Carpenter is growing in his field goal attempts, his kickoffs are a big weakness in his game. THIS.......is hurting our special teams as a whole. He doesnt give our guys enough time to get down the field before they can get their play set up. I would be thrilled to see the bad guys start at anywhere around the 20, or even the 25, but it has been a rarity so far this year so I say...............KICK IT SHORT!!!
If Oakland caught the last kick at the 25 they would have returned to at least the 35 or maybe even 40 It's getting to the point where we should kick it out of bounds or try on-side kicks
I have never noticed the "line drive" kicks..I guess I need to watch the kick offs instead of covering my eyes
great point. I think our team might have caught onto something here and might become a trend in the NFL like the Wildcat... Have the Kicker kick it really high and have it land about the 15-18. Have super fast Special Team players forcing the other team to fair catch it out get a very small return. Great idea, i am curious to see our kick off style this week. Also I wouldn't mind Fields trying a few Kick-offs in practice just for kicks and giggles. Fields has a Cannon for a leg.
