International Centre for Special Teams Research

So, when I was doing the last special teams review, I developed a theory. That theory was that it isn't the small yardage differences that you are really worried about. If you typically have 35 net yards on a punt, you don't really care if it is 31 or 39. What matters is when it is 20 or 50, or when a game changing play (touchdown, turnover, block) occurs.

On that idea, I hereby found the International Centre for Special Teams Research. I am planning to track special teams this year, based on this method. I will score each play....most plays will be worth no points, meaning that what occurred was in the neighborhood of what should be expected. Plays above that get positive points, plays below that negative.

The basic rule:

Scoring 6

Turnover/Blocked 3

Misc 2

Field position 1

Now for each type of play. (This is a work in progress, by the way!)

Field Goal:

50 FG Made +2

40+ Made +1

40- Missed -1

Blocked -3

Missed XP -2

TD Allowed -6

Punting

TD Allowed -6

Blocked -3

Less than 25 net -1

More than 45 net +1

Inside 10 +2

Inside 20 +1

Turnover +3

Fake Punt work +3

Fake Punt Fails -3

Kickoffs

Inside 20 +1

TD Allowed -6

Outside 35 -1

Over 50 -2

Turnover +3

Rec onside kick +3

Kickoff Return

Inside 20 -1 (Touchbacks excepted)

TD +6

Outside 35 +1

Outside 50 +2

Turnover -3

Losing onside kick -3

Punt Return

TD +6

Blocked +3

Less than 20 net +1 (If return was a factor)

More than 45 net -1 (If return was a factor)

Turnover -3

Fake Punt works -3

Fake Punt Fails +3

FG Defense

Blocked +3

TD +6

Got it? OK, now let's take a look at the Bowling Green Troy Game.

BG Troy Type PHILLIPS, Jerry kickoff 70 yards to the TROY0, touchback. 1 Kickoff Glusman, Sam kick attempt good. Xp aylor, Michael kickoff 67 yards to the BGSU3, WILLIAMS, R. return 17 yards to the BGSU20 (Davis, Kanorris). -1 1 Kickoff IOVINELLI, Nick punt 41 yards to the TROY14, Williams, C. return 0 yards to the TROY14 (SANDERSON, J.). 1 Punt Goggans, Will punt 39 yards to the BGSU25, GETER, Willie return -1 yards to the BGSU24 (Ross, Willard). Punt Goggans, Will punt 38 yards to the BGSU45, out-of-bounds. Punt IOVINELLI, Nick punt 27 yards to the TROY11, fair catch by Williams, C.. 1 Punt Glusman, Sam kick attempt good. Xp Taylor, Michael kickoff 70 yards to the BGSU0, WILLIAMS, R. return 17 yards to the BGSU17 (Lamb, Xavier). -1 1 Kickoff PHILLIPS, Jerry kick attempt good. Xp PHILLIPS, Jerry kickoff 55 yards to the TROY15, Jernigan, J. return 47 yards to the BGSU38 (WILLIAMS, R.). -2 2 Kickoff Taylor, Michael kickoff 70 yards to the BGSU0, WILLIAMS, R. return 27 yards to the BGSU27 (Davis, Kanorris). Kickoff IOVINELLI, Nick punt 29 yards to the TROY25, out-of-bounds. Punt Goggans, Will punt 41 yards to the BGSU11, fair catch by GETER, Willie. Punt PHILLIPS, Jerry kick attempt good. Xp PHILLIPS, Jerry kickoff 44 yards to the TROY26, McDowell, D. return 20 yards to the TROY46 (MAHONE, P.J.;PHILLIPS, Jerry). -1 1 Kickoff Glusman, Sam field goal attempt from 36 MISSED - wide left, spot at BGSU20, clock 01:54. -1 FG IOVINELLI, Nick punt 44 yards to the TROY39, fair catch by Williams, C.. Punt PHILLIPS, Jerry field goal attempt from 21 GOOD, clock 10:45. FG

PHILLIPS, Jerry kickoff 44 yards to the TROY26, McDowell, D. return 2 yards to the TROY28 (PARKS, Lewis;MOORE, Tim). Kickoff Goggans, Will punt 34 yards to the BGSU46, GETER, Willie return 5 yards to the TROY49 (Sheffield, D.). 1 -1 Punt PHILLIPS, Jerry kick attempt good. Xp PHILLIPS, Jerry kickoff 37 yards to the TROY33, McDowell, D. return 7 yards to the TROY40 (WRIGHT, Chris;BROWN, Jahmal). -1 1 Kickoff Goggans, Will punt 38 yards to the BGSU15, fair catch by GETER, Willie. 1 Punt IOVINELLI, Nick punt 47 yards to the TROY37, Williams, C. return 5 yards to the TROY42, out-of-bounds (BASLER, Cody;BROWN, Jahmal), PENALTY TROY illegal touching declined, PHILLIPS,Ω Punt PHILLIPS, Jerry kickoff 65 yards to the TROY20, Jernigan, J. return 19 yards to the TROY39 (MOORE, Tim). Kickoff Jerry Phillips kick Xp -2 5

So, what does this show us:

First, Bowling Green had three positive results....two punts inside the 20 and one return that got a 29 yard net on a punt. We had five negative plays...two poor kickoff returns and three poor kickoff coverage attempts, including one that broached into our territory. However, none of these were catastrophic, and a -2 score is probably pretty decent.

For Troy, the result is largely a flip. They get plusses for all those kickoff plays and one punt inside the 20, and get negative plays for a missed FG and the 29 yard net punt. Their plus 5 score is fair I think. Mostly through kickoffs, their special teams put their offense in excellent field position.

Now, I know we pooched some of those kicks. Why? Because we couldn't cover the earlier kicks. To me, that is simply a reflection of good special teams play. And, we pooched a kickoff on one occasion and when we got the ball inside the 30, we held the guy to reasonable field position. Even our pooch kicking needed improvement...we either didn't cover (the up man ran all the way across the field and made yards on one) or kicked it too short.

So there you go. The first report issued by the International Centre for Special Teams Research. Grant funding is being sought, but you can expect this to be an ongoing feature in coming weeks.