The bottom line for '08 was that placekicking was pretty average, punting above average, and kick returns were pretty good. Punt returns were serviceable, as was kickoff coverage (maybe even a little better). Overall, some solid play and very few times when the special teams killed a chance to win (although there was a special section on onside kick coverage....rrrrrrrrr).
So what can we expect this year?
Well, the punting is in solid hands. Iovinelli is among the better punters in the conference. His yardage is good, and he is very tough to get a return on, and he was at least as good as other punters in getting the ball inside the 20. Last year's coverage unit was also pretty good, and most of those guys were defensive starters who are gone. Still, it seems like we have enough good defensive players that this unit should be able to perform as well, or nearly as well as last year's.
On the return game side, I also think we will be OK. Roger Williams was injured last year and Kenny Lewis filled in well for him on kickoffs. If Williams is healthy he represents our best game-breaking threat back there in many years. As for punts, I am not entirely sure who is on that beat this year. We have several people I think we can count on to at least hang onto the ball and make the right fair catches, and maybe occasionally find a seam and get some yards.
Which leaves placekicking. This is certainly a question mark. Our two kickers are Jerry Phillips (of Clyde) and Matt Oczpok of Pittsburgh. At media day, Coach said that he saw the kicking as a contest between these two players, and whoever was kicking better when the opener came around would get the job.
This always makes me nervous. It just seems like what happens is that kicker A is in there, misses an easy FG, and then he gets yanked for the next one, and in comes Kicker B. He misses, and we go back to A. No one gets any confidence, and they become afraid to miss, and you can't kick if you are afraid to miss.
Field goals can be very important. When you have a six point lead with 4:00 left and you can drill a 45-yard FG with reasonable confidence, that is something that really helps your team win. When you have to go for it in that situation, it can make it much harder to win. Let's hope our kickers do come around and at least get to the point where they are pretty automatic from 40 yard in, which is something nearly every team in the MAC has.
As far as kickoff coverage, I think that will be similar to the punt returns. Last year we stopped giving up touchdowns and seemed to cover much better. You need your kicker to put a high kick outside the numbers, and then good tackling. If you can do those things, it seems like it is tough for big returns to happen.
In the end, I'd love to see special teams become a major weapon in our arsenal, but will be satisfied for this year if it isn't a weapon pointed at our own feet.
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