Where the Breaks are Made

“Press the kicking game. Here is where the breaks are made.” Tennessee football has lived by these words for over seventy years with good reason. As one of the Seven Game Maxims,  General Neyland invoked his Volunteers to embrace it.

There have been peaks and valleys in the implementing of it. In the best incarnations, names like Cafego, Majors, Widby, Kremser, Morgan, Gault, Bates, Colquitt, and Reviez come to mind. While having some very talented special team players, the general feeling is that not enough emphasis has been placed on special teams for some time.

Room for Improvement

Case in point would be the following: Last year the Vols ranked 9th in punt returns, 10th in punting, 8th in kickoff coverage, and 12th in field goals. Those are rankings in the SEC, not nationally.

It is not the talent; Daniel Lincoln for instance was an All-American as a freshman. In part, the 20/8 – hour rule brought in 1991 can have an effect. There just is not as much time to work on special teams. Unless it is viewed as, well let’s say a maxim?

Enter a new Tennessee coaching staff with an energy level that is arguably second to none. Notice one Coach Eddie Gran. Observe his track record as a special teams coach. Coach Gran helped Auburn stay near the top of the SEC in most all special team categories.

There is an old saying that goes, “you get your locks at Sears”. It is in deference to gamblers believing their ‘sure bet’ is a ‘lock’ or guarantee. Without calling it a lock, the chances that all aspects of the Vols special teams will be better are . . . looking good.

Touch Backs

Let’s take a look at one facet of Special Teams which has been getting more attention as of late. Touch backs from kickoffs. The NCAA moved to lower the kickoff tees from 2” to 1” and the kickoff line from the 35 to the 30 a while back. This was designed to have an impact of the return game.

For starters, the trajectory is lower with the shorter tee and hang times will be affected. This makes kick cover players run farther, with the ball in the air for less time before they can engage the ball carrier. So, kick coverage takes on even more importance. Are touch backs out of the question?

In 2008, Tennesse had 46 kickoffs and 4 touch backs for an average of 9%. Other notables were USC (88/48 for 55%), Kentucky (62/23 for 37%), South Carolina (61/25 for 41%), Utah (91/44 for 48%), and UTEP (73/32 for 44%). There are numerous other examples but this gives you an idea of what’s possible.

Without a doubt percentages did drop due to the kickoff line and tee height. New emphasis on driving the ball for touchbacks and better attention to details, such as maximum consistency in foot placement and mechanics can offset this somewhat. Naturally, rain, wind, and surface conditions all have some effect on this.

With that said then what do we have? Well with one game in the books, Chad Cunningham has 2 touch backs in 10 kickoffs or 20% (a 16% improvement over last season). Another way to look at it would be the kickoff team is halfway to equaling last seasons touch back total in ONE game. Hmmmm, what’s different?

Some may be of the opinion that touch backs are not necessarily a good thing or even needed. Make a note of it this weekend and see where the ball ends up when returned. Holding them at the 20 yard line or inside is hard to do. True, touch backs do not fire the crowd up with a bone jarring hit. They do however provide a guaranteed eighty yard gap to the end zone.

Rewarding the Effort

It will be interesting to see what happens this weekend against UCLA. Before the season opener last Saturday, Vol fans got behind the Orange and collectively predicted a 31 point victory. That just did cover the spread. And yes, even in the confidence there was anxiousness.

This week fan confidence and exuberance are more apparent. VolNation’s Predict the Score Contest has Tennessee winning on average by three touchdowns, more than two times the spread.

The Vols should not need ‘heroic’ special teams play to win. Yet a solid, inspired performance by all Orange clad kick and coverage units is well worth cheering for. One thing is for sure. Last weeks game was a nice start in bringing back on par an ageless concept; “Press the kicking game. This is where the breaks are made.”