Will Michigan have the best Specials Teams in country this year?
So last year - per FEI - Michigan had the number 1 special teams in the country with Iowa at number 2. Is there any reason to believe we won't repeat this year?
To recap:
Moody won the Lou Groza award for best kicker in the country. Moody is back!
Robbins was a top ten punter by any stretch with 46.3 yard av punt. Robbins is back!
Jay Harbaugh was named special teams coach of the year. Harbaugh is back!
All of our kick-off returners & Punt returners (AJ/Corum/Bell) are back!
German Man-beast Welschof will lead the best kick-off return defense in the country again!
So questions:
Is there not a reason to believe we aren't number one with a bullet this year?
Can Robbins and Moody possibly get any better?
Who do you think will be taking punts and kick-offs this year? Any true freshman to break in?
August 23rd, 2022 at 11:34 PM ^
We should.
But we were also #1 in 2016. And special teams played crucial roles in losing to iowa and fsu
1. Peppers doesn't field punt. Downed on 1 yard. Results in a safety. Lost game by 1.
2. Multiple roughing the punters.
fsu
1. Don't kick the final kickoff through endzone
2. Glasgow misses a pee wee football level tackle and giftwraps them the game and the miraculous comeback is completely wasted.
However since those early years, we seemed to have stop the braindead mistakes and are more of a true #1 unit.
We should definitely be a minimum Top 5 unit.
August 24th, 2022 at 8:03 AM ^
The risk/reward of going for a blocked punt normally isn't worth it. Yes, it's an incredible momentum boost and crowd pleaser when it happens... but unless the defense is just suffocating on downs 1 through 3 it's normally not a good idea. I've seen far too many games (especially in the last ~10 years when we've had more aggressive defenses) where we gave the opponents new life via a running/roughing penalty (and often ending up with losses in those games).
August 23rd, 2022 at 11:43 PM ^
It’ll be difficult for Robbins or Moody to improve since we’re never going to have to punt and we’ll only be kicking XPs.
Punt return is tough. You want someone smart and sure-handed back there, so Bell is ideal. But damn you just hate to see something happen like last year to a player like him, freak injury or not.
August 23rd, 2022 at 11:46 PM ^
I wonder if Zeke Berry isn't just built for punt return? Then again, a freshman at punt returner is scary as hell. Slots and cornerbacks are kind of built for that position.
August 23rd, 2022 at 11:50 PM ^
Will Johnson? But still only a freshman.
August 24th, 2022 at 9:14 AM ^
What's wrong with using Henning again? He was pretty effective last year.
August 24th, 2022 at 8:08 AM ^
No more Ronnie Bell returning kicks, please. Let AJ Henning handle kickoffs and any number of players can compete for punt returns. Just not Bell. If you give up 20 yards because you fail to field something, so be it. Bell will just have to cover your ass with another catch, or two...
August 24th, 2022 at 9:07 AM ^
I dunno. I see your point but there has never been a year we have been more loaded at WR that I can remember. I think if that’s the case you put your best players in positions to make plays and refuse to play scared. If that’s Ronnie on returns, so be it. If we were talking about say, Junior Colson, returning punts then sure, bubble wrap that guy.
August 24th, 2022 at 10:14 AM ^
Peppers flipped the field many times fielding punts because he could get to them. That field position is too important to sit on the bench. Bell needs that consistency all year fielding for the big games when this is critical.
Ask him to fair catch in the blow outs. Have Bell go full throttle when the game is in doubt.
August 24th, 2022 at 12:12 PM ^
Henning seems like the best choice, assuming he holds onto the ball, which could be a big assumption. After him, you go with Bell.
August 23rd, 2022 at 11:43 PM ^
Jaybaugh moves over to special teams from running backs and becomes the best in 1 year. Count me as a believer.
August 24th, 2022 at 12:13 AM ^
He’s going to be a very successful head coach someday.
August 24th, 2022 at 7:45 AM ^
The narratives that swirl around Jay are fascinating. Objectively, I do not know how anyone can make any judgements one way or the other regarding his coaching abilities. It appears as though he is a very good recruiter.
August 24th, 2022 at 8:22 AM ^
Gawd, do ever look at anything without going through your lens of hate? Honestly, what more does Jaybaugh need to do to convince haters like you that he can coach? To wit:
1) TE ends coach in 2015-2016 - Jake Butt became an AA and won the Mackey Award. Ole Skillet Hands became a pretty damn good second fiddle to Butt. The TE group as a whole got MUCH better.
2) RB coach - Overall team running stats improved and individual players improved in specific parts of the game they needed to improve in. The quality of the room was improved through overall awareness (better blocking, less fumbles, expanded playbook) and recruiting.
3) ST - he took over from ST guru John Baxter and made them instantly better. They've been improving ever since...
In 7 years on the staff he's earned his place moving up the ladder through the noticeable on-field improvement of his players and his ability to recruit. The whole 'nepotism' argument has been blasted right the fuck out of the water.
August 24th, 2022 at 8:53 AM ^
I think Jay is probably a very good coach. Definitely don’t understand the haters.
I’m not sure an already great Jake Butt having an elite senior year can necessarily be ascribed to Jay Harbaugh much. Bunting and those other guys might have improved a bit from Jay and/or might have just had the light go on themselves.
RBs improved and it was noticeable. Especially protecting the QB.
wasn’t he splitting special teams with the Paramus coach who went to Ole Miss? Either way, they were mostly elite good except for the Iowa, FSU, and OSU incidents mentioned above. I think both Jay and that other guy can coach and recruit.
Add in recruiting chops and I’m of the belief that Jay is a well-above-average assistant. I don’t think we can prove he’s a guru just yet but man, there’s still a lot of time in his career.
August 24th, 2022 at 9:24 AM ^
Seriously every facet of the game that he has coached has improved and performed at a high level. He has done this with incredible consistency over a long period of time.
He has also been selfless in his ability to change his role to help bring in new coaches.
He has gained insight into so many of the moving parts. All the while being critiqued under a giant spotlight at a big time program because of his last name.
And he is an elite recruiter and his players sure seem to like him.
My guess is he has learned how to run a program about as good as any assistant coach.
August 24th, 2022 at 12:12 PM ^
Yup, I was skeptical of JayBaugh at first, but his stellar performance -- and across multiple position groups -- has put me firmly in his corner. He is a special, highly skilled coach. Questioning his abilities just shows someone's not paying attention.
August 24th, 2022 at 4:03 PM ^
This is an incredibly false, misleading and unfounded narrative.
August 24th, 2022 at 10:57 AM ^
Username checks out. Also, if you say you're offering an objective opinion, offer it with, you know, data. Otherwise it's a subjective opinion, based on, evidently, feelingsball. Which is fine, just don't call it objective as if it is fact, which it is assuredly not.
August 24th, 2022 at 11:45 AM ^
"Objectively" objectively means "I feel this very strongly."
August 24th, 2022 at 11:15 AM ^
nepotism..... nepotism.......
Look at the results he's gotten from the positions and groups he's coached. #resultsmatter
Jay has proven himself to be a quality assistant coach, without question.
August 24th, 2022 at 12:12 AM ^
And our long snapper is back.
August 24th, 2022 at 9:00 AM ^
Suck on that Cheesman!!! (just kidding)
August 24th, 2022 at 12:29 AM ^
If past is prologue, yes. But every season brings a new set of challenges, tons of new players we know nothing about who could excel—-not to mention unpredictable weather issues. Still, if the offense is as good as predicted, less field goal attempts and more extra points is a welcome possibility. And we know the punting is in good hands. Having a healthy Ronnie Bell might actually improve kick returns, too.
August 24th, 2022 at 2:09 AM ^
Im not putting Bell or Will Johnson on kick returns. Punt returns should almost always be a wave of the hand or get out of the way and take the touchback. Get someone that is smart and can do these things and catches everything. A 5 yard average compared to a 7 yard average means very little. I really like Jay as a wiz kid coach. I wish he could be a defensive guru that would be something nice to have for years to come.
August 24th, 2022 at 6:53 AM ^
I think that's a little Schembechleresque. False dichotomy, maybe. It's possible to have a reliable sure-handed returner that's also a threat to exploit lousy coverage and get a bunch of yards if they're available.
August 24th, 2022 at 8:31 AM ^
"Get someone that is smart and can do these things and catches everything."
Therein lies the problem - those guys don't come around very often. We had Peppers to set the standard for what we expect to see. But that guy was different - a once in a lifetime punt returner. Seriously - who has come close to him before or after? Woodson was pretty good, and so was Anthony Carter (if you go back that far) and Desmond Howard. But I wouldn't put either of them on Peppers' level as a punt returner. After him we've had Ambry Thomas, but he didn't get enough experience to replicate Peppers' feats. Who else?
Bell is pretty good, but I don't want to see him on special teams. Not at all.
August 24th, 2022 at 2:53 PM ^
Derrick Alexander is the best punt returner in Michigan history, Peppers is in the top 3-5.
August 24th, 2022 at 9:15 AM ^
Desmond and Chuck beg to differ.
August 24th, 2022 at 4:21 AM ^
It’ll be special
August 24th, 2022 at 6:40 AM ^
No reason at all. For all the Jay Harbaugh doubters, the guy can straight up coach. He’s the Swiss Army knife on the staff.
August 24th, 2022 at 10:16 AM ^
Ron Bellamy too. Head coach of a state championship team. Safeties coach last year. Wide receivers coach this year.
August 24th, 2022 at 7:54 AM ^
No.
They will have great special teams due to personnel and coaching. But I expect mean regression. For each set of excellent special teams, there will be a team that gets some breaks (e.g. an extra return TD) and a team that does not (e.g. allows an extra return TD). Replay those plays 100 times and the results would be different. Being top 10 takes craft; being #1 takes some luck and is hard to duplicate.
August 24th, 2022 at 8:09 AM ^
We will not punt very often in 2022, and no way we settle for field goals.
We will only get one kick return per game
we will be awesome on a high volume of kickoff coverage opportunities, but I don’t think that is enough to be number one in special teams in 2022.
We will win everything else though!
/s
August 24th, 2022 at 9:28 AM ^
You had me nodding in agreement until the /s at the end.
August 24th, 2022 at 11:29 AM ^
You forgot to mention getting ten punt returns each game, unless you expect the defense to create four or five turnovers each week. Could be more, as the offense will be scoring touchdowns so fast that the other team has 12-18 possessions during the game.
August 24th, 2022 at 10:59 AM ^
I think regression to the mean will see us dip a little, still think it will be a top-10 unit. Too many high-variance events with a relatively small sample size for special teams- a lot can go very wrong very quickly.
Edit: what OuldSod said above
August 24th, 2022 at 1:01 PM ^
Perhaps, indeed!
August 24th, 2022 at 1:03 PM ^
On paper, based on last years resume, yes.