Wisconsin Snowflakes: Special Teams
October 2nd, 2021 at 3:27 PM ^
Michigan's ST's are the strength of this team.
Feels like his brother in Baltimore. Moody is great, returns are dangerous. Coverage is sound. Kickoffs are effective.
Honestly, I doubt there's a better ST performance in the country after 5 games.
Beautifully done!
October 2nd, 2021 at 3:34 PM ^
Jay has them humming. Let's stay on this roll!!
October 2nd, 2021 at 3:35 PM ^
The only mild complaint I have is the choice to squib kick it with less than 30 seconds left. But then again, if we recovered the fumble from that kick, and Wisconsin didn't score a TD my complaint would be unwarranted. Great game on special teams today.
October 2nd, 2021 at 3:52 PM ^
Had the same initial reaction. But on reflection, if your special teams are this good, then you have to trust and take those chances they afford you when the opportunity is there.
Tiny side note to just how well coached and aware that unit is - I was relieved to see Corum fair catch after the garbage time touchdown.
October 2nd, 2021 at 4:04 PM ^
It only cost us 12 yards (compared to the usual touchback/fair catch) and we had a chance at a recovery. Seems like a good trade.
October 3rd, 2021 at 12:05 AM ^
It was a good call. They only lost 10-15 yards and could have put the game away.
The complaint about that call in the writeup just proves every writer here thinks he's smarter than everyone else. It's endemic.
October 3rd, 2021 at 12:26 AM ^
And it burned additional seconds on an already short game clock vs kicking through the end zone. I loved the call. It was off script and unexpected and nearly ended up in Michigan's hands. These ballsy and smart decisions win football games in the long run.
October 3rd, 2021 at 2:30 AM ^
I loved that call. It was unexpected and aggressive, with low risk (5-10 yards versus a chance of recovery, and very limited time to take advantage of the yards) - exactly the kind of gamble we should take more often. That's the kind of call I hope Harbaugh continues to make, regardless of the result today.
October 3rd, 2021 at 3:00 PM ^
I think that was a great call, notwithstanding the results. We almost got a free FG (or better) out of it, which is a big deal in what was at that time a low-scoring game. And the chance that Mertz could lead Wisconsin 65 yards in 30 seconds or so was very low, based on what he had shown to that point.
October 2nd, 2021 at 3:38 PM ^
Moody=$$$. Special Teams are getting better each week. They had a TO as well. They deserve an A+.
October 2nd, 2021 at 3:45 PM ^
Squib kick with 25 seconds in the half is unacceptable. Other than that, incredible game. Go Blue!!!
October 2nd, 2021 at 11:17 PM ^
It was not the squib kicks fault Mertz threw the best two throws of his career.
October 3rd, 2021 at 1:12 AM ^
But because of the squib kick those two throws resulted in a touchdown.
October 3rd, 2021 at 11:26 AM ^
And hindsight remains remarkably brilliant.
This happening simply demonstrates the level of talent that present here. Dax's coverage was outstanding-the throws and the catches were elite. Stuff happens.
October 3rd, 2021 at 12:42 PM ^
The squib was basically the equivalent of one free first down for them. If he makes those same throws they've got first and goal with a few seconds left.
October 3rd, 2021 at 3:02 PM ^
The second throw was caught relatively deep in the end zone, so if you're just going by yardage, they might have scored anyway. The difference is that by starting at their own 37 and gaining 9 yards on the first run, they felt comfortable letting Mertz take a shot, whereas they probably wouldn't have let him throw at all starting from their own 25.
October 3rd, 2021 at 9:06 AM ^
I liked the squib kick, personally. Defense had been strong up to that point and Mertz had been unimpressive so it felt relatively low risk, high upside if you recover, and avoid the chance of a huge return energizing them. Mertz turned into an unstoppable throw god for a drive, that doesn't make the decision wrong.
October 2nd, 2021 at 3:49 PM ^
Arrghh you keep doing everything well
October 2nd, 2021 at 3:49 PM ^
Bravo!!
Only thing I can say….
October 2nd, 2021 at 3:50 PM ^
The squib kick was dumb in hindsight, but overall it was another solid, consistent outing by this unit.
October 2nd, 2021 at 5:07 PM ^
Hindsight is 20/20. Sure, it didn't turn out well (mostly because of a couple of unbelievable throws/catches), but the decision to squib seemed reasonable.
October 2nd, 2021 at 10:40 PM ^
Yeah I agree, I said right after that play that they are playing risky and I love it, especially since our D had shut them down for pretty much the entire half.
October 2nd, 2021 at 3:59 PM ^
Disagree with everyone about the squib. We gave up ten yards and in exchange got a 50/50 shot at getting the ball back in scoring position. Our defense should not be getting lit up like that in 20 seconds by an awful offensive team. It's not like we gave them the ball at the 50
October 2nd, 2021 at 4:29 PM ^
Agreed. The delta in field position is a fair trade for a coin flip chance at getting the ball back at the edge of Moody’s FG range
October 2nd, 2021 at 5:13 PM ^
I doubt it was really 50/50. But, still think it was a reasonable chance.
October 2nd, 2021 at 6:17 PM ^
Yep, came here to say the same thing. That was absolutely not a 50/50 play but whatever.
October 2nd, 2021 at 6:50 PM ^
I didn't phrase that well. I absolutely did not mean that a squib results in a 50/50 chance at getting the ball back. I simply meant that the end result of the play was ten yards in exchange for the 50/50 shot. Hindsight doesn't matter of course, but at the end of the day all we were giving up was ten yards (for whatever x% chance at getting the ball back), whereas people here are acting like we were giving them the ball in our territory or something.
October 2nd, 2021 at 4:09 PM ^
Jake Funking Moody!
October 2nd, 2021 at 4:28 PM ^
Jake had a nice power draw today. Right down the middle of the fairway just like we dream of.
October 2nd, 2021 at 5:21 PM ^
Yeah, I was thinking that. Start it out on the right side and just draw it in.
October 3rd, 2021 at 12:29 AM ^
Being a (former) avid golfer, I appreciate that my MGoBrethren understand the difference between a draw and a fade.
October 3rd, 2021 at 11:28 AM ^
Textbook kicks. Looks like they would have been good from 60+.
October 2nd, 2021 at 4:21 PM ^
I always get to the edge of my seat when Henning gets a little room.
October 2nd, 2021 at 4:29 PM ^
Not sure where to put this. But one of my biggest take aways from today's game was the physicality that we played with. Usually when we are on the road , we have guys leaving the field from hard hits. Today Wisconsin had numerous players leaving the field from hard hits. May not mean much to some but to me it means everything.
October 2nd, 2021 at 4:41 PM ^
Hey - Aren’t you the 6-6 guy?!
October 2nd, 2021 at 4:32 PM ^
My takeaways...Jake Moody is a steely-eyed missile man. Henning looks pretty comfortable as the return man.
October 2nd, 2021 at 4:34 PM ^
Just like in 2001, a big play results from a punt hitting a Badger who should have been avoiding poison.
October 2nd, 2021 at 4:43 PM ^
Michigan better field goal kicking, better punting, better returns, better coverage. Special teams = advantage Michigan, which really dominated this game and won in all 3 phases today.
October 2nd, 2021 at 5:13 PM ^
Moody is the man
October 2nd, 2021 at 5:24 PM ^
I'm curious about fielding punts on the bounce, which seems reckless to me. But I also just don't understand the rule. I would've thought that a fair catch signal expires when the ball bounces. But we fielded one off the bounce and the fair catch wave seemed to still be in effect. Does it last forever once you do it?
October 2nd, 2021 at 6:16 PM ^
Yes.
October 3rd, 2021 at 11:34 AM ^
Fielding that punt on the bounce was a thing of beauty...and there was nearly zero recklessness. It was a high bounce-a thousand time more easy than on the fly...and likely saved 10 yards or more. Great decision.
October 2nd, 2021 at 5:44 PM ^
Moody's two long FGs would have been good from 60.
October 2nd, 2021 at 6:55 PM ^
Jay is a good coach and recruiter. He will be a head coach soon. His uncle was a ST coach, too.
October 2nd, 2021 at 8:21 PM ^
I was so bummed when Baxter went back to SC. I needn't have worried.
Unfortunately there is a certain segment of this fa base that will never accept that Jay is an excellent coach. Can’t fix stupid I suppose
October 2nd, 2021 at 10:36 PM ^
Moody being able to reliably convert 40-50 yarders is huge. Remember the 2016 UW game when we were 0-3 on field goals? We won but it was far more stressful than it needed to be.
October 2nd, 2021 at 10:41 PM ^
Incompetent call on the squib other than that Wisconsin created their own mistakes, and Moody is a stone cold killer.
October 3rd, 2021 at 7:19 AM ^
Reliable special teams tend to be the difference in a game or two along the way. Feels like we have that this year.