Alabama 'Special' Teams Woes - How do we fix this?

tusks_n_raider · Nov 18, 2018

Guys to say we have problems in the kicking game is a gross understatement.

I'm not sure how to describe the situation without breaking TF's language rules.... so I'll use stats instead....

We are ranked dead last in punting. 130th out of 130 (35.04 yards per punt)

We are ranked 124th out of 130 in PAT kicking. 88.9% Accuracy

We lead the country in missed PAT's (8)

We are 76th in FG Kicking (12 of 17) 70.6% Accuracy *Not Terrible but if we NEED a FG you know we'd miss it*

We are 73rd in Touchback% on Kickoffs

We are tied for 14th for Most Kickoffs out of bounds (3)

If it involves somebody kicking a football we are just AWFUL. The unit couldn't be more of a dumpster fire right now.

What is the main problem?? Did we just completely whiff on player evaluation?? Did we make a bad hiring decision with Banks??

The #1 Team in the country should in no way have such a TERRIBLE ST Unit.

We are VERY fortunate to have the #3 Scoring Offense and #3 Scoring Defense right now to mostly cover all this garbage up.

RT27 · Nov 18, 2018

The ST play will bite us at some point, for extra points just go for 2 every time, get half and it is like perfect extra point kicks. Kick offs we have done okay keeping them inside 25 so I can live with it. Punting, maybe lower kicks and hope for rolls and mishandling. It is a problem, but as long as we score a lot it is livable, in a close game it may bite us in the booty.

Jessica4Bama · Nov 18, 2018

It’s amazing how many of the years under Saban we’ve been terrible with kicking FG. We were blessed with one of the best punters I’ve ever seen, but the FG kicking is another story. It’s weird. Let’s hope it doesn’t bite us in the butt one day. It almost did last season in the national championship game.

BamaInMo1 · Nov 18, 2018

Go over to the soccer complex and have open tryouts. No, I am not kidding.

B1GTide · Nov 18, 2018

RT27 said:
The ST play will bite us at some point, for extra points just go for 2 every time, get half and it is like perfect extra point kicks. Kick offs we have done okay keeping them inside 25 so I can live with it. Punting, maybe lower kicks and hope for rolls and mishandling. It is a problem, but as long as we score a lot it is livable, in a close game it may bite us in the booty.

Just keep winning by 24+ ppg. Roll Tide!

BayouBama75 · Nov 18, 2018

I think we go back to Austin Jones who we started with. I think he may have been a little overwhelmed to start with but he has had success in previous years and after a little time on the bench I think he would take advantage of a second chance

bamacpa · Nov 18, 2018

I'm not as concerned about punting since Bernier stepped in. He won't flip the field, but we aren't seeing any returns either.

uaintn · Nov 18, 2018

It is an embarrassing situation. I don't worry about the touchbacks because I believe we kickoff short as a tactic. Punting is going to be what it is now and we have to live with it. The walk on is short, but at least consistent. Not his fault and I admire him, though I have serious questions about what went on with the starter. Fumbling kickoffs is inexcusable. PATs, well, I don't have the vocabulary.

12Namath12 · Nov 18, 2018

How do we fix this?

By going for 2 until we give a scholly to "real" kickers.

Tide&True · Nov 18, 2018

RT27 said:
The ST play will bite us at some point, for extra points just go for 2 every time, get half and it is like perfect extra point kicks. Kick offs we have done okay keeping them inside 25 so I can live with it. Punting, maybe lower kicks and hope for rolls and mishandling. It is a problem, but as long as we score a lot it is livable, in a close game it may bite us in the booty.

Just for fun I’d love to go for 2 every time. Bet we would make it more than we’d miss. Just like going for it on 4th down more.

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VirginiaTide57 · Nov 18, 2018

Some perspective -

We are ranked dead last in punting. 130th out of 130 (35.04 yards per punt)

- what are we ranked in yards allowed on punt returns, and are the stats significantly different when splitting between each punter?

We are ranked 124th out of 130 in PAT kicking. 88.9% Accuracy

- what's our ranking for attempts? I know this doesn't excuse the misses . . .

We lead the country in missed PAT's (8)

- again, number of attempts?

We are 76th in FG Kicking (12 of 17) 70.6% Accuracy *Not Terrible but if we NEED a FG you know we'd miss it*

- so Bama is attempting less than two field goals per game!

We are 73rd in Touchback% on Kickoffs

- with the new fair catch rule is that stat as important as it was in the past?

We are tied for 14th for Most Kickoffs out of bounds (3)

- now that's plain awful!

We are VERY fortunate to have the #3 Scoring Offense and #3 Scoring Defense right now to mostly cover all this garbage up.

- would the kicking game be a topic of discussion if either of the above stat's was much higher?

I'm not dismissing the woes of the kicking game but if there has to be a problem, I would rather have it there than on offense or defense.

Roll Tide and Beat the Heck out of Auburn.

GrayTide · Nov 18, 2018

We are not going to get this resolved this season. I agree with going back to Austin Jones on PATs and the short FGs and Bulovas on the longer tries. It may not work but nothing else seems to be the fix. Bernier has done a passable job punting. It has been easy to overlook a deficiency in the kicking game so far, but it could be disastrous at some point in the next 3-4 games.

Ledsteplin · Nov 18, 2018

A couple of missed PATs by Bulovas weren't his fault. But still he seems to miss too many. Not sure what's going on with that. Maybe Jones will do better on those. Jones did miss a couple in the first game I think. But maybe he's over the butterflies.

AlexanderFan · Nov 18, 2018

12Namath12 said:
How do we fix this?

By going for 2 until we give a scholly to "real" kickers.

Look up the high school rankings of the kickers Saban has brought in. These guys went to camps and performed well in front of people who know kicking. The question isn't when will we sign "real" kickers, but when we figure out what happens on the bus/plane/walk to Tuscaloosa that changes them.

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BamaMoon · Nov 18, 2018

Question about Place Kicking/Bulovas

I know nothing about the position or the mechanics, but what's wrong with Bulovas? I've never seen a guy that has so much right/left on short kicks like extra points.

My uneducated "guess" is that his technique/mechanics has got to be flawed. It looks like he sweeps at the ball much like a golfer that has a "flat" swing and has to depend on timing.

Love to hear some "expert" opinions on this.

B1GTide · Nov 18, 2018

Re: Question about Place Kicking/Bulovas

My expert opinion is that we didn't need another special teams thread.

rgw · Nov 18, 2018

I don't know enough about the subtleties of placekicking but I'm surprised it hasn't improved because we have a true "specialists" coach now.

BamaMoon · Nov 18, 2018

Re: Question about Place Kicking/Bulovas

Didn't see the other one (and I looked). The mods can merge if they see fit.

AlexanderFan · Nov 18, 2018

Honestly, we've created a toxic environment for kickers. The kickers of Alabama legend are long gone. When these guys get on campus they are shouldered with the burden of breaking our kicking curse. These guys are given the failures of the guys before them and lumped into one big yoke of kicking failure and it's gotten heavier with each passing kicker and the results speak for themselves.

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B1GTide · Nov 18, 2018

This year the kickers have absolutely no pressure on them to make kicks. Alabama is winning in an epic way, with huge margins of victory. Saban is very supportive, both in practice and in the media. So, if it is pressure, then I think that the kickers simply are not wired to compete on a big stage, because there is no pressure.

These guys have what amounts to stage fright.

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