FIRST QUARTER GRADES: Special Teams

by Craig Powers on Sep 23, 2009 12:07 PM PDT

GRADE: C

STATS:

Punting	No.	Yds.	Avg.	Long	TB	FC	I20	50+	Blkd
Reid Forrest	17	773	45.5	64	2	4	6	5	0

Placekicking	FG M/A	Long	XP M/A
Nico Grasu	5-7	44	6/6

Kickoffs	Total	Yards	Avg,	TB	OB
Patrick Rooney	9	534	59.3	0	1
Nico Grasu	5	344	68.8	3	0

Kick Returns	No.	Yards	Avg.	TD	Long
James Montgomery	7	168	24.0	O	38
Marcus Richmond	3	67	22.3	0	31
Aire Justin	2	32	16.0	0	19
Brandon Jones	2	28	14	0	19
Total	14	295	21.1	0	38
Opponents	10	301	30.1	1	85

Punt Returns	No.	Yards	Avg.	TD	Long
Jeffrey Solomon	1	21	21.0	0	21
Brandon Jones	1	3	3.0	0	3
Total	2	24	12.0	0	21
Opponent	7	73	10.4	0	59

COMMENTS: Aside from the stellar play from Reid Forrest at punter (who would be that kid in the group doing all the work while the other kids slack off), special teams has been somewhat schizophrenic this year. This is due in part to some personnel shifts and in part to some sloppy play. Placekicking, the return game, and kickoffs have been horrific at times, but at other times they have shown flashes of competence.

Nico Grasu turned in what will be one of the plays of the year when he split the uprights from 39 yards out to lift the Cougs over SMU last Saturday. Of course, that final kick would not have been necessary had there not been a botched snap on an earlier extra point try, or if Grasu could have hit a field goal from the same distance earlier in the game. While Grasu is the best placekicker the Cougs have had since Drew Dunning, he still has his lapses, like the 22 yard miss against Stanford.

Success in the return game has boiled down to who has been bringing the ball back. Corners Brandon Jones and Aire Justin struggled mightily in that position, making poor decisions and failing to show that ability to make the first guy miss. Running backs James Montgomery and Marcus Richmond have faired much better. With Montgomery out for the season, lets hope Richmond takes over the kick returning duties.

Kickoffs got off to a very poor start in the first few games. Kickoff "specialist" Patrick Rooney struggled to get the ball beyond the ten yard line, let alone in the endzone. The coverage has also left something to desire, as the opposition is averaging over thirty yards per return. Nico Grasu provided some hope against SMU, as he was able to knock three kicks into the endzone. If he continues that, it could mask some of the depth issues the Cougs have shown on special teams.

HOW THIS GRADE CAN BE IMPROVED: I fully expect improvement out of the special teams going forward. Wulff seems to have realized that his cornerbacks are not effective kick returners, and hopefully we will see guys that are used to having the ball in there hands back there. Nico Grasu provides instant improvement in the kickoff game. Reid Forrest should keep being awesome. Many special teams mistakes can be improved if the Cougs avoid mental lapses, like missing assignments. This unit has real potential to earn an "A" in the second quarter of the season.

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Comments

Apologies to Patrick Rooney

But I can’t see any reason to choose him over Grasu for kickoffs. Rooney had the strongest leg on the team last year, but that wasn’t saying much, and Grasu has been much more impressive in-game lately.

by Grady Clapp on Sep 23, 2009 12:36 PM PDT reply actions

I completely agree with your final line

This is a unit that should be an A- by the end of the year. Grasu has the potential to be one of the best kickers in the Pac-10 — if he can get his consistency issues ironed out — Forrest is already the best punter in the conference, and our coverage should be better as the year goes on (it’s already improved tremendously since game one).

About the only thing that probably won’t be where we want it to be is the return game. However, in a silver lining, we’re probably going to get lots of practice to make it better!

CougCenter

by Jeff Nusser on Sep 23, 2009 12:39 PM PDT reply actions

You know what's sad?

We have TWO punt returns through three games. I know fair catches don’t count, but our opponents have seven returns.

CougCenter

by Craig Powers on Sep 23, 2009 12:57 PM PDT reply actions

You know what else is sad?

Nobody but the three authors have commented on this superb post so far.

We’re out here on Poop Island.

CougCenter

by Jeff Nusser on Sep 23, 2009 2:18 PM PDT up reply actions

I will then...

I think the special teams have a chance to actually keep us in a couple of games that we’d otherwise have little chance of being in, especially with our only 1st-Team All Pac-10 candidate, punter Reid Forrest. What a weapon! Forrest’s accuracy makes it possible to minimize the holes in the punt coverage team through directional kicking, not to mention his knack for "flipping the field" with his booming 50 and 60 plus yard boots. His ability to affect field position has the potential to change an outcome or two.

Grasu has also been pretty much what we’d expected, I just hope that he has the opportunity to kick a few more PATs in the coming weeks. I’m pleased to read that he put a couple of kickoffs into the end zone last week, hope that continues. The kickoff and kick return teams need some work, but have already shown tremendous improvement over the Stanford game. Personally, I’d like to see Forzani and Mitz bringing back kickoffs, both have good speed and the ability to break tackles.

I agree that the special teams have the greatest potential to become strengths as the season wears on!

Keep up the good work, guys!

by '03CouveCoug on Sep 23, 2009 2:56 PM PDT up reply actions