• The KillerFrogs

Kickoff Returns- To Fair Catch or Return

Volare

Full Member
Please for the love of God you media types ask at the next news conference [ What the heck? ] they continue to try to run back the kickoffs and give up tons of field position.
 

UltimateFrog

Active Member
I just looked and TCU ranks #63 in the country in kickoff returns of greater than 30 yards, and we have none beyond 50 yards. I’d be willing to bet we have more returns than virtually anyone

Hire a scheissing stats nerd
 

helcap

Full Member
Like most things there are no absolutes. If I have a Turpin back there I tell him to stand on the five yard line and return anything that he doesn't have to back pedal to catch. Also it is situational. If say the other team is kicking off because they just took a two score lead with 3 minutes to go, I might be more inclined to take the chance on getting a big return.
 

Big Frog II

Active Member
Yesterday was a prime example why we should fair catch. We keep starting in a hole. One time it was from the 5 yd. line Our offense needs all the help it can get, but backing it up on the kickoffs is insanity.
 

PurpleBloodSpitter

Active Member
The offense's current status is a major consideration to returning kickoffs. Not needed when you can move the ball at will, but when you can't, it's a competed screen completion in space.

Absolutely agree it's better statistically to fair catch, and for the 2009, 2010, and 2013 teams would make perfect sense. It's a decision now from a point of offensive weakness and makes sense as well.

When it makes no difference from a td-scoring perspective whether you start at the 10 or the 25, makes sense to take a chance.
 
What we’re seeing out there this year really makes you appreciate how good Turpin was. That guy could flip the field at any time and had a knack for making huge plays when we really needed them.
 

Relic

Active Member
I'd like to see the kicking tee outlawed. Just lay the ball on the ground and kick it. Would make it so much more interesting...
 

Limey Frog

Full Member
The offense's current status is a major consideration to returning kickoffs. Not needed when you can move the ball at will, but when you can't, it's a competed screen completion in space.

Absolutely agree it's better statistically to fair catch, and for the 2009, 2010, and 2013 teams would make perfect sense. It's a decision now from a point of offensive weakness and makes sense as well.

When it makes no difference from a td-scoring perspective whether you start at the 10 or the 25, makes sense to take a chance.

The pessimist's view of the same point might be that when your offense is this bad you take free yards every time they're offered, and the situational difference of starting on your own ten vs. your own twenty-five could be very significant come time for your almost inevitable punt.

[Also, I think your mean 2014: our offense in 2013 was, well, this bad.]
 

HFrog1999

Member
Balls are different than brains.

Yeah, but when’s the last time 80,000 people showed up to watch a kid do a damn chemistry experiment?

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Volare

Full Member
Please for the love of God you media types ask at the next news conference [ What the heck? ] they continue to try to run back the kickoffs and give up tons of field position.

I gather that this question was actually asked. Not sure about the answer.
 

4th. down

Active Member
To me, one of the most frustrating things about our team all season is how often we choose to return vs taking the guaranteed start at the 25 yard line.

Gary's mindset is clearly that the upside of a big return is worth the risk of not getting it to the 25, which I would agree with in theory (especially with the explosive and fast players we have), but in application it has been absolutely atrocious.

We rank 125th (nearly dead last) in kickoff return average at 15.26 yards per return. If our returner isn't getting stuffed before the 25 yard line, it almost seems inevitable that the return gets called back for holding or blocking in the back.

Not to mention, there's the added risk of injury or turning the ball over. Darius Anderson missed the entire opening drive against Iowa State due to a cut he suffered on the game's first return. And without a massive stop by the defense and an improbable missed field goal by UT's kicker, Reagor's fumble on Saturday could have cost us the game.

I can't find a statistic to defend this (would love if someone can find anything), but I would have to guess when we've returned the kickoff this year, we get the ball past the 25 yard line less than 15% of the time. It just feels like it very rarely happens.

I'm not sure why our returns have been so bad this year (maybe it's because we don't have an actual special teams coach), but we're simply not very good at them. In past years you at least got the feeling that we were one block or missed tackle away from busting out with a big return, but this year it seems like we are getting stuffed almost every time.

At this point we just need to accept that we're not good at returning, eliminate the risk, and just take the ball at the 25 yard line every time.

No Turp.
 

jack the frog

Full Member
Notable teams with kickoff return averages near TCU's 15.26:
#8 Georgia - 14.0
#9 Utah - 14.17
#10 Oklahoma - 16.2


I am not really sure this is an issue worth discussing.

Fair enough but you could say that judging by those rankings, that might be one area where a few solid teams that do most things really good are lousy at one statistical category. We seem to do a lot of things poorly. A trend in that regard maybe.
 

PurpleBloodSpitter

Active Member
The pessimist's view of the same point might be that when your offense is this bad you take free yards every time they're offered, and the situational difference of starting on your own ten vs. your own twenty-five could be very significant come time for your almost inevitable punt.

[Also, I think your mean 2014: our offense in 2013 was, well, this bad.]
Good point and kind of more in line with win by 1 / don't lose by a lot. 2014 correct; I'm getting old.
 
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