Mike Leach

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denguegopher

denguegopher

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Heard him on the radio this weekend. Says that he uses starters on special teams for two reasons: 1) if they are not good enough to play from the line of scrimmage, why are they good enough to play on special teams? 2) there is huge potential for changes field possession on special teams play, need your best out there. I tend to disagree. Playing subs on special teams 1) helps get people game experience and 2) improves team morale to get more guys involved in the game. There are plenty of guys who are skilled enough to be out there covering kicks who have not mastered coverage techniques. 3) I would die if I lost a starter covering a kick off, especially if the play turned out to be a touchback. Anyone know Fleck's position on special teams? Go Gophers.
 


Mike Leach. Great thread title.
 

Maybe time for brushing up on how write a thread title that actually reflects the content of the thread.
 

I had a coach in college tell me that kick returns are the most important play in every game. An average return is 18 yards. You get your studs on the kick return team you can turn that up to a 20-25 yard play on average. He then said to me, name another play in football that averages 25 yards.
 


denguegopher said:
Heard him on the radio this weekend. Says that he uses starters on special teams for two reasons: 1) if they are not good enough to play from the line of scrimmage, why are they good enough to play on special teams? 2) there is huge potential for changes field possession on special teams play, need your best out there. I tend to disagree. Playing subs on special teams 1) helps get people game experience and 2) improves team morale to get more guys involved in the game. There are plenty of guys who are skilled enough to be out there covering kicks who have not mastered coverage techniques. 3) I would die if I lost a starter covering a kick off, especially if the play turned out to be a touchback. Anyone know Fleck's position on special teams? Go Gophers.
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My interpretation is basically the same as Kill/Sawvel's where there was always a blend. Play backups where you can but where a starter is by for the best at an ST position, play them. I would expect to see a QB out there, but other than that anyone is fair game. I would also not expect to see Durr, Lingen or anyone with recent injury issues out there.
 

MNfootballfan said:
I had a coach in college tell me that kick returns are the most important play in every game. An average return is 18 yards. You get your studs on the kick return team you can turn that up to a 20-25 yard play on average. He then said to me, name another play in football that averages 25 yards.
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Depends how many of those 25 yards are due to starters playing. If you can get 23 with sure s are those 2 yards worth it?

Sent from my Commodore 64 using Tapatalk
 


I know there is a perception that special teams are more likely to result in injury. has there ever been any authoritative study of that - real numbers showing % of injuries on special teams as opposed to other situations?

Yes, people get hurt on special team plays which are wide-open. But guys get hurt on regular offensive and defensive plays. Heck, Teddy Bridgewater suffered a potentially career-ending injury dropping back in practice.

I don't think you hold guys out of special teams due to fear of injury. I would say it's more likely that you hold guys out of special teams to give them a rest. Do you want your best players running up and down the field on special teams, or running a pass route on a play that could decide the game?

It gets down to how big is the difference between the starter, and a special teams guy. If it's a minor difference, let the subs play special teams. But, if it's a major difference, then you might want to play more starters on special teams.
 



short ornery norwegian said:
I know there is a perception that special teams are more likely to result in injury. has there ever been any authoritative study of that - real numbers showing % of injuries on special teams as opposed to other situations?

Yes, people get hurt on special team plays which are wide-open. But guys get hurt on regular offensive and defensive plays. Heck, Teddy Bridgewater suffered a potentially career-ending injury dropping back in practice.

I don't think you hold guys out of special teams due to fear of injury. I would say it's more likely that you hold guys out of special teams to give them a rest. Do you want your best players running up and down the field on special teams, or running a pass route on a play that could decide the game?

It gets down to how big is the difference between the starter, and a special teams guy. If it's a minor difference, let the subs play special teams. But, if it's a major difference, then you might want to play more starters on special teams.
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Good question. I took a little time and looked at Google Scholar. I could not find a study that looked at that question. But, there have been a ton of studies about American football injuries: player position, playing surface, weather conditions, severity of injury, game vs. practice, equipment quality, player conditioning... I found one that said that running plays are more dangerous than passing, but nothing about special teams. That same study said that running backs and linebackers were most apt to be injured, but another said that it was interior linemen, so there appears to be no firm answers about injuries, including about special teams. Maybe its an idea that some grad student should use for a thesis or dissertation.
 

Google search: football injuries - NCAA.ORG
PDF will be available to download.
13.6% of injuries in fb occur on ST.
 


denguegopher said:
Good question. I took a little time and looked at Google Scholar. I could not find a study that looked at that question. But, there have been a ton of studies about American football injuries: player position, playing surface, weather conditions, severity of injury, game vs. practice, equipment quality, player conditioning... I found one that said that running plays are more dangerous than passing, but nothing about special teams. That same study said that running backs and linebackers were most apt to be injured, but another said that it was interior linemen, so there appears to be no firm answers about injuries, including about special teams. Maybe its an idea that some grad student should use for a thesis or dissertation.
Click to expand...

It stands to reason the outlaw of the wedge on kickoffs and moving up to the 35 yard line have reduced injury risks somewhat. AFAIK haven't been any good studies done in the last 5 years that breaks down season-ending injuries and type of play.

My suspicion is number of ACLs and other lower extremity injuries is up due to several factors (overtraining, artificial turf, bigger and stronger players overwhelming the ligaments load limits) while concussions and spinal injuries are down (new rules e.g. targeting, wedge; emphasis on proper tackling, mandated rest preventing re injury) but I have no evidence to back that up at this time.
 



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