Kickoff Coverage against Bama

[THE Bruce Dickinson]

When we kick it deep it is kind to say that our coverage has been less than stellar:

So my question is what should we do when we kick the ball off?

1. Kick it deep and hope for the best

2. Pooch it and give them good starting field position right off the bat

Personally, I don't think we would have any chance if they were to score a special teams TD, but at the same time I don't think we can afford giving them a shorter field either.

Thoughts?

 

[Cow College]

You give them the short field. If we kick it to them they will more than likely have a short field by the end I their return anyways

 

[CadaverDawg]

Bruce, I agree. Kick off return coverage is one of my biggest concerns going in to the game. If we have any chance of beating them, we have got to make them drive the length of the field. Bell's problem is, he kicks it on a line to get it through the back of the end zone....so when it doesn't get through, he has completely out kicked his coverage due to lack of hang time. So you're right, either he needs to kick it high and a little shorter to allow our coverage to get down there...or else be damn sure he's kicking it through the end zone if he kicks it on a line. Otherwise, why not just squib it every time? There is no reason for us to be giving up the kind of field position we give up on kickoffs though. And on top of that, our return team is horrible and we never start beyond the 20 when we return one. So if you look at that over the course of a game, we are losing probably a hundred yards or more of field position on kickoff return and kickoff coverage alone. It's got to be fixed. Our offense is not going to be able to start at our own 12 yard line after every kickoff Saturday and expect to score. Bama's defense is too good, especially at home with that crowd noise, to be backed up and expected to drive 70 yards just to get in field goal range.

 

[Cow College]

You give them the short field. If we kick it to them they will more than likely have a short field by the end I their return anyways

 

[cheewgumm]

Agree. I'd kick it 10 rows deep out of bounds, and give it to them on the 35.

 

[FlabLoser]

I just know we can't give them a big return like we did against Auburn and against Tennessee. We have to win special teams are at least make it a draw.

Do they have a KR threat? I don't know, except for the KR they has against Mississippi.

 

[johnson86-1]

Hopefully, we'll have to deal with this question a lot on Saturday. I'd say if our offense is moving the ball on them or our defense is really just stopping them from moving, you kick it short.

But if it's a give and take game where teams battle for field position for a few series before getting a scoring opportunity, I don't think you can give up the field position. At some point you have to execute to beat bama and the team will just have to tackle on special teams. But if it's this type of game, this choice probably won't come up that often, so you're talking about having to cover a kickoff 3, 4 times max. If you can't do that, I'm not sure you can expect to win against a top team.