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YOUR BALANCE
Kickoff Return Defense (Final Analysis)
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Kickoff Return Defense (Final Analysis)


Jan 16, 2017, 11:01 PM

Last year the coaching staff spent considerable effort during the off-season improving our kickoff return defense after the disastrous performance in 2015. For the first several weeks of the season we saw considerable improvement and we were ranked in the top 5. Now for the final results.

Kickoff Return Defense:

2015 FBS Rank: 115 of 127, 3 TDs allowed, 24.85 yds/return

2016 FBS Rank: 48 of 128, 0 TDs allowed, 19.70 yds/return

By means of comparison, only 12 teams allowed less than 18 yds/return in 2016.

Considerable improvement from 2015 and no TDs allowed, but I hope we don't lose focus. Huegel still needs to improve his leg strength. His ability to kick the ball into the end zone actually seemed to decline over the course of the season.

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Re: Kickoff Return Defense (Final Analysis)


Jan 17, 2017, 12:01 AM

We diffidently need to graduate some these players that will never play a game, and lets offer a scholarship to a punt/kicker!!! Field position is a must when we are playing other Elite teams in the playoffs, and it won't hurt none during the season either!!!!!

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Re: Kickoff Return Defense (Final Analysis)


Jan 17, 2017, 12:22 AM

I think the biggest issue with return yards on kickoff is Heugel's leg. I get that we score a lot, but there has to be *somebody* at Clemson that can reliably put too deep to return.

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Re: Kickoff Return Defense (Final Analysis)


Jan 17, 2017, 12:27 AM

Agreed. Good post and stats

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Yep. We did everything we could (successfully)...


Jan 17, 2017, 1:24 AM

during the game to mask what is still our kicking vulnerability. Sqibs, shanks, lame ducks, on sides...easy answer is just put it in the end zone, every time.

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I find this whole discussion somewhat odd...


Jan 17, 2017, 6:06 AM

First, if a kicker kicks it to the 5 every time and you average 19.7 yards per return, thus a return to about the 25,

isn't that the same as a touchback -

which is then brought out to the 25? What's the difference?

Certainly Huegel was kicking it to the 5 generally, so what's the issue?

Secondly, isn't the real issue here just field position in big games, not return averages?

Who cares if the other team gets a 30 yard return on a kick hit to the back of the end zone -

that translates to starting at roughly the 20 and I'll take that at all times.

Finally, I think what people remember the most - and are emotional about -

are the big returns allowed at crucial times -

the TD return against Louisville in 2015 that put an otherwise "in-hand" game in jeopardy,

the TD return in the 2015 NCG against Bama that erased our offensive momentum, and

big returns by FSU over the years.

In hindsight those types of returns seemed few and far between this past year,

just as giving up big plays on defense seemed to decline dramatically 2016 over 2015.

But giving up big plays happened much more often than giving up big returns -

we were one of the worst teams at this in 2015.

Why the focus on kick-offs then?

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Kick it high to the goal line everytime and


Jan 17, 2017, 12:59 PM

the return team should normally be -5 yards to start their drives.

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Deep into EZ is the safest bet by far, BUT...


Jan 17, 2017, 1:58 PM

if you have the luxury of a great kicker and great coverage, dropping the ball just inside the goal line is a good strategy too. I can't count the number of times I've seen confusion over whether to bring the ball out or take a knee. And all too often kids think they can get yards when there is simply nothing there to get.
I'd still go with the safe bet of a guaranteed deep touchback unless you have really good coverage to start gambling on stopping them at the 15 or 20 instead of the 25.

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I would much rather just have a touchback on every kick


Jan 17, 2017, 1:45 PM [ in reply to I find this whole discussion somewhat odd... ]

rather than give them the chance at a return.

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That's why we have better stats like KO success rate


Jan 17, 2017, 2:33 PM [ in reply to I find this whole discussion somewhat odd... ]

and various efficiency metrics.

A successful KO is defined as any that results in the opponent starting on or behind the 25 yard line. A touch back is always a successful KO. We were successful on 72.4% of our kickoffs this year so the other 27.6% were all returned to at least the 26 yard line. We were 70th in the nation in that stat which is slightly below average.

The reason that putting the opponent on the 25 every time is preferable to kicking to the 5 and allowing an average of 20 yards per return (average starting field position at the 25) is that you remove all of the volatility from the equation. Also, you wont always kick the ball right to the 5. Sometimes you have wind or just a bad kick and it comes down around the 10 or so.. now the opponent is starting on the plus side of the 30 if you give up 20 yards on the return.

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If he could he would...


Jan 17, 2017, 8:27 AM [ in reply to Yep. We did everything we could (successfully)... ]

which tells me he can't.

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Why the focus?


Jan 17, 2017, 12:28 PM [ in reply to Yep. We did everything we could (successfully)... ]

It's just one more risk to eliminate if possible. Agree that if he could kick it out, he would, which means that he can't. But I'd much rather give the ball to the opposing team on the 25, every time, with no risk of a return breakdown or momentum swing, than have them net the 25 on a kickoff, with the extra chance of busting a long one.
Now, if we had a kicker that was exceptional enough to both kick it to the goal line and high enough to let coverage get comfortably under it, that's different, and really rare. Then you can start to gamble a bit more on the chance of pinning them back vs them breaking one loose. But if you have virtually no chance of pinning them, and the only gamble is whether they net 25 or get more...that's a bad gamble.

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Re: Kickoff Return Defense (Final Analysis)


Jan 17, 2017, 2:43 AM

I think the kickoff return defense was certainly much improved but the ball needs to go into the end zone for touchbacks on a more consistent basis.

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Re: Kickoff Return Defense (Final Analysis)


Jan 17, 2017, 4:40 AM

So someone posted on here that Huegel got turf toe at some point and that was why his distance declined. Does anyone know if that is true? I never heard Dabo say so.

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Re: Kickoff Return Defense (Final Analysis)


Jan 17, 2017, 2:36 PM

Thank for this tidbit. I didn't see that mentioned.

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The most telling thing was a little talked about point


Jan 17, 2017, 7:06 AM

In the championship game Clemson kicked and punted the ball to minimize the chance of returns. It was frustrating at times but it eliminated the chance for really big plays.

Given Bama has 4 and 5 star guys on the return team, and we still are weak in some ways this made sense. and it worked. The

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A very smart move by Dabo...


Jan 17, 2017, 12:53 PM

Get our weakness OFF the field, even if we have to pay 10-15 yards on squibs and shanks, to get our strength ON the field vs. their weakness, their offense. Well worth the price and it paid off.

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Clemson---2016 National Football Champions!!!!!***


Jan 17, 2017, 7:49 AM



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Re: Clemson---2016 National Football Champions!!!!!***


Jan 17, 2017, 2:35 PM

True, but irrelevant. We'll need significant improvement next year in Special Teams without Deshaun Watson to bail us out.

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We finished 85th in ST S&P+ this year.


Jan 17, 2017, 1:36 PM

Our ST margin this year was -0.6 points. Basically our ST was costing us .6 points per game against a team that was perfectly average at ST. I can't find our rating for last season, but I'm pretty sure we were close to dead last (128th) so 85th is an improvement.

FEI has our ST at 65th up from 105th last year so we were just about dead in the middle of the pack there.

This was our rank per category in S&P+

FG Value (per kick) 65th
Punt Success Rate 98th
Kickoff Success Rate 70th
Punt Return Success Rate 71st
Kick Return Success Rate 62nd

Net punting was by far our biggest weakness, but we were consistently mediocre across the board. The biggest difference between this year and last year was the elimination of the truly crippling mistakes (giving up KO return TDs and onside kicks). Our KO success rate would be a lot higher if we could get KOs into the EZ... obviously.

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