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I'm not. Hate to say I was expecting Faulk to fumble, I really hate to say it, but the thought never left my head once I saw him returning punts.
Maroney doesn't look that great at it either. He seems to accelerate well, but these little smurf returners are faster. Why risk injury if he's not outstanding?
I thought Smith would stick for this reason, but he didn't. Looked up Andrews again and it seems like he fielded every punt and kickoff for 4 years, or at least a lot at Baylor and they're in the big 12 , a tough conference.
Thoughts?
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Maroney is being too picky and patient in the kick returns. Faulk's pretty good, but not great, and there's always a mild danger of fumbling with him.
I guess Chad Jackson didn't do great when they tested him for kickoff/punt returns, b/c you'd think with his speed and size he'd make a good candidate.
Maybe Willie Andrews should get a shot. Interesting point about him returning kicks for 4 years at Baylor, and based on Reiss' talk, I thought he was going to be one of our return men.
Last edited by BradyManny; 10-10-2006 at 11:13 AM..
Of the guys on the roster, the one whose kick returns I've liked most has been Ellis Hobbs. But what do I know?
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Of the guys on the roster, the one whose kick returns I've liked most has been Ellis Hobbs. But what do I know?
Oh, good point, I forgot about Hobbs. Yeah, I agree, he seemed to be very solid, maybe when he returns to full health he can work his way into the return mix.
this is one area where I hope coming out of the bye will be improved... while it hasnt been horrible, I think it is an area where we could get better.
I for one do not like seeing our #1 pick and future running back fielding kickoffs. I dont care if he takes one to the house this year, I think the risk is too great with him being a vital part of our running game this year and beyond.
I did like Hobbs back there as well, but dont know how soon he will be put back there with the condition of his hand.
I would like to see Andrews back there, that seemed to be a big plus as to why we took him in the first place.
Faulk is Faulk... we know what wer are giong to get and that will be an occasional good run followed shortly thereafter by a fumble.
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I agree that right now Ellis Hobbs would be our best option for returning kicks, but i think the reason they stopped using him last year was that they deemed him too important to the secondary to risk losing him on a kick return, i guess they feel the same way this year.
As for Willie Andrews, i would love to see someone new back there returning kicks. Maroney is too important to the offense, and Faulk seems better suited for punt returns, neither one of them has seemed capable of breaking off a long return.
When your offense struggles and your defense has some issues having an explosive return game can buy you some W's. Just like your D getting some turnovers. So it would be huge if our return game could really contribute. We haven't been special in that aspect of special teams since Troy lost that first step burst 4 years ago. I think being a conservative minded protect the ball coach BB finds it hard to trust rookies (or dedicate a roster spot to a returner) and tends to sacrifice explosive speed for safety to avoid implosion. We were lucky the D was able to pick up Faulk this week. Turnovers will kill you, and if you can't protect the rock and make good decisions it doesn't matter to BB how fast you can run with it. Hobbs showed some promise last year when Bethel wasn't jumping in front of him but rishing a smurf DB on kick returns is a real risk reward conundrum on this team.
Maybe Willie Andrews should get a shot. Interesting point about him returning kicks for 4 years at Baylor, and based on Reiss' talk, I thought he was going to be one of our return men.
They discussed this on WEEI's pregame show Saturday and Curran and Parillo both said that the coaching staff was not happy with his ball handling during the preseason.
I'm not happy with Faulk's fumble or Maroney's tappy feet on KRs, but I don't know that there's a street free agent that can do better. And if the coaching staff deems Hobbs too valuable and Andrews not ready, then I agree with them.
When your offense struggles and your defense has some issues having an explosive return game can buy you some W's. Just like your D getting some turnovers. So it would be huge if our return game could really contribute. We haven't been special in that aspect of special teams since Troy lost that first step burst 4 years ago. I think being a conservative minded protect the ball coach BB finds it hard to trust rookies (or dedicate a roster spot to a returner) and tends to sacrifice explosive speed for safety to avoid implosion. We were lucky the D was able to pick up Faulk this week. Turnovers will kill you, and if you can't protect the rock and make good decisions it doesn't matter to BB how fast you can run with it. Hobbs showed some promise last year when Bethel wasn't jumping in front of him but rishing a smurf DB on kick returns is a real risk reward conundrum on this team.
I believe you're right, but protecting the ball and Faulk on punt returns don't go together in my mind.
We had Jonathan Smith and still have Willie Andrews. Both have a lot of return experience, either in college, pros or both. who do we expect to pick up?
Bethel's available, as far as I know. I now it sounds silly, but he was a good kick returner.
No, I don't want Bethel back, but I'd rather have real kick returners than a fumble prone 3rd down back on punt returns or a big RB that doesn't really look that good on kickoffs.
Throw Andrews out there and see what he can do. Or pick up someone else.
Happy with our kick returners?
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