• New here? Register here now for access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Plus, stay connected and follow BP on Instagram @buckeyeplanet and Facebook.

2012 Special Teams Discussion - How special will they be?

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Sort by date Sort by votes
HorseshoeFetish

HorseshoeFetish

Silver Bullet Supporter
Like most people I am very excited about what things might come in regards to our offense next year. Match that with some adjustments on the D side of the ball and it should make for a good year for the Buckeye faithful. What is really tickling this nuts sack however is what we might see from our special teams units over the next year or two. Call me crazy if ya want but if Coach Meyer is the legend at recruiting that we all hear about then our roster is going to be stacked with speed from top to bottom. I can't help but imagine punt blocks, field goal blocks, Kickoff and punt returns, and most importantly..devastating hits on coverage.:osu4:
 
POINT OF EMPHASIS: Howard is one of a group of athletic secondary players who could potentially play a key role on special teams, and Meyer has made blocking kicks a point of emphasis.

"We're going to come after a bunch of punts," Meyer said. "Our best players are going to be on that (punt block) unit."

Mark it down - the Buckeyes are going to block some kicks. Just how many -- and how those plays change games -- remains to be seen.
Click to expand...

http://www.foxsportsohio.com/08/27/...ing_ohiostate.html?blockID=781505&feedID=3725
 
Upvote 0
Counting lesson, the hard way
Meyer takes special-teams breakdowns seriously, might change up personnel
Updated: September 25, 2012
By Austin Ward | BuckeyeNation

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The scheme might be complex, but the assignments and the math are simple.

The blockers on Ohio State's punting unit just have to count the guys coming, and then all they have to do is block them.

But when something goes wrong at the first level, the numbers get out of whack for the next guy -- which is how Zach Boren wound up trying to fend off three guys at once and how UAB ended up celebrating in the end zone last weekend at Ohio Stadium.

"I should have [blocked them all]," Boren joked on Monday. "I was mad at myself for it.

"I mean, Coach [Urban] Meyer has the greatest punt scheme out there, and it's very complex. We just messed up our count on the front side. We had some young guys playing on special teams, some young guys on punt, and it's little, easy mistakes. We'll be fine."

If it were just one error, the Buckeyes might not have a reason to worry about the kicking game. But the issues popped up on more than just the touchdown after the Blazers sent three guys through a hole on the left side of the formation, cruised past Boren to block the punt and took a surprising early 6-0 lead over the Buckeyes.

cont...
Click to expand...

http://espn.go.com/colleges/osu/foo...breakdown-haunts-ohio-state-coach-urban-meyer
 
Upvote 0
Ohio State working to block future punting snafus
Doug Lesmerises, The Plain Dealer
updated September 27, 2012

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It turns out that Ohio State actually did not have a punt blocked last Saturday.

"It actually should have been a fumble," senior punter Ben Buchanan said. "It should have been a fumble. It didn't even hit my foot. It's not even a blocked punt because I didn't punt the football."

Whatever it was, UAB's ability to storm through the line, blow up that play and return it for a touchdown was the biggest shock of last week's 29-15 Ohio State victory. The Buckeyes see it as an easy fix going into Saturday's game at Michigan State, and no player or coach has uttered the name of the player who missed the block the set up the play.

But a look at the play shows that freshman linebacker Josh Perry, on the left side of the line, didn't slide down and block the UAB defender inside of him. Meanwhile, on the far outside, another UAB defender also wasn't blocked much, and a third also ran clear inside. That basically left punt protector Zach Boren three-on-one.

So why didn't he just block all three?

"Good question," Boren said with a slight smile. "I know I should have. I was mad at myself for it."

cont...
Click to expand...

http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/2012/09/ohio_state_working_to_block_fu.html
 
Upvote 0
Ohio State football: Kick coverage unit on the move -- quickly
Published: Wednesday, October 10, 2012
By John Kampf
[email protected]
@JKBuckeyes

COLUMBUS ? Piranhas are on the loose at Ohio State, and no one is happier about it than Coach Urban Meyer.

Don't worry. Those who dip their foot into the Olentangy River or Mirror Lake are safe.

The ones in danger include kick returners from opposing teams.

After a breakout game against Nebraska last Saturday by the kickoff coverage unit, energetic OSU assistant coach Kerry Coombs drummed up the nickname of "The Piranhas" for the group that kept the Cornhuskers from any sort of good field position during OSU's 63-38 victory.

"They can't be sharks ? they're this tall," said Coombs, holding his hand about four feet off the ground. "They have to be piranhas. We like to say when kids go after a guy with the ball, it's like sharks to blood. With this group, you can't. They're like piranhas just because they're like midgets."

The group of 11 isn't necessarily vertically challenged as much as it is experience challenged.

Six of the 11 are freshmen ? Murray, Armani Reeves, David Perkins, Devan Bogard, Jamal Marcus and Camren Williams ? along with sophomores Rod Smith, Bradley Roby and Adam Griffin, lone senior Zach Domicone and kicker Drew Basil.

"They're an awful lot of fun to coach," Coombs said. "They run down the field with a great passion to get to the ball."

cont...
Click to expand...

http://news-herald.com/articles/2012/10/10/sports/nh6084381.txt
 
Upvote 0
The Devin Smith experiment as kick-off returner should be over...way too tentative. You can't stop in the hole unless you have crazy speed and acceleration (Ted Ginn).

I also think that tenativeness is what caused the muffed punt...

Anyways, it will be interesting to see if Rod Smith continues to get more opportunity on kick-offs with Brionte Dunn.
 
Upvote 0
billmac91;2231862; said:
The Devin Smith experiment as kick-off returner should be over...way too tentative. You can't stop in the hole unless you have crazy speed and acceleration (Ted Ginn).

I also think that tenativeness is what caused the muffed punt...
Click to expand...

I think that first pop really took him out of his game. Watching the replay it looks like he might have heard just a wee bit of chin music.

As far as our Kick off coverage, really a nice thing to see. I like that we aren't just giving teams the ball at the 25 and going out to play defense.
 
Upvote 0
I can't remember any season where I have seen 2 punts blocked and I mean by the other team. I don't know if Urban is trying to get too fancy with his blocking schemes in order to cover punts or what but I hope that I don't see another Ohio State punt blocked this season.

I love Rod Smith and Dunn on kickoffs because they bring both power and speed. Love that combo..
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top