Special Teams Questions
With the game potentially being very close I have been thinking about Special Teams. I haven’t seen much talk so if I missed all of the ST buzz please excuse me. Who is our punter going to be? What are his strengths and weaknesses? Who will be our holder now that Moores is gone? Cheesman is the snapper I know. Is DPJ the PR? Ambry and who on KR? Last, but certainly not least... I’ve heard a bit on Nordin and it’s all been negative. Can someone share some positive news there? Trying hard to get through this week quickly guys. Go Blue!
August 28th, 2018 at 7:59 PM ^
What's the situation with Nordin exactly? I would be angry if Harbaugh spent precious recruiting time sleeping over at his house and didn't even get a reliable kicker out of it....
August 28th, 2018 at 8:07 PM ^
I have heard he is not consistent and has been a head case like usual. Not sure if this is true, but that’s been the word in A2. I really hope someone with knowledge can chime in cause we need a good kicker.
August 28th, 2018 at 8:16 PM ^
ya very concerning. He's got the leg to be a NFL kicker. he just needs to find consistency, who knows maybe he's not great in practices and turns it on in the game. I'm concerned with our punting more than Nordin
August 29th, 2018 at 7:43 AM ^
I love when certifiable crazy people call others a "head case", it's pretty neat.
August 28th, 2018 at 8:37 PM ^
He was 19/24 with a couple bombs in there and y'all are acting like dude is terrible. I know he missed a few XPs but smh, man.
August 28th, 2018 at 8:39 PM ^
Definitely not what I am saying. I just want to know why all the negative talk on him?
August 28th, 2018 at 9:53 PM ^
I must have missed the rumblings. What I heard was he looked great until last week and had some struggles, which seems a pretty normal thing for anyone who's not like a top 10 NFL kicker.
August 28th, 2018 at 8:41 PM ^
Nothing to do with last year....
August 28th, 2018 at 8:47 PM ^
Well what’s the big secret then this year. Did Global Warming cause the Iron Jock to melt or what?
August 28th, 2018 at 10:03 PM ^
Nordin is better than a lot of NCAA kickers. There are bigger concerns than him...
August 28th, 2018 at 7:59 PM ^
I’m sorry I don’t have the answers but man am I worried if DPJ is still returning punts. I can understand letting him in big games where we really need the big plays. But honestly I really don’t think it’s worth putting him back there if we don’t need to. We absolutely cannot afford to lose another receiver. All it takes is one guy not seeing a fair catch signal and plowing into him.
August 28th, 2018 at 8:50 PM ^
Have you ever heard of Charles Woodson, and Desmond Howard?
August 28th, 2018 at 9:00 PM ^
No who’s that
August 28th, 2018 at 7:59 PM ^
The punter is a three way battle and low key terrifying.
August 28th, 2018 at 8:06 PM ^
Kenny Allen... how we miss thee!
August 28th, 2018 at 8:10 PM ^
Robbins, Hart and who?
August 28th, 2018 at 8:14 PM ^
Moody
August 28th, 2018 at 8:22 PM ^
Ok. Thanks.
August 28th, 2018 at 8:30 PM ^
Not Moody - he is kick off specialist. Third punter is a PWO frosh who averaged 46 yds in high school and could be the leader in the house. Robbins must be injured.
August 28th, 2018 at 8:41 PM ^
What is the pwo’s name?
August 28th, 2018 at 9:56 PM ^
Could it be George Caratan? LINK to high school highlights.
August 28th, 2018 at 8:21 PM ^
The punter situation is the biggest problem spot on the team right now, even worse than RT/LT in my opinion. If we are averaging 35 yard punts, that's 10 yards of field position per possession.
August 28th, 2018 at 10:15 PM ^
We aren't going to punt this year. Each possession we're going for it on fourth down!!
August 29th, 2018 at 7:47 AM ^
#mathleted
August 28th, 2018 at 8:02 PM ^
One of the things that's puzzled me over the years is how MSU and OSU can seem to get such consistently outstanding kicking. We've had some good punters and place-kickers, but we've also had stretches when it's been somewhat lacking.
August 28th, 2018 at 8:11 PM ^
Agree. I would love to have Chunky Monkey back and Zoltan.
August 28th, 2018 at 8:34 PM ^
I'll pass on #2. Chunky had very limited range.
August 28th, 2018 at 10:13 PM ^
But he was money 39 yards and under.
August 28th, 2018 at 9:08 PM ^
Special teams and oline and QB. Michigan always has some sort of gap vs Osu and MSU in these spots. It looks like Qb is back so let’s hope the line and sp teams are too.
August 28th, 2018 at 8:25 PM ^
Without a doubt, the kicking game is the biggest concern Saturday night.
August 28th, 2018 at 8:28 PM ^
Can't we just grab a kid off of the soccer team like they did in Necessary Roughness? I'm kidding, obviously... or am I?
August 28th, 2018 at 8:38 PM ^
As long as the halftime speech is not, "Let's analyze what's been working for us......NOT A GOD DAMN THING'S BEEN WORKIN' FOR US...."
August 28th, 2018 at 8:30 PM ^
Not sure if that means they’re very confident in the OL or have zero confidence in the kicking game.
August 28th, 2018 at 8:36 PM ^
Do you think Nordin starts?
August 28th, 2018 at 8:38 PM ^
Well nuts. That’s quite concerning actually. Here’s to hoping you are in fact shitting us and our kicking game is just fine, thanks.
August 28th, 2018 at 8:43 PM ^
Um 11... Who else would we see kick fgs if Nordin doesn’t have it?
August 28th, 2018 at 8:43 PM ^
And now I’m shitting my pants. Yeah, that’s bad.
August 28th, 2018 at 8:58 PM ^
It's why I brought it up this morning in a thread. If we lose in South Bend, I'd place a bet saying it's because of special teams. They could hold us back as much this year as the offense did last year.
August 28th, 2018 at 9:36 PM ^
Well now I'm scared.
August 28th, 2018 at 9:44 PM ^
Has Quinn Nordin come down with a case of the Yips? It can be devastating. If true, then I'd have to feel sorry for him, because it can't be easy to deal with what's called "Steve Blass Disease" for baseball pitchers. Just ask Rick Ankiel.
August 29th, 2018 at 1:56 AM ^
Assuming Nordin isn't injured, wow... regressing or just performing poorly in a practice setting is concerning, to say the least. Can you give more insight on what's going on?
August 29th, 2018 at 7:50 AM ^
Kickers are weird. The only thing that matters with Nordin is how he performs on Saturdays.
August 29th, 2018 at 8:46 AM ^
Agree, and it's so much about the confidence. If Nordin goes out and hits his first kick, then he'll be fine at least for a while. A bad miss could be a setback of course.
August 28th, 2018 at 8:41 PM ^
The lack of chatter about any of the special teams really concerns me. I really worry it will cost us a game or two due to field position. Also, a missed FG at the wrong time could really be a momentum killer. Underestimate the special teams and It’ll cost you.
August 28th, 2018 at 8:53 PM ^
Just score TD's and bypass the kickers.
August 28th, 2018 at 9:04 PM ^
That doesn’t work because Nordin loves to miss extra points
like against OSU
August 28th, 2018 at 8:57 PM ^
I'm going to go ahead and say that the kicking game on Saturday will be the LEAST of our concerns. By halftime our biggest question is going to be which hotel to book in Indy and whether or not we can use our airline miles for flights to San Fran.
August 28th, 2018 at 9:15 PM ^
Never punt and go for 2. Problem solved.
August 28th, 2018 at 10:15 PM ^
I think there's a good argument to be made for almost never punting.