James Vollono (ST coordinator) | Page 14 | Syracusefan.com

James Vollono (ST coordinator)

Guys, the thing you're missing here - why does the NFL need to see a guy play on special teams as an older, more proven player making other contributions to their team at their primary position? Why isn't it enough for the NFL to see that they played special teams when they were a younger player, deeper on the depth chart at their main position?
 
OttoinGrotto said:
We'll never know for sure, but I humbly submit we would have had a better season had those 22 punt returns been 22 more receptions with someone else returning those punts.

He's one of the greatest WRs of all-time. Why is it better to use him as punt returned instead of just throwing the ball to him more?
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Not sure the math works that way.
 
Scooch said:
I’d say that Bill Belichick a year removed from his NFL career is a different kind of hire than Pasqualoni.
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Is two seasons from being an NFL coach too long?

Not that anybody is arguing Pasqualoni is Belichek, because few coaches have ever been as good as Bill Belichek.

But to suggest Pasqualoni couldn't at least help is ridiculous. He was coaching in the NFL not long ago.
 
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SuFTW said:
Not sure the math works that way.
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Well, you're right, because I'm making a few assumptions and if any of that's wrong the math doesn't work that way.

1, we should have thrown the ball more (especially when you have an historically elite talent like Marvin Harrison at wr)

2, that the player that would have been returning punts in Harrison's place would have performed closely enough to Harrison that it wouldn't have made a meaningful difference. Which could be wrong. Harrison was an extremely good punt returned.
 
OttoinGrotto said:
You're making the argument that it's a good decision to put Marvin Harrison in a high risk position to utilize his talent instead of simply having him do the more natural thing at his position more often.

I'll admit, it's bold.
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If you took Harrison off punts and throw him five more passes, he's going to produce many more yards and touchdowns catching those passes than returning those punts.

Still, Fran's basic idea of putting some his top athletes on special teams in order to demonstrate that capability to NFL teams will probably get borderline guys looks that they might not get otherwise.

Fran is a great salesman. It also is a great argument to make to get a kid who otherwise might prefer not to play on special teams to do it without coercion.
 
Niastri said:
If you took Harrison off punts and throw him five more passes, he's going to produce many more yards and touchdowns catching those passes than returning those punts.

Still, Fran's basic idea of putting some his top athletes on special teams in order to demonstrate that capability to NFL teams will probably get borderline guys looks that they might not get otherwise.

Fran is a great salesman. It also is a great argument to make to get a kid who otherwise might prefer not to play on special teams to do it without coercion.
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I understand the argument for putting top tier guys on special teams and I'm not entirely opposed, there's just a fine line.

For example, I don't want to see Pena returning punts next season. Not because I don't think he can do it well. I know he can. He's proven that.

But now he's proven that he can have a top ten seasons for receptions in school history.

That's way more impactful than being a good punt returner. So I want him doing that. Just be a great WR.

What will make a bigger impact on his NFL prospects - another 80+ reception season, or another year returning punts?

I'm going to guess another big year catching the ball matters a whole lot more.

Our special teams this season were such a dumpster fire anyway, I'm not sure how much having our best guys out there for that really helped, or how much it helped their NFL prospects.
 
cayugacuse said:
Agree. It's a good way for the backups to work their way up the food chain and add to their resume. They also can focus more on specials. We are gaining depth now and we should be able to get enough talent from our roster to do this.
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I've seen starters playing on special teams at the factory schools. Back ups playing are fine as long as they get the job done, but 2 deep guys at the right spots can make an impact, and big plays on special teams can determine games.

There's a balance. I don't want my starters too worn out to play offense or defense, but I want guys that can make an impact. I'm not really worried about injuries. Guys can get hurt in a pile up on a straight ahead running play as much as a special teams play. I doubt coaches worry as much about injuries as fans do.
 
sufandu said:
I've seen starters playing on special teams at the factory schools. Back ups playing are fine as long as they get the job done, but 2 deep guys at the right spots can make an impact, and big plays on special teams can determine games.

There's a balance. I don't want my starters too worn out to play offense or defense, but I want guys that can make an impact. I'm not really worried about injuries. Guys can get hurt in a pile up on a straight ahead running play as much as a special teams play. I doubt coaches worry as much about injuries as fans do.
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My feeling is that special teams plays have the most potential for chaos, so I want my best athletes out there.

Maybe that includes some starters. It probably includes some guys that are athletic freaks but that haven't quite mastered the nuances of their normal position.
 
if the NFL had 100 guys to play a game they might put more of the elite on the STs. of course they have to want to do that grunt work when getting paid 20 million a yr too.
 
OttoinGrotto said:
We threw so little to Marvin that punt return was a good way to get him the ball.

But the right answer is actually, no, don't put Marvin at risk on punt returns, throw the ball to him more.
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It's not either/or. You get your playmakers the ball when you can. Devonta Smith was Alabama's primary punt returner the year he won the Heisman. He had 117 catches that year. And he's not a big guy. If anyone had the depth to put someone else returning kicks, Alabama did, but they wanted their best guy touching the ball as much as they could.
 
upperdeck said:
if the NFL had 100 guys to play a game they might put more of the elite on the STs. of course they have to want to do that grunt work when getting paid 20 million a yr too.
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And there is a difference with wear and tear across a 16-17 game regular season for a 30 year old versus a 12 game regular season for a 20 year old.
 
Makes you wonder if the NFL will get to a rule where you can just take kickoffs at the 25 and no return if you want.
 
sufandu said:
I'm not sure they're comparable. B has always had a reputation for being creative and adaptable. P knows the game but I don't know that creative is an adjective that would fit him.
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You don't think P and one of the greatest coaches of all time compare?
 
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