SWC75
Bored Historian
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I prefer to use the old-fashioned term “the kicking game” rather than the vague “special teams” as all the plays for this unit involve putting the “foot” in football. Without them we’d have to call the sport something else. The Dome is great place for the kicking game as the conditions are always perfect. But our kicking game is not always perfect.
We have a fine place-kicker in Ross Krautman, who is a credible 48 of 61 for his career on field goals. Two years ago he was 18 for 19. Hopefully he can get back to that level this year. He’s been 30 for 42 since. Ryan Norton is a strong kick-off guy, (61 yards a punch and may be given the opportunity to try some long field goals.
For eight years, we had great punting with Brendan Carney and then Rob Long. Jonathan Fisher was supposed to be a big-time recruit but had trouble fighting off the less than mediocre Shane Raupers his first year. Last year he had the job to himself but averaged only 39 yards per kick. Perhaps this year he’ll live up to his reputation.
Returning kicks used to be a Syracuse specialty. Back in ’97 Quinton Spotswood returned four punts for touchdowns and Kevin Johnson took two kick-offs all the way. In recent years our kick-off returners have tended to “hit the wall” at the 20 and I’ve seen our punt returners put their hands up for the fair catch before the kicker’s foot even makes contact with the ball. In 1997 we returned 34 of 75 punts. In 2011 it was only 12 of 47. Last year Stephen Rene returned 8 punts for exactly one yard before getting hurt after five games. Ritchie Desir took over for him and showed the sort or reckless courage a punt returner needs, returning 20 kicks for 105 yards. That’s a modest total but he got 33 yards on one return.
Doug Marrone said that the problem with punt returns is the formation teams are using nowadays. In the NFL, blockers can’t go beyond the line of scrimmage until the ball is kicked. In college, they can go from the snap. So now teams are stationing three blockers in front of the kicker. They close ranks after letting the snap go through and give the kicker time to get it off. The other 7 players speed downfield to cover the kick Doug said he and the coaches were trying to figure out what to do about that. I noted that LSU had had a very successful kick returner, Tyrone Mathieu, known as the “Honey Badger”, who in 2011 retuned 26 punts for 420 yards and 2 scores. He proved it could be done. But I knew the answer I would get if I pointed that out to the coach on his show: “If we had a Tyrone Mathieu, we could return punts, too. The Honey Badger was a four star recruit coming out of high school. He is 5-9, 186. He was clocked in 4.50 in the 40 yard dash at the NFL combine, (where times are better regulated than in high school and college and players claiming a 4.3 or 4.4 often wind up with times like that). He could bench press 225 pounds four times and had a 34 inch vertical leap.
Enter Brisley Estime, (Est- Tim-May) Brisley is a three star recruit, “one of the fastest players in Florida”, and ”great at returning punts”. His You-tube highlights show speed and moves but what impressed me was his strength. He could bounce off tackles and as a defender, he flattened some opponents. Brisley is 5-9 180. Nobody’s quite sure how good he can be but he has impressed the coaching staff enough that they plan to use him not only on kick-returns but to share the H-back position with Ashton Broyld. Optimisitically, I’ve decided to christen Brisley the “Salt Badger”, since Syracuse is “The Salt City” and the football team has been historically known not just as the Orange but as “The Saltine Warriors”.
It would be a huge plus if The Salt Badger turned out to be our version of The Honey Badger. That 1997 team didn’t need al that help scoring points with all the offensive talent we had back then. In recent years, our teams have been starved for points and a great kick-returner could have made a huge difference. But we just didn’t have one. Maybe now we do.
Brisley’s also being talked up for kick-offs, pairing with George Morris. They could be quite a pair. But we still have to block for them. Then there’s the issue of the coach’s attitude. Both G-Rob and Marrone were “pro” guys and it was said they wanted fair catches rather than returns, because the NFL views punts as simple exchanges of possession. That’s why those hands were already stuck in the air before the punter actually kicked the ball. But Desir’s aggressiveness suggested it may have more to do with the individual kick returner. Hopefully Brisley will have his courage and Mathieu’s talent. I’m also hoping that we show a more aggressive attitude toward blocking kicks. We used to be really good at that but that has fallen off a lot, too.
Greater depth and talent will help the special teams: you don’t have to use tired starters or walk-ons to execute kicks and kick-returns.
We have a fine place-kicker in Ross Krautman, who is a credible 48 of 61 for his career on field goals. Two years ago he was 18 for 19. Hopefully he can get back to that level this year. He’s been 30 for 42 since. Ryan Norton is a strong kick-off guy, (61 yards a punch and may be given the opportunity to try some long field goals.
For eight years, we had great punting with Brendan Carney and then Rob Long. Jonathan Fisher was supposed to be a big-time recruit but had trouble fighting off the less than mediocre Shane Raupers his first year. Last year he had the job to himself but averaged only 39 yards per kick. Perhaps this year he’ll live up to his reputation.
Returning kicks used to be a Syracuse specialty. Back in ’97 Quinton Spotswood returned four punts for touchdowns and Kevin Johnson took two kick-offs all the way. In recent years our kick-off returners have tended to “hit the wall” at the 20 and I’ve seen our punt returners put their hands up for the fair catch before the kicker’s foot even makes contact with the ball. In 1997 we returned 34 of 75 punts. In 2011 it was only 12 of 47. Last year Stephen Rene returned 8 punts for exactly one yard before getting hurt after five games. Ritchie Desir took over for him and showed the sort or reckless courage a punt returner needs, returning 20 kicks for 105 yards. That’s a modest total but he got 33 yards on one return.
Doug Marrone said that the problem with punt returns is the formation teams are using nowadays. In the NFL, blockers can’t go beyond the line of scrimmage until the ball is kicked. In college, they can go from the snap. So now teams are stationing three blockers in front of the kicker. They close ranks after letting the snap go through and give the kicker time to get it off. The other 7 players speed downfield to cover the kick Doug said he and the coaches were trying to figure out what to do about that. I noted that LSU had had a very successful kick returner, Tyrone Mathieu, known as the “Honey Badger”, who in 2011 retuned 26 punts for 420 yards and 2 scores. He proved it could be done. But I knew the answer I would get if I pointed that out to the coach on his show: “If we had a Tyrone Mathieu, we could return punts, too. The Honey Badger was a four star recruit coming out of high school. He is 5-9, 186. He was clocked in 4.50 in the 40 yard dash at the NFL combine, (where times are better regulated than in high school and college and players claiming a 4.3 or 4.4 often wind up with times like that). He could bench press 225 pounds four times and had a 34 inch vertical leap.
Enter Brisley Estime, (Est- Tim-May) Brisley is a three star recruit, “one of the fastest players in Florida”, and ”great at returning punts”. His You-tube highlights show speed and moves but what impressed me was his strength. He could bounce off tackles and as a defender, he flattened some opponents. Brisley is 5-9 180. Nobody’s quite sure how good he can be but he has impressed the coaching staff enough that they plan to use him not only on kick-returns but to share the H-back position with Ashton Broyld. Optimisitically, I’ve decided to christen Brisley the “Salt Badger”, since Syracuse is “The Salt City” and the football team has been historically known not just as the Orange but as “The Saltine Warriors”.
It would be a huge plus if The Salt Badger turned out to be our version of The Honey Badger. That 1997 team didn’t need al that help scoring points with all the offensive talent we had back then. In recent years, our teams have been starved for points and a great kick-returner could have made a huge difference. But we just didn’t have one. Maybe now we do.
Brisley’s also being talked up for kick-offs, pairing with George Morris. They could be quite a pair. But we still have to block for them. Then there’s the issue of the coach’s attitude. Both G-Rob and Marrone were “pro” guys and it was said they wanted fair catches rather than returns, because the NFL views punts as simple exchanges of possession. That’s why those hands were already stuck in the air before the punter actually kicked the ball. But Desir’s aggressiveness suggested it may have more to do with the individual kick returner. Hopefully Brisley will have his courage and Mathieu’s talent. I’m also hoping that we show a more aggressive attitude toward blocking kicks. We used to be really good at that but that has fallen off a lot, too.
Greater depth and talent will help the special teams: you don’t have to use tired starters or walk-ons to execute kicks and kick-returns.