From Fish Duck When people look back on Oregon’s special teams play this year, all that many will remember are missed field goals, and justifiably so. Oregon went 5 for 12 on the year, including two crucial misses against Stanford that led to the team’s only loss. While the field goal kicking left a lot to be desired, the kickoff coverage unit was worse. Nothing tells the story quite like the “long returns” statistic, which includes any opponent kickoff return of at least 30 yards. In this category, Oregon finished 116th in the country out of 124 eligible teams. Long kickoff returns are big plays that can swing not only field position, but also the momentum of a game. What makes this stat even worse is the fact that most of Oregon’s kickoffs were short. A 30+ yard return when fielding the ball from the 10 or 15-yard line is a big deal. Against a team with a good defense (like say, Stanford), where being backed up means more than just padding offensive stats, poor kickoff coverage leads to potentially game-changing field position. In close games, field position, and thus, kickoff coverage, directly and undeniably influences the outcome. Now, yes, Oregon kicks the ball off more than any other team in the nation, but last year Oregon finished 29th out of 124 in the same category and in 2010 they were 41st. There’s no excuse for what happened this year, no matter how many points the Ducks averaged. Some of the blame has to fall on scheme, some on the coverage team, and some on the kicker. Ok, a lot on the kicker. When failing to give the coverage team enough time to get downfield, or not kicking it deep enough, there’s not a scheme in the world that can fix the problem. A good measure of a kicker’s leg is his touchback percentage (touchbacks divided by total kickoffs). What was Oregon’s touchback percentage in 2012? 12.75%, good for 118th in the nation. The only teams worse than Oregon in this area are powerhouses: Bowling Green, Maryland, Western Kentucky, Louisville, Marshall and Eastern Michigan. We can assume that the Oregon staff wasn’t telling their kickers to avoid booming it through the end-zone, since 99% of college coaches would take a touchback every time. The fact is, Oregon’s kickers weren’t very good in 2012. Luckily, significant help is on the way. Matt Wogan, a kicker out of North Carolina, committed to Oregon back in June. Wogan, who might be Oregon’s most underrated commit, is an elite high school kicker who routinely makes 50+ yard field goals and has a touchback percentage of 90%. While Wogan was visiting Eugene, it’s rumored that Chip Kelly told him he’d be offered a scholarship on the spot if he could make a 60-yarder. He nailed it. A kicker with a huge leg and ice in his veins is a luxury Duck fans can look forward to in the years ahead. Chris Sailer, THE authority on prep kickers, ranks Wogan as the 2nd best in the country, saying “he has the strongest leg in the nation…he’s ready for D1 ball right now.” Wogan’s no slouch in the weight room either; benching over 300 pounds. Wogan will be the starting kicker from the day he steps on campus, because there’s not currently any competition to speak of. He is already significantly better than anyone currently on the roster. While it’s tough to say that Wogan’s commitment is more important than those of Dontre Wilson and Thomas Tyner, both running backs with superstar potential, it’s right up there. Look for Oregon’s special teams play to be noticeably improved as a result.
Good point. I'm sure there were a few 4th & 5 at the 30 (type) situations this year where even Chip would have gone for the field goal if he'd had a competent kicker, but instead went for the first down. I wish someone with more time and initiative could quantify something like that.
it boggles my mind at how underappreciated a K is in football nowadays. I mean, if you have a DL or WR who sucks, there are 10 other guys on the field at a time that can back him up or help out. For a kicker, you're literally putting points on the board (or not) every time he's on the field. I don't understand it. If my boy ever wants to play football, I think I'm going to get him taught on how to be a long snapper and/or a kicker.
Yes, please. I love the aggressive game that Chip calls, but every now and then a team just needs to make a damn field goal. Interesting numbers on kickoffs, too -- it's looked like an issue to me all season long, but I never looked up the stats. I wonder how we stack up in terms of punt distance/returns...
Yes, many games are won and lost by the kicker. It seems like every year at least 2-3 games per team are decided on FGs. Even the Ducks who score a ton of points, every year at least 1 game comes down to it.
It makes me wonder if Chip really cares enough about the kicking game to develop one. Our kickers seem to lack confidence.
