Special team numbers/rankings for 2015 and to date 2016
2015 2016
- blocked kicks #43 0
- blocked kicks allowed #57 #116
- blocked punts #28 0
- Blocked punts allowed #1(0) #116(3)
- KO rtn defense #21 #60
- KO rtns #116 #9
- net punting #45 #128
- punt rtn defense #104 #112
- punt rtns #33 #37
Is this guy worth his pay and if so what does Read bring to the table that helps this program and team win. Not to pick on him but the results are pretty bad
Statistics can sometimes be misleading, and especially special teams stats, because they depend so much on other aspects of the game.
Take the blocked punts and kicks for instance. Nebraska hasn't blocked any kicks, so they don't even rank in either category. When it comes to blocked punts, only 45 teams have even blocked at least one punt (46 if you count Coastal Carolina who is reclassifying to FBS and therefore doesn't count in rankings). Of those 46, only 10 have blocked more than one, and they are all tied for 1st with 2. Some of that is based on opportunity. By my count, Nebraska's opponents have punted 36 times. Michigan, who is tied for 1st with 2 blocked punts, has had their opponents punt 58 times, meaning they have had 22 more opportunities.
Going to blocked kicks, which includes both punts and place kicks, the number of teams jumps to 83 (including reclassifying Coastal Carolina) meaning of the 129 (again, including CC), there are still 46 teams that have not blocked anything. And again, some of this comes down to opportunity. Michigan ranks tied for 2nd in this category, with 4 total blocks (2 punt blocks and 2 kick blocks). 3 of those 4 blocks came in the same game, against Central Florida, including both field goal blocks. Both blocked field goals were 50 yard attempts, and longer field goal attempts are easier to block. The longest field goal attempted against Nebraska is 46 yards.
It's been discussed above, but I would pretty much throw out the ranking in the blocked punts and kicks allowed category. No place kicks have been blocked, so the 3 blocks all come from punts. We have a true freshman punter, who was essentially thrust into a role he didn't think he was going to have at the last minute. I would also point out the 3rd "blocked punt" is kind of ridiculous, it was a rugby style punt that grazed a player's helmet, and still traveled 28 yards in a situation where you're going to be trying to punt short anyway.
Kickoff return defense is one that can be very misleading. 60th is not terrible, but it isn't great, but look a little closer. Nebraska is 7th in the conference, Penn State is 1st and ranked 22nd overall. Nebraska averages giving up 20.5 yds per return, Penn State averages 18.15 ypr. So the difference between 60th and a top 25 kickoff return defense is a little over 2 yard average, and there are 5 other conference teams scattered in that very small gap. Not only that, but a total of 5 teams that supposedly have better kickoff defense, at least based on rankings, have given of kickoff return touchdowns, which Nebraska has not. I would also point out that Nebraska's average is less than what you get for a touchback, so when teams do return, they are averaging getting less than what they would with a touchback.
Kickoff returns look pretty good, so there's nothing really to say about that.
Then there's Net Punting and Punt Return Defense. First of all, both of these statistics are a little skewed because the blocked punts count in there. Take those out, and those statistics improve. Also, if you take out the first two games, those statistics also jump up, meaning there has been improvement. Like above, a lot of this comes down to a true freshman, inexperienced punter, who was thrust into a role he didn't think he was going to have. Certainly there needs to be improvement, and there has been, but there are other factors at work.
