Upon Further Review 2017: Special Teams vs Purdue

in need of a prospecting name [Fuller]

Formation/Substitution notes: Only change of note is subbing Kekoa Crawford out for Ambry Thomas on kick return. Crawford was the deep man for the first two returns of the game, both of which went out of the end zone. Michigan then inserted Thomas to start the third quarter. Timing is a bit odd considering Crawford didn’t have a shot to return the first two kicks before ceding his spot, but there’s a chance he can earn it back considering how the third-quarter return went. More on that later.

It’s not a substitution, but Brad Robbins’ redshirt is gone and Will Hart’s on the bench. Robbins did an excellent job getting distance and hangtime on his punts. It’s hard to tell whether they just drifted or were intentional, but it seems more likely that Robbins executed two directional kicks—Hart’s bête noire—in the second half. All told, it was an excellent debut for the touted freshman.

Other than that, Michigan would often hold three guys in a zone short of the sticks on punts. This was a smart decision and likely something Michigan picked up on film, as Purdue was frequently motioning out one of the members of the shield wide. The only all-out rushes were when Purdue was punting from inside their 10-yard line. They also went safe on Purdue’s lone field goal.

Makes perfect sense considering Purdue’s Brohminess and where the ball is located.

[After THE JUMP: Robbins’ new gig; roughing vs running into the kicker; and Foug, god of hangtime, ruler of return teams]

You are an absolute stan.

Off to a roaring start. Go on, explain.

You lobby for Will Hart’s job and look what happens. You are nothing more than a Will Hart stan.

I would not say what I was doing is anything resembling “lobbying.” Hart was doing a fine job with the exception of the directional punts, and that turned out to be a big exception. Robbins must have shown something in practice the week prior to Purdue. I think I know what he was showing, as he was excellent last week.

You are an absolute Brad Robbins stan.

Being positive isn’t the same as being a fanboy, but that seems to nuanced for you. Anyways, the best way to frame the Hart vs. Robbins argument is, of course, with numbers. Hart has averaged 49.3 in-air yards on his 10 punts this season. His three shortest punts are 31, 32, and 36 yards; the 31-yarder came from Michigan’s 24-yard line and the 36-yarder came from Michigan’s 24-yard line. I wrote off the 36-yard punt because Harbaugh said they were called a punt to the left and Hart missed, and I thought one of the short ones the week before was a similarly botched directional kick. It seemed like a guy learning on the fly; he also had a nice corner kick against Cincinnati, so the growing pains were warranted.

Enter Brad Robbins. There’s a fair amount of evidence of his ability thanks to an offense that took three quarters to get on track. He punted seven times against Purdue for an in-air average of 53.3 yards with his shortest punt traveling 47 yards. The moments he appeared to grab the job came in the late second and early third quarter, when he booted punts long and to the numbers.  He almost did it in the first quarter as well, but that one was about halfway between the left hash and the numbers and was the punt where Schoenle interfered with the returner.

It’s going to take a really good improvement week to unseat a guy who can do that.

While we’re on the topic of things you got wrong, how about that roughing the kicker penalty on Michigan’s punt return team.

It wasn’t roughing, it was running into the kicker.

Not what you wrote down in the box.

It’s hard to hear up there, alright?

Anyone who has suffered through this banter for this long deserves to know what happened there. Did Michigan get something to break their way?

Nope, this one was simply called correctly by the officials. First, watch the play and keep a careful eye on the punter’s kicking leg.

Kelly-Powell and Thomas run into each other, and it looks to me like Thomas first hits the kicking leg before sliding under and landing on the plant foot. Brian sent me an article this week about roughing vs running into the kicker, an article written because of recent confusion surrounding the issue in the NFL. The NFL rulebook is far more specific about what constitute which penalty, but this seems to fit even the more stringent NFL definition of running into the kicker. The NCAA rulebook just says that running into the kicker occurs when the kicker is displaced from their kicking spot but not roughed. An automatic first down is a massive thing to have determined by a rule as vague as that, so here’s hoping that running into the kicker is clarified in the offseason. At least this crew was able to parse it.

That’s great and all, but there’s a more important kicking foot to talk about.

I actually agree. James Foug was mentioned in Bruce Feldman’s SI column as being a major source of stress for Purdue’s special teams coach because he just gets so dang much hangtime. So much hangtime, in fact, that I’m adding a new column to the—

CHART!

…yes, the chart. Ace and others suggested tracking what yard line Michigan’s coverage team is at when the returner receives the kick.

This is Purdue’s longest return of the day. It is also their only return of the day. The returner is halfway out of the end zone when he decides to field it; anything that reeks this badly of desperation is lucky to get more than 10 yards. The notable thing about this return isn’t that it got 20 up the sideline, as that’s just something that’s going to happen when pursuit swings to the sideline as rapidly as it did here. The thing to note is that Thomas is at the 10-yard line when the returner exits the end zone with Glasgow at the 15. Purdue’s special teams coach said return teams are typically inside the 35 when a returner fields the ball and Michigan’s impressed him because they’re usually inside the 25. Here they’re at the 10 and 15. Foug’s hangtime is so good that I’ve yet to track a fielded kick that the opponent took past the 20-yard line.

What does it mean for Michigan State and beyond?

James Foug is kickoff Thanos. Beware his wrath.

Brad Robbins likely to start unless he doesn’t. I can see why Robbins no longer has a redshirt and it has everything to do with his ability to force a returner to the sideline. His consistent distance is nice, too. I suppose Hart could theoretically re-enter the competition and emerge on top, but it seems like getting Robbins game reps is more valuable considering his ceiling.

Ambry Thomas sub didn’t go so well. Still confused by the timing, but won’t be confused if Crawford gets another chance against State. He’s bled yardage, too, so this is easily a job that could go to someone else. Have to figure DPJ gets a shot at some point, but returning punts and kicks are so different that it’s foolish to predict when.

DPJ’s decision-making continues to evolve. He showed great restraint on three or four of his fair catches, and the one that he fielded off a bounce made sense. There was a turf-burner that would have been tempting to field that just as likely could have taken a hop and turned into a fumble as it could have gone for big yards. DPJ let it go by, and with it any concerns about his ability to process on the fly. He has been excellent since that one bad outing.

WILD THING. Sometimes the offense doesn’t need you to do things.