Thoughts on Dileo returning punts
Alright, Gallon is starting to make me have eerily reminiscent thoughts to our return game in '08. I'm all for giving a guy multiple chances, but 3 games in and I don't recall one where he fielded one really cleanly. Do you guys think we might see Dileo or someone else get some attempts against BG?
September 21st, 2010 at 4:53 PM ^
what ever happened to the whole idea of players having to compete every week to hold onto their starting spots. gallon has done absolutely nothing right. people can say all they want that he "hasnt gotten anything returnable." to be honest, i could care less if he returns a punt for positive yardage all season (not an exaggeration). I just want him to catch the ball on the fly. that simple. id change the position name to "punt catcher" so gallon knows what priority number one is. maybe he should just call a fair catch right off the bat, so theres no pressure on him to track the gunners, and he can just keep his eye on the ball.
September 21st, 2010 at 6:35 PM ^
"Competing every week" means competing during the week. If no one can outperform him in practice, he'll continue.
September 21st, 2010 at 4:53 PM ^
...that if the coaches think Dileo is the best option, he'll play. If not, he won't. And that's the dealeo.
September 21st, 2010 at 5:02 PM ^
I think RR should just send a guy back there and tell him to fair catch it every time so they don't have to worry about getting yards after they get the ball. We've probably fumbled the ball close to 15 times in the last couple years and we only have the one Odoms TD against Purdue, so I'm actually serious.
September 21st, 2010 at 6:46 PM ^
Bring back the joy I felt when he committed.
September 21st, 2010 at 7:19 PM ^
Going with the "best player in practice is who plays during the game" approach makes sense as a general rule, but unfortunately there are players who, for whatever reason, light it up during practice and then crap the bed during games. There are also other players who don't impress during practice but seem to go to another level once the whistle blows. I have no clue whether Gallon or Dileo fit these profiles, but it's hard to imagine somebody doing worse at handling the punts than Gallon has been so far. If there's even the possibility that Dileo might be put into service later in the season, then it would be crazy IMHO to not give him a shot during the BG game. It's what players do during the game that counts the most.
September 21st, 2010 at 8:21 PM ^
I say we put Denard back there. He's got good hands and electrifying speed.
What's that you say? He's our starting QB.
Damn.
Then let's go with DiLeo.
September 21st, 2010 at 8:30 PM ^
I say we put Denard back there. He's got good hands and electrifying speed.
What's that you say? He's our starting QB.
Damn.
Then let's go with DiLeo.
September 21st, 2010 at 9:16 PM ^
http://mgoblog.com/content/2009-recruiting-jeron-stokes
He's been pretty much invisible since getting on campus, but there was quite a buzz about him when he comitted.
Like everyone else, I just want someone to catch and hold the damn ball. I don't like saying, "Don't fumble, don't fumble,..." on every punt.
September 21st, 2010 at 10:32 PM ^
There wasn't really much buzz at all. If anything, the buzz was "We stole this guy from Tulane. Whoop-de-doo. We need better recruits!"
That being said...I've always thought punt returning would be his main focus on campus. He could be good at it, but he's mini. If a gunner got a free shot on him, he'd probably splatter.
September 22nd, 2010 at 1:50 AM ^
He was among the most highly recruited players in his class. Look at his Welcome post on this very site for details on his numerous offers. I'm guessing he was also offered by Tulane, though, so you got that one right.
September 22nd, 2010 at 6:31 AM ^
You're right - I didn't see that the above poster was talking about Stokes. I thought he was still talking about Dileo. My bad.
September 21st, 2010 at 10:24 PM ^
I don't care if they put Will Campbell back there - somebody needs to catch these punts and at least stop them from rolling another 10-15 yards every time.
September 22nd, 2010 at 11:20 AM ^
.....when we start our drive from the three yard line, instead of the 35 (like UMass's returns last week) - that just means more yardage for Denard.