John Baxter - Telling it like it is, UM Special Teams
This dude is a breath of fresh air man:
http://www.scout.com/college/michigan/story/1571227-notebook-baxter-rips-past-performances
“Obviously if I feel like I couldn’t make an impact then I shouldn’t have this job,” Baxter said. “I do feel like we can make an impact.”
“It’s upsetting to me the last time we’ve returned a kick or a punt (for a touchdown) was 2007 or 2008,” Baxter said. “Last time we returned a field goal for a score was 2003. That’s way too long. I can just tell you this, we are going to approach this football team and this camp with some tremendous urgency.”
“When those things happen, it’s when they happen,” Baxter said. “But I’ll tell you what, my expectations is that it happens tomorrow.”
Plain-spoken. Forthright.
I think he'll be a good ST coordinator, but to be fair, what else could he say?
"Our special teams haven't really had that explosive return threat and our punting scheme was invented back when the football was that weird rounded shape, but special teams aren't really all that important, so we will just kinda throw people out there and hope for the best."
He talks in run-ons.
August 7th, 2015 at 10:12 AM ^
he could have glossed over the fact that they have been terrible for the past few years. Not that I want new coaching staffs to be overly critical of the previous regime that they replaced, but some honesty is nice. He didn'tsay "well, the special teams weren't in bad shape but we will make a few small changes to see if we can improve". What he said was basically that they've been terrible and he wants to fix them. To me, like the OP, I find that kind of straight talk refreshing. Enough glossing over just how poorly we've been. The first step in fixing a problem is admitting that there is one, and that's something the previous staff never did.
Just shows how badly the coaching at Michigan has SUCKEd in the past 12 years, particularly on special teams.
Just to be clear, with your 12 year reference, Lloyd's teams are also being criticized for sub-par ST play.
Overall, they were still pretty good. Steve Breaston was a fantastic returner and Garrett Rivas was a reliable kicker.
But yeah, the punt team was absolutely brutal in the Oregon/Iowa losses in '03.
The 2003 Oregon game with the awful punting was also (as Baxter mentioned) the last time we returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown.
Lots of good and bad on special teams that day. We blocked the FG for a TD and stopped a fake FG, but we missed an extra point, had an extra point blocked plus two (I think) punts blocked.
The other irony is the losses due to us trying to run a spread punt formation . . . the very thing we are all advocating for now.
It just shows you, whatever you do, you have to do it well. Scheme can't mask incompetence.
August 6th, 2015 at 10:14 PM ^
And what about the 07' App State game where the Mountaineers blocked a game-winning field goal attempt from Michigan at the end of regulation to secure a 34–32 win. This was a FCS team - and please don't say, "well, they were a real good championship caliber FCS team", we were ranked 5th then, in FBS!
August 6th, 2015 at 10:31 PM ^
August 6th, 2015 at 11:16 PM ^
1979 Michigan lost something like 4 games due to blocked kicked and missed xp.
August 7th, 2015 at 12:56 PM ^
Did #43 learn how to fly?
I believe it became illegal sometime in the following few years.
August 6th, 2015 at 11:20 PM ^
August 6th, 2015 at 11:50 PM ^
Epstein had his moments, but he had a killer miss in the 2001 Game (right after Marquise Walker's even more frustrating dropped pass in the endzone). If we'd have scored on that possession - either via TD or FG - that's a very different game.
Remember the blocked Epstein kick at the end of the 00 Orange Bowl... So Brady had to take over and win it in overtime.
August 7th, 2015 at 10:00 AM ^
Basically a chip shot FG too. That came right after a 3rd down play where Walker, who had a great year in 2001, dropped that pass on 3rd down. Up until that 3rd down all the momentum in the second half was clearly on UM's side. Navarre rifled it to Walker, but it hit Walker in the hands (and the pass was pretty much right on target).
near the end of regulation in 2000.
August 6th, 2015 at 11:32 PM ^
August 7th, 2015 at 12:17 AM ^
I believed blocked a couple of punts in the 2001 season.
I've been a Michigan fan since the 70's and outside of some brief flashes (like the ones you mention), we've pretty much always been average or worse at special teams play. It's like it's become institutionalized. I'm extremely hopeful that Coach Baxter is going to change that tradition and make Michigan a strong special teams program going forward.
August 7th, 2015 at 11:48 AM ^
Michigan's 1969 team that upset OSU didn't even have a place kicker on the team, or punter. If I remember correctly Paul Staroba, who played receiver was the punter and Dana Coin, who played defensive end was the place kicker. Extra points were an adventure. I think I saw Dana Coin miss an extra point once that would have been wide right if it had crossed the goal line before it went out of bounds.
Nobody had a dedicated kicker back then.
August 7th, 2015 at 12:54 PM ^
Zoltan!!!!!!!!!!
You can't 'phrasing' yourself...can you?
Nice find!
to show Jack Black shanking the punt of a dog named BAXTER?
August 6th, 2015 at 10:08 PM ^
August 7th, 2015 at 12:19 AM ^
Even without this return they still outscored UM 19-10.
With 7 of those points being a fortuitious pick 6 on Utah's back-up QB after Travis Wilson mistook himself for Funchess and tried to hurdle people. We got pretty murdered.
He means returning a blocked field goal. We last did that in the 2003 Oregon game.
You know I don't speak Spanish.