Was John Baxter overrated?

Submitted by ThadMattasagoblin on
Last January, Brian and others were worried about losing Baxter to USC. I'm wondering if people still think this way after we have blocked 6 kicks and returned a punt for a touchdown in just three games.
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Danwillhor

September 18th, 2016 at 11:34 PM ^

and that's still on Harbaugh. If you see they have no return man, 1 hold man and the rest coming for that ass you do everything in your power (including something that gets you tossed) to stop that play before the snap. We had a TO right before the play anyway and it was still terrible in every way possible. Had the snap been good and had Blake caught it I'm not sure he gets it off. That's how bad that play was. That's HC problem bad.

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Clarence Beeks

September 18th, 2016 at 9:41 PM ^

Good question and was honestly thinking about that yesterday. Regardless, there is something to be said about the foundation he laid. Just think about where that unit was the season before last...



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teldar

September 19th, 2016 at 7:54 AM ^

There were no special teams under Hoke. It was a disaster. Baxter came in and showed the staff techniques to coach special teams and Jay and Partridge ran with it. I also believe his academic plan is still in place, or influenced things like hiring Mama Gwen. So i think his impact is still being felt, but i do think the guys doing special teams are good at it.

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teldar

September 19th, 2016 at 7:54 AM ^

There were no special teams under Hoke. It was a disaster. Baxter came in and showed the staff techniques to coach special teams and Jay and Partridge ran with it. I also believe his academic plan is still in place, or influenced things like hiring Mama Gwen. So i think his impact is still being felt, but i do think the guys doing special teams are good at it.

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steviebrownfor…

September 19th, 2016 at 8:28 AM ^

It looks like the staff was able to soak up a lot from Baxter's time here.  Doesn't mean he was overrated, just that our staff is really good, and was able to pick up where Baxter left off.

That said, I am a bit wary of a few things on special teams... Mainly, Punts/Kicks should not be line drives, if at all possible, and I have seen far too much of that so far this season, which in turn is affecting our punt and kick coverage.

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SLS

September 18th, 2016 at 9:42 PM ^

I've wondered this as well. I can't remember a time in recent memory that we've gotten hands on this many kicks, regardless of the quality of opponent.

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jmblue

September 18th, 2016 at 9:45 PM ^

Baxter's had an impressive track record, so I doubt it.  It could be simply that Partridge/Harbaugh learned enough from him last year to keep things going now.

Partridge at any rate seems like a rising star.  He was a huge success at the high school ranks and his areas of responsibility (linebackers and ST) look great.  And of course he's a top recruiter.

 

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CorkyCole

September 18th, 2016 at 11:56 PM ^

That's my perception as well. Some of the concepts Baxter brought to special teams I'm sure still have some influence on this year's team. It was extremely apparent last year that Baxter made a huge difference in the special teams game relative to the prior year(s). He was most definitely not overrated for that reason alone, but I still feel like he still has something to do with the special teams play this season.

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stephenrjking

September 18th, 2016 at 9:49 PM ^

Our punt block/return unit is excellent. But our punt coverage is not. There is a ton of space available for returns that was not available last year. It's too early to draw any conclusions.

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RockinLoud

September 18th, 2016 at 9:59 PM ^

Was just about to say the same thing about punt coverage. Tons of space with mostly just 2 gunners. I get they probably have PTSD about not having punts blocked, but the weird pro-style punt formation they're using now is going give the other team lots of return yards and potentially a score or two. I hope they change it.

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hopkinsdrums

September 18th, 2016 at 9:49 PM ^

To be honest, I don't think so. There have certainly been great special teams plays to date, but I would guess that two very big parts of that are the disheveled special teams units we've faced to date and the increased aggressiveness that comes with increased expectations as a team. Baxter is undoubtedly a brilliant special teams mind, I think to say he was "overrated" is to seriously discredit what he instilled in this team. Remember, a lot of the special teams players we have learned a lot FROM Baxter. I wish we had him, personally.

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Maize in Cincy

September 18th, 2016 at 9:52 PM ^

3 games is too small of a sample size to determine how good this team is, especially since it's up against weak competition.  Lets just be happy we have a head coach who puts his most skilled players out there on special teams.

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weasel3216

September 18th, 2016 at 9:55 PM ^

Possibly but I think he was still very good at what he does. Brian and ace have said this as well but maybe having Baxter here just one season was enough for Harbaugh and company to absorb enough to keep the special teams play at this level. The special teams the previous two season have been tremendously better than under previous staffs, except one play that I have can't seem to recall right now...

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ETfromNU

September 18th, 2016 at 9:55 PM ^

I found this statement from Jim Harbaugh to be somewhat telling: "I thought our special teams coaches did a nice job making that adjustment. They were mandated to make that adjustment, but yeah, feel great..." The "mandated" part makes me think that coach maybe let Baxter have more autonomy due to his pedigree but is more hands on with more junior coaches running special teams now. Possibly more evidence of the Harbaugh effect.

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Wolverine Devotee

September 18th, 2016 at 10:05 PM ^

We returned our first punt for a TD in almost a decade.

Have blocked 3 punts in the last two games, one of them fully blocked and returned for a TD.

Two FG blocks.

Peppers is getting really good kickoff returns. 

 

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