Riley McCarron and the fair catch

[Xerxes]

At least McCarron catches the punts. The dynamic duo of Chaney and Sandeman couldn't even do that.

 

[dualradius]

On second thought I wouldn't risk a turnover either on punt returns. It would be one thing if we were struggling offensively but given we are the same level as Oregon in offensive points and production it is an unwarranted risk to return punts.

holy cow that's good right there.

 

[Katan]

We had a very conservative strategy with the punt return team. You could see it with the rushing the punter. It seemed like the rusher had an angle for a block but he was more concerned with containing. Anybody who witnessed Wisconsin 2010 can appreciate that.

 

[GesterHawk]

We had a kid back there seeing his first major playing time.
Tell me which play could affect the outcome more against a team like Purdue:
Missing out on 7-10 yards a return
Or:
Muffing a punt and giving Purdue the ball deep in our territory?

 

[CAARHawk]

Well if it was KF's orders it would be nice if someone would actually say so, because to me it just made McCarron look gutless.

 

[OttoWagonhurst]

We had a kid back there seeing his first major playing time.
Tell me which play could affect the outcome more against a team like Purdue:
Missing out on 7-10 yards a return
Or:
Muffing a punt and giving Purdue the ball deep in our territory?

Do you follow the team very closely? McCarron has seen extensive PT in his career, including significant reps at receiver last year and was Iowa's primary punt returner the week before at Pitt.

Try again.

 

[hawks2187]

I saw this all game and all i could think is Ferentz didn't want a fake ran on us, which means there is more of this to come. We all know Iowa has been burned on this MANY times before and I simply think Ferentz would rather get the ball no matter field position than a 4th down fake punt. Also I think McCarron maybe the best at simply fielding them so go with the sure hands that won't make mistakes.

 

[guffus]

Looking at it from a different point of view… Perhaps the coaching staff felt Purdue would be desperate enough to get a win they would try anything. Including, but not limited to, fake punts. Setting up in punt safe all game could deter that from happening.

That's just a thought. I'm not in the huddle/lockeroom. So I can't exactly say that Kurt directed him to fair catch all punts.

This sounds like the best explanation, especially with Iowa's history of getting burned on fake punts and on side kicks.

Also think it was funny that KMM was predicted by some pre-season mags to be an all-American punt returner and he is not even returning punts this year. Which is more of a sign how some pre-season predictions are clueless. I am a big KMM fan, but most Iowa fans knew that was a strange pick

 

[LASBUR]

I thought we did

So it's by design to lose the field possession battle all game long? I thought the goal is to win?

 

[DesMoinesHawki]

We continue to be no threat whatsoever in the punt return. Doesn't seem to matter if the return guy has 0 open yards or 10 open yards ... just wave the hand and catch the ball and flip it to the ref ... It's "safe" that way ...

 

[CAARHawk]

If I was punting against Iowa, I would instruct my punter on not worrying about out kicking my coverage or sacrificing distance for height. In fact, a low line drive that could bump and run would be great.

Iowa, where punters can work on getting that average punt distance bump they all need.

 

[doclee]

I find it amusing that now the anti KF group has determined that its KF requiring a fair catch. Maybe, just maybe, the player knows when to fair catch and when not to...or he may have made a mistake or two. Or, maybe the SPECIAL TEAMS COACH had something to do with the way Iowa handles punts. Really, guys. Really. KF?

 

[GesterHawk]

Do you follow the team very closely? McCarron has seen extensive PT in his career, including significant reps at receiver last year and was Iowa's primary punt returner the week before at Pitt.

Try again.

Sorry to offend your highness.

I did not realize he was back there against Pitt - thanks for pointing that out. No need to do it like a punk, but thanks for the enlightenment.

Also, I wouldn't say he played extensively last year at WR. I think he only had 2 or 3 catches early in the season during scrub time.

All that being said, my arguement that a muffed punt affects the outcome of a game when playing the likes of Purdue more than 7-10 of field position is accurate.

 

[LG210]

We had a kid back there seeing his first major playing time.
Tell me which play could affect the outcome more against a team like Purdue:
Missing out on 7-10 yards a return
Or:
Muffing a punt and giving Purdue the ball deep in our territory?

This is true.

Also, I think we have sacrificed the possibility of longer returns in order to reduce the possibility of an attempted fake. It doesn't seem like we are setting up for a return on a lot of these plays.

Quite frankly, aside from the KMM aberration of last year, we generally didn't benefit from playing the return. We fair caught a high proportion of them anyway and when we returned them, it was usually for 5 or so yards.

Good trade, in my opinion.

 

[LG210]

Do you follow the team very closely? McCarron has seen extensive PT in his career, including significant reps at receiver last year and was Iowa's primary punt returner the week before at Pitt.

Try again.