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Brian Polian by the Numbers
Posted on 10/25/22 at 11:32 am
Posted on 10/25/22 at 11:32 am
First post alert - sorry it is long and negative after a win, but the special teams performance led by Brian Polian has really bothered me.
- Our kickoff coverage is ranked 97th in average return yards allowed (most notable breakdown is putting us in the hole to start the Florida game)
- Our kickoff returns are ranked 80th (most notable issue is the muff to start the Tennessee game)
- Our punt return defense is ranked 117th in average return yards allowed
- Our punt returns are ranked 120th (I won't even mention the muffs because those are too painful)
It's not just the singular bad plays that stick out. Our overall special teams performance is ABYSMAL. AND, WE ARE PAYING TOP DOLLAR FOR IT. According to FootballScoop ( LINK), Polian is the 4th highest-paid assistant with a Special Teams responsibility. He is the highest-paid Special Teams assistant whose only responsibility is Special Teams.
And, before we blame all of this on this being Polian's first year or the general lack of talented depth on the roster, we must recognize that not once in 5 years on Kelly's staff at Notre Dame did Polian's Special Teams rank in the Top 25 according to Football Outsiders.
I'll call this like I see it - Kelly hired someone he had previously worked with to run his recruiting operations, which admittedly seems to be going well. However, he's hurting the team as an on-field coach and costing a lot of money to do so. That's a problem, and as happy as I have been with Kelly's results so far, this particular decision leaves a pit in my stomach the longer it goes unfixed.
- Our kickoff coverage is ranked 97th in average return yards allowed (most notable breakdown is putting us in the hole to start the Florida game)
- Our kickoff returns are ranked 80th (most notable issue is the muff to start the Tennessee game)
- Our punt return defense is ranked 117th in average return yards allowed
- Our punt returns are ranked 120th (I won't even mention the muffs because those are too painful)
It's not just the singular bad plays that stick out. Our overall special teams performance is ABYSMAL. AND, WE ARE PAYING TOP DOLLAR FOR IT. According to FootballScoop ( LINK), Polian is the 4th highest-paid assistant with a Special Teams responsibility. He is the highest-paid Special Teams assistant whose only responsibility is Special Teams.
And, before we blame all of this on this being Polian's first year or the general lack of talented depth on the roster, we must recognize that not once in 5 years on Kelly's staff at Notre Dame did Polian's Special Teams rank in the Top 25 according to Football Outsiders.
I'll call this like I see it - Kelly hired someone he had previously worked with to run his recruiting operations, which admittedly seems to be going well. However, he's hurting the team as an on-field coach and costing a lot of money to do so. That's a problem, and as happy as I have been with Kelly's results so far, this particular decision leaves a pit in my stomach the longer it goes unfixed.
22
Posted on 10/25/22 at 11:33 am to FIVEON
You’re a week too late.
ST were fine in our biggest game of the year against a top 10 team
ST were fine in our biggest game of the year against a top 10 team
Posted on 10/25/22 at 11:34 am to FIVEON
who are you shilling for?
Posted on 10/25/22 at 11:38 am to FIVEON
What would you suggest BK could do to fix the situation during the season?
Posted on 10/25/22 at 11:38 am to lsufb1912
quote:
ST were fine in our biggest game of the year against a top 10 team
They were much improved, but the off sides penalty to start the game was extremely frustrating.
Posted on 10/25/22 at 11:39 am to FIVEON
quote:
Our kickoff coverage is ranked 97th in average return yards allowed
I don’t believe Dibert has been doing kickoffs all year. He was 6/8 on touchbacks against Ole Miss & their 2 returns didn’t get passed the 22.
quote:
Our punt return defense is ranked 117th in average return yards allowed
Ole miss returned 2 punts for an avg of 4.5 yds
This post was edited on 10/25/22 at 11:41 am
Posted on 10/25/22 at 11:40 am to FIVEON
quote:
He is the highest-paid Special Teams assistant whose only responsibility is Special Teams.
He’s also the recruiting coordinator
FWIW, I think he sucks too and one good special teams game does not change that
Posted on 10/25/22 at 11:40 am to FIVEON
quote:
Brian Polian
sucks as a ST coach
Posted on 10/25/22 at 11:43 am to lsufb1912
quote:
ST were fine in our biggest game of the year against a top 10 team
A penalty on the opening kickoff and a missed field goal.
Even BK himself shoved Polian aside during the OM game for acting like an imbecile on the field.
Sad that kind of performance now qualifies as "fine" at a program like LSU.
Posted on 10/25/22 at 11:43 am to GravyTiger
The only thing to do mid-season is bring on special teams consultant to maybe provide an extra set of eyes or strategic direction. I am not advocating Polian goes altogether. Someone correctly pointed out that he is our recruiting coordinator, and we cannot afford to lose that.
He is still underperforming as a Special Teams coach, and one game without a huge mistake does not change that.
He is still underperforming as a Special Teams coach, and one game without a huge mistake does not change that.
Posted on 10/25/22 at 11:44 am to shutterspeed
quote:
A penalty on the opening kickoff and a missed field goal.
How can a ST coach prevent either of these 2 things from happening?
Posted on 10/25/22 at 11:48 am to lsufb1912
quote:
A penalty on the opening kickoff and a missed field goal.
How can a ST coach prevent either of these 2 things from happening?
When your kicker is booming balls through the end zone, you can tell your guys not to get antsy and ensure the ball is kicked before crossing the 35. The get-off for Dibert has to look different than for the previous kicker.
Posted on 10/25/22 at 11:50 am to FIVEON
quote:
The get-off
Is that kicking term?
I’m dead serious.
This post was edited on 10/25/22 at 12:10 pm
Posted on 10/25/22 at 11:52 am to FIVEON
quote:
When your kicker is booming balls through the end zone, you can tell your guys not to get antsy and ensure the ball is kicked before crossing the 35.
Did it happen on any of the other 7 kickoffs in the game? Does that mean he did a good job of correcting the mistake?
Posted on 10/25/22 at 11:54 am to FIVEON
Hypothesis - starting a season with 27 schollies and transfer portal has much more negative impact on special teams than it does offense and defense
Commence to disprove this...
Commence to disprove this...
Posted on 10/25/22 at 12:10 pm to shutterspeed
quote:
A penalty on the opening kickoff and a missed field goal.
quote:
Sad that kind of performance now qualifies as "fine" at a program like LSU
Lol. You expect a kicker to never miss a kick?
Special teams have been putrid this year, but that performance on Saturday was absolutely fine.
Even when we had amazing special teams units, they committed an occasional penalty. Sorry. But I'm not going to get worked up over a missed field goal and a 5 yard penalty.
Posted on 10/25/22 at 12:15 pm to lsufb1912
So one game and all is well? Gotcha.
Posted on 10/25/22 at 12:16 pm to FIVEON
I would of added after all that that "the ST's covered well this game for the first time" and "lets hope the improvement continues".
Posted on 10/25/22 at 12:19 pm to whitefoot
quote:
Even when we had amazing special teams units, they committed an occasional penalty. Sorry. But I'm not going to get worked up over a missed field goal and a 5 yard penalty.
If those were rare screw ups for the season, then fine. The OP quoted hard data for the season. Now we have posters somehow defending STs because our best ST performance of the year involved just another game-starting screw up and a missed field goal.
This post was edited on 10/25/22 at 12:22 pm
Posted on 10/25/22 at 12:22 pm to Turf Taint
I agree. You will see the glaringly obvious holes in the roster on ST quicker than you will see it with the starters on O and D. Not saying that he's free from accountability, but he truly was dealt a bad hand lol
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