By: Zain Gowani

Zain Gowani — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 19:03:00 +0000

Yeah, I agree Luke. I’ve never had any qualms about Scobee’s leg strength, particularly with regards to field goals, but I did notice last year that Scobs’s kickoffs got returned more often than I expected, and it seems to be more glaring this year, especially as I see kickers like Matt Prater kick it through the uprights seemingly time and time again. If kicking it to pin inside the 20 is actually the Jaguars’ strategy, it seems as though it would be an unnecessary risk to take if you have the 6th ranked defense in the league on your side (given the state of the defense this year, perhaps the strategy is more valid theoretically). In practice though, if that is the strategy, it’s being executed poorly, as the Jaguars are essentially tied for 27th in average kickoff returns allowed, at 27.1 yards/kickoff. This is up from last year, where we were middle of the pack (17th), giving up 24.3 yards/kickoff. If that is the Jaguars strategy, it seems to be one that takes an unnecessary risk for an improbable reward. Kicking it through the uprights every time (while uncertain on a kick-by-kick basis) and guaranteeing a return average of 20.0 yards/kickoff would’ve made the Jags first in kickoff yardage allowed last year and tied for 8th this year.
Stat source:
(http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/team/_/stat/returning/sort/yardsPerKickReturn/position/defense)

By: LukeNSims

LukeNSims — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 18:22:00 +0000

I wonder if Scobee is being asked to keep it in play because the coaching staff has faith in the coverage unit. Maybe they’re praying that he can somehow get more hangtime and pin them behind the 20. I say this only because doubting Scobee’s ability to kick far probably isn’t accurate (though I have yet to see a game-winning 59 yarder this season).

Comments on: Not Looking So Special

By: Zain Gowani

By: LukeNSims