King on Returns

[hexumhawk]

I just don't like the idea of using him on PR and KR since he is someone we cant afford to lose on D. Those two spots seem great for younger guys with speed that aren't starters. That way if they get hurt it isn't as much of an issue. I know Parker had is gaff in the bowl game but the dude is fast and had some really good returns last year.

 

[ichawk24]

Let's play the best player. If King is the guy, play him.

 

[funnyfletcher]

I like having him as a returner. It's good to take risks.

 

[TankHawk]

Since punt returns require more awareness and decision making, I think King is ok there but I agree on kick offs. Parker (despite that one brain fart) and Wadley would make better choices and both have good speed.

 

[yerpHAWK]

Sorta agree. King's our best player(IMO). If he's a good returner though, I can't be too upset. And if he isn't, he'll just be fair catching, and waving off anyway.

 

[hexumhawk]

Or muffing a punt on our 40 against Maryland. Hope I am wrong with this whole thing but I just don't like the idea of our best players on each side of the ball on returns.

 

[nu2u]

The top qualification is reliability. A game can change for the worse instantly with a special teams turnover which is also sometimes the difference between a win or loss.

That said, it seems to me that the best returners have a couple unique skills: (a) instinct and/or a certain knack for exploiting a seam and (b) above average speed.

King probably satisfies the most important ability (reliability) but whether or not he has the qualities of a very good returner is TBD - I'm skeptical but looking forward to see what he can do.

 

[shoot_the_three]

As someone that has complained about the punt returners over the past few seasons, I love this decision. Yes, he could get hurt but that is a chance that Iowa needs to take. If it affords Iowa a chance for a big play they need to have King back there.

 

[C/Seahawk]

I have no problem with King returning punts as we fair catch the majority of the time so not much risk there. Having King handle kickoffs does worry me though...wish a guy like Wadley, Parker or Mitchell would be ready to handle that role.

 

[David1979]

I don't get why people are scared about him returning kicks. He could get hurt playing corner too. If he is the best returner then put him back there and let's see what he can do.
I think Parker still needs to get some confidence before being thrown back there again. he was doing great last year until he had a couple miscues and it got in his head.

 

[C/Seahawk]

[QUOTE="David1979, post: 705915, member: 13478"]I don't get why people are scared about him returning kicks. He could get hurt playing corner too. If he is the best returner then put him back there and let's see what he can do.
I think Parker still needs to get some confidence before being thrown back there again. he was doing great last year until he had a couple miscues and it got in his head.[/QUOTE]

perhaps because its one of the most dangerous aspects of the game and why the NFL moved the kickoff line up so there were more touchbacks. Its the most violent portion of the game as you have guys going full speed prior to impact and we are going to put arguably our most valuable player back there fielding kickoffs. Its a big risk, no other way to put it. I could think of a half dozen players I'd rather have back there than King. It isn't like cornerback is a real deep position for us to begin with, so yeah I think this is a terrible idea.

 

[David1979]

I think the injury risk is being overstated.

 

[td77]

As someone that has complained about the punt returners over the past few seasons, I love this decision. Yes, he could get hurt but that is a chance that Iowa needs to take. If it affords Iowa a chance for a big play they need to have King back there.

Bingo. OP and others are playing KF's conservative ball. What have we got to lose after the futility of the past couple of years? Throw in your ringers and let's see what we can do.

 

[David1979]

Returning punts and kickoffs at beginning of video

 

[Recruiting Violation]

As many have already stated, let's get our best players on the field as much as possible.

I don't recall too many folks complaining that Tim Dwight was returning punts and kicks. And that dude was a human wrecking ball at times. He would often just blast ahead and try to burst through tackles. He also covered kicks with the same mentality.

I'm not saying that King will be Timmy D this year, but if he's our best option, he needs to get the ball. A more apt comparison might be DJK or Micah Hyde. Those dudes were pretty critical to our success on their respective sides of the ball, but they were good to very good return men.

Having said that, if our best return man is a true freshman and/or third string player, then he should still be the return guy. I'm not promoting putting a guy back as a returner just because he's got experience or is a starter. I think we have to trust that the coaches would only let a starter return kicks if he's the best option. Otherwise, there's nothing to be gained.

 

[Birky]

I think the injury risk is being overstated.

I agree. Can't recall too many injuries to punt returners. If you have a play maker, put the ball in his hands. Can you imagine not letting Tim Dwight return punts because it was a risk?

 

[Cougar63]

I think the Halo rule was invented to keep Tim Dwight from killing people, and it almost didn't work at least one time that I remember.

 

[Phenomenally Frantastic]

Iowa had the worst punt return average in the league last year. playing slow white walk-ons and 4th string receivers has been working great. let's keep doing that and not risk anything.

 

[Phenomenally Frantastic]

Tim Dwight would not return kicks for this team according to some of the geniuses around here. Too risky. Too sexy.

we is just slow boring Iowa. why try to advance the ball on special teams?

 

[Cougar63]

Iowa had the worst punt return average in the league last year. playing slow white walk-ons and 4th string receivers has been working great. let's keep doing that and not risk anything.

Who is this slow white walkon

 

[Phenomenally Frantastic]

Who is this slow white walkon

hell i don't remember we had 2 or 3 white returners last year that shouldn't be on the team. they couldn't all be scholarship players. maybe i'm wrong there. they just looked like walk ons. 5 foot nothing, 175 pounds nothing. maybe i'm wrong.

 

[sloehawk]

Iowa had the worst punt return average in the league last year. playing slow white walk-ons and 4th string receivers has been working great. let's keep doing that and not risk anything.

And that was after Martin-Manley was named to a pre-season All-American team as a punt returner!

I can still vividly recall all the great punt returns Martin-Manley had last year.......................................

 

[J_Heater]

I think the injury risk is being overstated.

Pretty much this. How often does a returner get hurt on returns

 

[John.Kasich]

hell i don't remember we had 2 or 3 white returners last year that shouldn't be on the team. they couldn't all be scholarship players. maybe i'm wrong there. they just looked like walk ons. 5 foot nothing, 175 pounds nothing. maybe i'm wrong.

Be careful there, that's our #2 and #4 receivers that you're talking about.

 

[Phenomenally Frantastic]

Be careful there, that's our #2 and #4 receivers that you're talking about.

good God that is depressing. i think i'm going to take out a small loan for the ISU game.

 

[goodbyebobby]

I saw some videos of him, not the one above, and he was electric with the ball.

 

[FBletterman]

Saw on Scarlet and Grey that Ohio State offense scored 60% of the time when starting at the 40 or better and only 20% of the time if not. The coach said that's the reason they are the best team in the country. You play your best guys on special teams cause its that important to winning.

 

[normgranger]

Not my decision, but put me in the group that doesn't like putting their best cover corner in a position to get injured. Any returner is in more danger of injury than a Dback......I know high school football isn't college but I got hit harder returning punts and kick offs than I ever did playing dback and linebacker. JMO.....

 

[J_Heater]

Not my decision, but put me in the group that doesn't like putting their best cover corner in a position to get injured. Any returner is in more danger of injury than a Dback......I know high school football isn't college but I got hit harder returning punts and kick offs than I ever did playing dback and linebacker. JMO.....

Is there actual facts to back this up. John Clayton talked about this last year when the Seahawks started the season with Earl Thomas returning punts. Radio guys were upset saying he is in a position to get injuried. Clayton was saying there was no actual data to back that claim up. Returners are only on the field so much and injuries happen to kick off coverage guys far more than they do to returners. .

 

[cidhawkeye]

Keep it local, name the last Iowa returner to get injured returning punts/kicks.

 

[hexumhawk]

To me it just seems unnecessary when you have a lot of young guys with speed that might not play much other than special teams. If they get hurt its not a giant blow to the team like it would be if King or Smith do. Also, if they are just focusing on special teams this year, more likely to be focused and pick it up.

 

[hexumhawk]

I think most of the stars on our team want to be a part of the return game to showcase their skills for the NFL but I stand by my original post.

 

[Hawk_4shur]

I actually like the fact that a starter is back there, as opposed to someone coming in cold off the bench. Fielding a punt has to be one of the most difficult and important parts of the game. You are battling sun, wind, rain and 11 guys running at you while you are looking up. We don't need someone back there that's nervous at the same time.

Big plays by special teams was a big part of past success, and a big part of past failures. Get our playmakers in a position to make plays.

BTW, using Tim Dwight as an example is like saying it's ok to punch a brick wall because Superman does it. If I would have been his coach I'd never take him off the field.

 

[Recruiting Violation]

Is there actual facts to back this up. John Clayton talked about this last year when the Seahawks started the season with Earl Thomas returning punts. Radio guys were upset saying he is in a position to get injuried. Clayton was saying there was no actual data to back that claim up. Returners are only on the field so much and injuries happen to kick off coverage guys far more than they do to returners. .

I think the fears over injuries to return men really started to gain steam after this in 1998:

Sehorn wasn't the same player afterward, and was a very high-profile guy prior. Sometimes all it takes is one back break (no pun intended) for people to start believing something is far more dangerous than it is.

 

[David1979]

I think the fears over injuries to return men really started to gain steam after this in 1998:

Sehorn wasn't the same player afterward, and was a very high-profile guy prior. Sometimes all it takes is one back break (no pun intended) for people to start believing something is far more dangerous than it is.

Hello 1998.

 

[HeRKeYHoPeFuL]

I think it is not uncommon to see put returners especially get hit full speed by gunners (with or without a fair catch). I'm very split on the decision, as I understand the pros that come along with improved field position and the increased probability of scoring without needing offensive production, however, I do worry that the marginal productivity gain is not as great as the risk of injury to our top corner and arguably one of our two best defensive players (I'd put him and Ott neck and neck).

Would Jonathan Parker, or someone like Jay Scheel really be that much worse than King. Would anyone be wringing their hands if either of those guys got blown up a time or two on returns?

I think that is the point people are trying to make. If the Return TD % only goes from 3% to 3.3% (total guesses on the TD percentages, but the point remains) ... is that .3% really worth the dropoff in pass coverage we would see going from King to... I can't even tell you who would come in after people are shifted over.

 

[SDHawkDoc]

Disagree with the comparison to Dwight as a return man. That was his primary purpose. Being a receiver was secondary for him.

I've got mixed feelings about using King in the return game. It would be nice to see something more exciting than what we've seen the past few seasons. But, he is not replaceable in the secondary.

 

[Farleyhawk]

Didn't Deon Sanders return punts? That is a clear case of putting your high value defender on the field for punt returns. I would like to see Iowa put the best guy back there who can add some excitement and make some great returns. If King is the guy then put him out there!

 

[citizenHawk]

Some of you guys look at this like a good return player is completely replaceable, which is so typical for Iowa and their approach to the return game in recent years. And King may prove to be replaceable, but the goal should always be to find someone exceptional.