We know that all cameras (is the ISU game even televised?) will be pointed towards Justin Burke as he makes his UofL debut saturday evening. Vic and BPowell will make some flashy moves with big runs and the defense will shut down a less-than-anemic Indiana State offense. But what shouldn't be overlooked is the improvement in special teams play. This is usually a constant in most games. Except for the occasional super-playmaker, the other team has little effect on the results of kickoffs or field goal accuracy. My eyes will be firmly fixed on Chris Philpott (and eventually Tim Dougherty). Now I don't expect any Arthur Carmody-like performances, but we may see a lot of close games this year in the Big East. There's no better feeling that having a kicker with ice in his veins warming up on the sidelines. Let me show you the importance of a kicker to a high powered offense............after the jump:
I know i picked the 2006 year for comparison, but honestly, this was an average kicking year for Art. I also threw in some mediocre years as well for comparison.
2006 UofL Opp. FIELD GOALS-ATTEMPTS.......... 21-25 10-20
FIELD GOALS FGM-FGA Pct 01-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-99 Lg Blk Carmody, Art 21-25 84.0 1-1 7-7 8-12 4-4 1-1 51 1
PUNTING No. Yds Avg Long TB FC I20 Blkd Total............................ 46 1775 38.6 58 5 10 11 0 Opponents................. 74 2970 40.1 74 4 14 13 0
KICKOFFS No. Yds Avg TB OB Retn Net YdLn Total....................... 95 5684 59.8 21 3 1424 40.4 24 Opponents........... 47 2735 58.2 12 2 651 39.2 25
1999 FGM-FGA Pct 01-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-99 Lg Blk HILBERT, Jon 11-18 61.1 0-0 3-3 6-9 1-4 1-2 51 2
WALKER, Robert 2-2 100.0 0-0 0-0 1-1 1-1 0-0 45 0
2003 FGM-FGA Pct 01-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-99 Lg Blk
SMITH, Nate 14-20 70.0 1-1 7-8 2-4 4-7 0-0 48 1
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Now compare those stats to 2008........
2008 UofL Opponent FIELD GOALS-ATTEMPTS.......... 5-11 10-17
FIELD GOALS FGM-FGA Pct 01-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-99 Lg Blk PHILPOTT, C. 1-3 33.3 1-1 0-0 0-2 0-0 0-0 19 1 Dougherty, Tim 1-2 50.0 0-0 0-0 1-2 0-0 0-0 36 0 Payne, Ryan 3-6 50.0 0-0 2-2 1-3 0-1 0-0 34 0
KICKOFFS No. Yds Avg TB OB Retn Net YdLn Total.......... 55 3350 60.9 2 4 999 42.0 27 Opponents...... 69 4101 59.4 9 2 975 42.7 27
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Some negatives that stick out at me...
1) Take an average of the field goals made from 1999, 2003, and 2006 and you get ~ 15.5 field goals per year. Compare that to last year (5). We're leaving atleast 32 points on the field over the course of the year.
2) Teams now know that we're not even going to attempt a field goal unless it's within 35 yards or so.
Now the positives...
3) Our average kickoffs and punting last year were actually better than in 2006. Its the returns yardage that's killing us as both the net and average yard line went up. That goes on the special teams coverage. Punts inside the 20 were also pretty good.
4) Most of the 2008 stats in punting and kickoffs were better than the opposition.
And as always.........
4) Art Carmody is awesome and should be hired back as the kicking coach. I once saw him scissor kick Angela Landsbury.
The Cards were top 5 in points per game from 04-06 and I guarantee Red Zone Efficiency (although they're just now starting to track that) was even better. Carmody put up 123 total points in 06-07, good for 4th in the nation (he was 9th and 18th, respectively, in the '04 and '05 seasons). As long as the offense could get to the opposing side of the field, Art-o-matic (I just made that nickname up) was an instant threat to put 3 points on the board. I would love to see the current team be more than one-dimensional when they get past the 50 yard line.
And finally, how about those new Cardinal Chomp shirts?