Chad Thayer picks up a man flying down field.
Thayer puts a body on the cover guy. He holds the block for as long as he can, hoping to spring Damion Hunter for a big kick return.
Hunter sees an opening but it closes quickly. He's tackled before Army's 20-yard line.
Unfortunately for Army, short returns are the norm early this season. Army's best field position to start any drive was its own 30-yard line against Iowa State last week. Twice, drives were started inside Army's 20-yard line following kickoffs.
Army is looking for ways to shorten the field and special teams isn't holding up its end.
Kick returns aren't the only culprit. Shaky kick and punt coverage and nearly invisible punt-return yardage (less than three yards per attempt) have also contributed.
Much hype was given when Army installed a variation of the triple-option offense and a new double-eagle defense in the off-season. Special teams can get lost in the mix.
Army takes pride in its special teams. Winning special teams is one of coach Rich Ellerson's five keys to victory and he is in charge of the unit.
"Coach Ellerson is always harping on (special teams)," said sophomore starting linebacker Steve Erzinger, who will play on kick and punt coverage against Tulane on Saturday. "We've got to win the special-teams battle. A lot of that is based on kickoffs and ball position."
Army's struggles have Ellerson, who always had his hands on special teams in his coaching career, scratching his head looking for answers.
Hunter, a senior wide receiver, is returning kicks for the first time since his freshman season. He's been thinking a little too much before he catches the ball. And when Hunter catches the ball, he tends to run sideways looking for holes rather than driving forward.
"I've been talking to coach Ellerson and he's a smart guy," said Hunter, who is averaging just 18.7 yards per kick return. "He's telling me to hit it up through. I'll get more yards doing that, going straight upfield."
Ellerson may give Hunter a break. Freshman cornerback Josh Jackson could take Hunter's place.
"We're going to search for an answer there, to see if we can find a little bit of something," Ellerson said. "It's not that Damion (Hunter) hasn't done fine ? he's not a liability by any stretch, but he's getting used too much. We are missing him when he's not on the field on the offensive side of the ball."
Ellerson is changing up some things on the coverage units, too. Freshman linebacker Kyler Martin and freshman cornerback Brian Cobbs will see more action. Both have shown a good nose for the football.
Ellerson wasn't happy after Army gave up a 44-yard return to Iowa State's Josh Lenz that changed the momentum last week. Three Army players fell down trying to cover the low punt by Jonathan Bulls.
"When it's not perfect, we still need to be OK with our coverage," Ellerson said.
Bulls has had his moments. He doesn't have the greatest hang-time on his kicks, which he boots rugby-style off the side of his foot. Bulls makes up for that by being an above-average directional punter. But Bulls' foot failed him last week on a 3-yard shank, which Ellerson said went into the Iowa State stands.
Bulls had been overused, punting the ball 28 times in Army's first four games.
"He's knocking the ball down over here and over there and he hits a couple of beautiful punts right on the sidelines," Ellerson said. "He's doing some good things. He's just having to do it too much."
So is there a quick fix with the special teams? Well, a consistent offense would cut down Bulls' punts. Army had five three-and-outs last week.
Ellerson is a football genius. He'll look for any edge to help his team defeat Tulane.
And Ellerson has a few tricks up his sleeve. A fake punt was called against Iowa State but never went off after Army was whistled for delay of game. Ellerson wanted to call the fake again but "chickened out" on the punt, which Lenz returned.
"If there was ever a place to play for a fake, it would be in that field position (Army had a 4th-and-6 on its own 21)," Ellerson said. "Son of a gun."
Special teams' fortunes can change in a flash. One big return can change the game's flow in an instant. Thayer has a hunch Saturday could be Army's day.
"We've had a couple times if we held the blocks long enough, Damion is going for a touchdown," Thayer said. "We've come close and I'm sure that this game we are ready to take one to the house."
Thayer puts a body on the cover guy. He holds the block for as long as he can, hoping to spring Damion Hunter for a big kick return.
Hunter sees an opening but it closes quickly. He's tackled before Army's 20-yard line.
Unfortunately for Army, short returns are the norm early this season. Army's best field position to start any drive was its own 30-yard line against Iowa State last week. Twice, drives were started inside Army's 20-yard line following kickoffs.
Army is looking for ways to shorten the field and special teams isn't holding up its end.
Kick returns aren't the only culprit. Shaky kick and punt coverage and nearly invisible punt-return yardage (less than three yards per attempt) have also contributed.
Much hype was given when Army installed a variation of the triple-option offense and a new double-eagle defense in the off-season. Special teams can get lost in the mix.
Army takes pride in its special teams. Winning special teams is one of coach Rich Ellerson's five keys to victory and he is in charge of the unit.
"Coach Ellerson is always harping on (special teams)," said sophomore starting linebacker Steve Erzinger, who will play on kick and punt coverage against Tulane on Saturday. "We've got to win the special-teams battle. A lot of that is based on kickoffs and ball position."
Army's struggles have Ellerson, who always had his hands on special teams in his coaching career, scratching his head looking for answers.
Hunter, a senior wide receiver, is returning kicks for the first time since his freshman season. He's been thinking a little too much before he catches the ball. And when Hunter catches the ball, he tends to run sideways looking for holes rather than driving forward.
"I've been talking to coach Ellerson and he's a smart guy," said Hunter, who is averaging just 18.7 yards per kick return. "He's telling me to hit it up through. I'll get more yards doing that, going straight upfield."
Ellerson may give Hunter a break. Freshman cornerback Josh Jackson could take Hunter's place.
"We're going to search for an answer there, to see if we can find a little bit of something," Ellerson said. "It's not that Damion (Hunter) hasn't done fine ? he's not a liability by any stretch, but he's getting used too much. We are missing him when he's not on the field on the offensive side of the ball."
Ellerson is changing up some things on the coverage units, too. Freshman linebacker Kyler Martin and freshman cornerback Brian Cobbs will see more action. Both have shown a good nose for the football.
Ellerson wasn't happy after Army gave up a 44-yard return to Iowa State's Josh Lenz that changed the momentum last week. Three Army players fell down trying to cover the low punt by Jonathan Bulls.
"When it's not perfect, we still need to be OK with our coverage," Ellerson said.
Bulls has had his moments. He doesn't have the greatest hang-time on his kicks, which he boots rugby-style off the side of his foot. Bulls makes up for that by being an above-average directional punter. But Bulls' foot failed him last week on a 3-yard shank, which Ellerson said went into the Iowa State stands.
Bulls had been overused, punting the ball 28 times in Army's first four games.
"He's knocking the ball down over here and over there and he hits a couple of beautiful punts right on the sidelines," Ellerson said. "He's doing some good things. He's just having to do it too much."
So is there a quick fix with the special teams? Well, a consistent offense would cut down Bulls' punts. Army had five three-and-outs last week.
Ellerson is a football genius. He'll look for any edge to help his team defeat Tulane.
And Ellerson has a few tricks up his sleeve. A fake punt was called against Iowa State but never went off after Army was whistled for delay of game. Ellerson wanted to call the fake again but "chickened out" on the punt, which Lenz returned.
"If there was ever a place to play for a fake, it would be in that field position (Army had a 4th-and-6 on its own 21)," Ellerson said. "Son of a gun."
Special teams' fortunes can change in a flash. One big return can change the game's flow in an instant. Thayer has a hunch Saturday could be Army's day.
"We've had a couple times if we held the blocks long enough, Damion is going for a touchdown," Thayer said. "We've come close and I'm sure that this game we are ready to take one to the house."
