Re: Punt formation? It's not just Miles, I'm pretty sure Saban used it in the 04 Sugar Bowl against OU and that was the punt that got blocked, however he did make the adjustment back to the normal tight formatioin later in the game. Maybe all the coaches see something in it that we do not? but yea i agree it's very hectic watching us punt now.
Re: Punt formation? Well, just watch them. Actually they can release as soon as they see that they aren't being rushed and they get downfield faster because they aren't laying on the ground or entangled in blocks on the line.
Re: Punt formation? Miles defended that formation after the Florida game saying 3-5 of the Top 10 punting teams use that formation, so the numbers are in their favor. What? How about the 5-7 Top 10 punting teams that don't use it? I guess Les wasn't a math major at UM.
Re: Punt formation? I still think it is the dumbest formation ever. All its gonna take is one guy getting pushed back into the punter, they block it, score, we cant recover(mentally) and the vols have just beaten us.
Re: Punt formation? It gives the defense a good running start and plenty momentum. It seems that nearly every punt is close to being blocked. Frank Beamer has the best special teams every year and he hasn't had to resort to this crazy gimmick punt formation. Every game this punt formation is a disaster waiting to happen, I wish they would do away with it ASAP.
Re: Punt formation? You guys, don't make this a Miles thing. Just remember that it wasn't long ago in the 2003 Sugar Bowl, when Saban was our coach, and the commentators kept mentioning how close OU was to blocking our punts because of our formation. Sure enough, we had one blocked.
Re: Punt formation? If the other team drops back to set up a return some of the guys on the line are free and can go downfield ten yards closer. Rushers get a 10 yard running start into the blocker with this formation and McCrae got flat run over by a DB running full speed in the Fla game on the blocked punt. If you miss a guy at the LOS you still have time or a chance to pick him up. Miss him 5 yds from your punter and you're dead. We did get one blocked in the '03 championship game and also in the '04 Cap One bowl using the bunch formation under Nick. This is not a Miles/Saban thing, it's a dumb thing. And why has our net dropped us from the top of the conference to the bottom with the same punter and mostly the same players? That is easy math to do.
Let me start this thread off by saying I like Coach Miles and am a supporter of him. But for the life of me I can't understand why he can't see that the new punt formation is not working. Last year we were #5 in the nation, and with the new punt formation we have dropped to #35 to use his number. Others say we are #107. But it really doesn't make any difference if it is #35 or #107. The point is we are not nearly as effective using the new punt formation as we were using the old one. I think Miles tried to fix something that wasn't broken and in the process he broke it. Being #5 is better than being #35. DUH! He needs to admit his mistake and go back to the old punt formation. But he does not seem to have the ability to do that. I hope it does not take a blocked punt that costs us a game for him to see that.
Why doesn't this post get a "you're not a football coach" response? We all see the punt formation doesn't work but if somebody says why don't we throw more, why don't we let Craig Davis catch punts, why doesn't Holliday get more touches somebody will inevitably respond with the "you're no coach" response. The same thing applies when we go to Auburn and run Hester again and again against a brick wall.......if somebody sees it, it's happening and it doesn't take a "football coach" to know it.
