Special teams, backups, and punt returners.

Coach Walsh, bless his soul, was a stickler for all phases of the game...from QB to OL to DBs to DLs, etc....but NOT for STs. He never drafted, to my knowledge , a person explicitly used on STs. I don't recall where we got our punters, but place kickers he added as an afterthot. Think back and how many more SBs would Coach Walsh have won if he had been as insistent on great ST play as Coach Harbaugh has. Coach H believes in 3 phases of the game. O, D, AND ST. It is no secret that our STs this yr were all pro, from Akers to Ginn to Lee. Coach Walsh acquired ST players as an afterthot. Coach H has STs right there with O and D as equally important.. The Walsh 9ers had John Taylor returning punts, along with other WRs . Coach H had a designated PR in Ginn, and all would agree he was terrific.

So here comes a thot. Why not have Kyle Williams do as many practice punt returns as Ginn, so if Ginn is injured, we have a guy of equal ability. I don't blame Kyle for his errors. Why should he, in the heat of battle, know instinctively to get the hell out of the way of the football once it is on the ground? Answer: because he never really practiced it. So I am suggesting we carry a pair of WRs, both of whom get equal # of practice punts, and both of whom can play PR well. Kyle , if he was given instruction at all, probably didn't get much. Ginn got the huge majority of punts to field in practice. So don't blame Kyle Williams for the loss. It was flukey , as well as bad luck to lose Ginn, so late in the season. Kyle got little if no time practicing all phases of fielding punts. It was great that Coach H demanded quality STs. It was a fluke that was our weakest link going into the NFC championship. So this yr, let's see if Coach has a second WR he uses to practice fielding punts, and who learns the ins and outs of the trade...plus being a WR.

Just being a WR and fielding a punt doesn't cut it. Lots and lots of instruction and practice have to go into punt fielding. Kyle Williams isn't to blame here. The kid never got schooled nor did extensive practice at PR. It was bad luck. Coach had made provisions for strong STs. But this yr I bet he has a second PR who also gets instructed in the art of PR, and also catches lots of punts...as a backup if the same situation occurs this yr. Face it. STs got us a number of wins this yr. It was exciting to watch as no other SF coach had ever stressed STs. Harbaugh did and this is what he got for thanks. I bet he doubles down on PR this coming season,.

Also, as noted in a nearby thread, Ginn just got himself a big raise for next yr just by not being here.

"I don't blame Kyle for his errors."


b******t I do he returned punts in college and this wasn't his 1st NFL game returning punts either. He flat out choked simple as that

Originally posted by sincalfaithful:

"I don't blame Kyle for his errors."


b******t I do he returned punts in college and this wasn't his 1st NFL game returning punts either. He flat out choked simple as that

This. He isn't new to this, and he isn't new to blowing games either.

Originally posted by blunt_probe:

Originally posted by sincalfaithful:
"I don't blame Kyle for his errors."


b******t I do he returned punts in college and this wasn't his 1st NFL game returning punts either. He flat out choked simple as that

This. He isn't new to this, and he isn't new to blowing games either.

classic choke artist

I don't know this, but i bet a bucket of something that Kyle didn't receive the adequate training in not just catching punts , but what to do under all sorts of circumstances, eg, as happened twice Sun. Yes he got the second one stripped, but was he schooled in keeping both hands and arms on the ball during a return? I just wonder how much time he actually spent on PR and was he instructed in all the things that can go wrong, what to avoid, etc.?

Originally posted by pasodoc9er:
I don't know this, but i bet a bucket of something that Kyle didn't receive the adequate training in not just catching punts , but what to do under all sorts of circumstances, eg, as happened twice Sun. Yes he got the second one stripped, but was he schooled in keeping both hands and arms on the ball during a return? I just wonder how much time he actually spent on PR and was he instructed in all the things that can go wrong, what to avoid, etc.?

he returned kicks his whole f**king football career. He knows what to do he just f**ked up like always

Ok, sincal, he may have returned kicks, but did he ever have a guy like Coach H to stand there and go thru all the multiple disasters that can befall a PR, as we saw last nite, and then go thru and practice how to avoid turning a PR into a game disaster.? I don't know the answer, but I bet a one on one session with Ted Ginn and Coach H would have been a good thing for Kyle W. Incidentally kyle is no special fan of mine, and i think it is ironic when we basically had a championship team, and in great part due to an all pro ST, incl PR, and in the end , that is what did us in. Sincal , think of all those yrs with Coach Walsh, and how he basically disregarded STs. How many more SBs would he have won if he had a ST like the one we had this yr? Several I would guess.

Say what you will about kyle, and yeah he screwed up...twice...but that is as much coaching not given to a replacement part as much as anything. He may have gotten instruction in college, or maybe not as to things to avoid in PR. Point is, we were strong in PR, but i bet Coach H nor anyone else really schooled the kid in all the pitfalls of PR and how to avoid them. The strip? Granted, he is a WR and should know better. The knee boot? have to give him a pass on that, even tho he screwed up. I put it on coaching, or lack thereof, just as much. Also, face it....it was really bad luck on a ST that before Ginn's injury was one of the strong points on our team.

Sooner or later being pencil thin at receiver was going to bite this team in the ass and we saw that happen this week. You simply cannot hide the fact that you only have basically a #2 and #5 WR on your roster and win every week. Ginn should be returning kicks and only returning kicks. The Giants WR depth is what won the game for them and hopefully the niners can get something like that going. I would love for this team to either sign or draft a legit #1 receiver as that is by far the biggest weakness right now. Oh well, this season was still a huge success.

Keep KW as receiver but Niners should never let him return punts ever again.

Originally posted by pasodoc9er:
did he ever have a guy like Coach H to stand there and go thru all the multiple disasters that can befall a PR.

Their returns seemed more conservative than ours. I wondered why New York slid down on several punt/kick returns instead of waiting to be hit. After the Williams event, I suspect New York returners had been coached that punting teams in rain will seek to strip the returner's wet ball, and it's good to slide when upcoming contact might lead to a turnover.

Originally posted by pasodoc9er:
I don't know this, but i bet a bucket of something that Kyle didn't receive the adequate training in not just catching punts , but what to do under all sorts of circumstances, eg, as happened twice Sun. Yes he got the second one stripped, but was he schooled in keeping both hands and arms on the ball during a return? I just wonder how much time he actually spent on PR and was he instructed in all the things that can go wrong, what to avoid, etc.?

He was carrying the ball like a loaf of bread. Ball control is taught at high school level.

Originally posted by susweel:
Keep KW as receiver but Niners should never let him return punts ever again.

Agreed, did you see him lunge for that punt in the 3rd quarter, I was like holy blank he is going to cause a turn over.

If we had drafted DeSean Jackson instead of Kentwan Balmer and Chilo Richal we wouldn't even be mentioning Kyle Williams.

Originally posted by pasodoc9er:
I don't know this, but i bet a bucket of something that Kyle didn't receive the adequate training in not just catching punts , but what to do under all sorts of circumstances, eg, as happened twice Sun. Yes he got the second one stripped, but was he schooled in keeping both hands and arms on the ball during a return? I just wonder how much time he actually spent on PR and was he instructed in all the things that can go wrong, what to avoid, etc.?

I doubt as good as our special teams are that lack of thorough coaching was an issue.