• Why was their no review of Lee Evans’ catch in the end zone during the Baltimore/New England game on Sunday? It sure looked like he got two feet down before the ball was knocked out of his hands. I think it might have been a touchdown. Maybe it wasn’t two feet, but it was close enough that I thought the booth should have taken a look at it. If I’m John Harbaugh I’m screaming at the officials to take a look and making a huge scene before the field goal attempt. They review every single touchdown during every single game, so why not spend 60 seconds to take a look at something that might affect who goes to the Super Bowl? Maybe it comes back exactly as it was called, or maybe it doesn’t. Seems someone should have asked.
• I don’t much like Tom Brady and his grumpy, me-against-the-world attitude, but I was impressed with his open and honest assessment of his own play in the post-game Sunday. Brady said “I pretty much sucked out there...” and gave all the credit to his defense and teammates for winning that game. Well done.
• Is there a better football player than Vince Wolfork out there? No there isn’t. That guy pretty much won the game for New England because the Raven’s offensive line had no ability to control him. He looked like Ndamukong Suh against Texas in the Big 12 Title Game, only bigger. Much bigger. They list him at 6-foot-2, 325 pounds, but I don’t think Mr. Wolfork has seen 325 pounds since he got a driver’s license. No matter. He’s absolutely a beast on the football field and unblockable and now joins the list of my favorite plus-sized gamers. Jon Kruk, Jared Lorenzen and Sebastian Janakowski welcome you to the VIP room, Vince.
• Everyone is all over Steven Tyler for his rendition of the National Anthem before the Pats/Ravens game. Here’s my question for all those critics: have you ever heard Steven Tyler sing? Think about the Aerosmith songs you like (you have at least one, we all do) and think about how Steven Tyler sings. He screams, his voice squeaks, he doesn’t carry a note all that long and at times sounds like he’s just talking instead of singing. He isn’t going to get confused with Bing Crosby any time soon, is he? Steven Tyler is a rock star and you don’t have to have perfect pitch to be a rock star. He’s made a career of being a rock star, a nice career, so to expect him to change how he sings is silly. Could he have done better? No doubt. Would he like to have done better? Probably not. That’s him, that’s how he sings and everyone already knew that. I have no idea why they asked him or why he said yes, because he had to know the critics would hammer him, but I think he sounded exactly like he sounds.
• I hate Eli Manning. HATE HIM. I thought he was an over-hyped player on a marginal college team at Ole Miss that would have been just another guy had his last name been something else. I hated how he complained and whined his way out of San Diego (with his dad’s help) to get to New York and I HATE that he has the body language of a 14-year old girl who just got her phone taken away… But what I think I hate the most is that fact that he can ball. He was beat up, knocked down, etc. all day against the 49ers and he got up every time and made some lights out plays, like the go-ahead touchdown pass he threw late in the fourth quarter. I feel like Vince Vaughn’s character Wes Mantooth at the end of Anchorman: “I hate you, Ron Burgundy, but dammit I respect you.” Those are my thoughts on Manning. Dorothy Mantooth is a saint, Eli! A saint!
• That was scary watching Tarrel Brown lay on the ground Sunday after the collision with his teammate. It was eerily similar to the ending of the National Championship game in 2005 when he and Michael Griffin collided on a Duane Jarrett touchdown reception, knocking each other out of the game. Brown broke his arm on the play, getting a splint on the scene at the Rose Bowl. He was down for a while on Sunday, but eventually he got up and walked off the field under his own power.
• Aaron Ross vs. (inactive) Kyle Hix in the Super Bowl. Who ya got?
• Joe Paterno’s death over the weekend was sad. I didn’t know he was that far gone. I wonder if his passing will change how he’s viewed? And stop talking, Jerry Sandusky, you are a very big reason why he’s no longer here to deal with the fallout from your actions. Do us all a favor and never be seen or heard from again.
• Rumors Sunday night had Oregon’s Chip Kelly headed to Tampa Bay to be the Buccaneers’ new coach. It fell through, and I think that’s a good thing for Tampa and Kelly.
• I’m tired of the “young team” excuse that a lot of people offer up for the Texas basketball struggles. I understand Rick Barnes has a certain way of doing things and that usually involves breaking down a player (or players) and re-teaching them to do things his way, “his way” being a defense-first mentality. I understand the season is longer and more grueling now than it was in high school and I understand these kids will hit the wall; but everyone on this team is not a true freshman. I see two seniors and a junior and most time two of them are on the court together. That isn’t a young team and it isn’t an inexperienced team. I think the kids will find their way and I know two of these upperclassmen have elevated their games, but the third needs to do the same. It’s a new day in college basketball and everyone has young guys mixed in and maybe Texas has a few more than the norm, but there are too many guys that have been through the wars to call this team “young” every time it doesn’t work out.

I am not at all turning on the basketball team. I am just saying sometimes the other guy is better than you and right now there are several other guys in the Big 12 that are better than Texas and those teams have young players, too, and that’s the way it goes. There is lots of time to improve, learn and grow and I will be there every step of the way watching and yelling.

Let’s talk some football, shall we?

The Key to the Game

There’s an old adage in football that you hear all the time:

Offense wins games. Defense wins Championships.

You’ve heard it, right? Of course you have. Every NFL and college analyst that uses that line has stats to back it up so it must be true. Right? But there’s another part of the game that is supremely important that most people don’t talk about. Here’s another, newer adage for you that I made up myself:

Special Teams affect everything.

It’s the overlooked and under-appreciated aspect of the game by the majority of the fans. It’s the first thing a coach says when talking about winning and losing games and it is so prevalent in press conferences that most fans write it off as coach speak. Kickers aren’t doing Discount Double Check commercials or getting the Geico Caveman on the field as a cheerleader. Punters and snappers aren’t on the cover of Madden and, aside from the Gramatica brothers, aren’t national spokesmen. Yet they are the ones that usually decide the outcome of a game. Take a look at last Sunday, for example:

• Baltimore Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff was struggling from long range going to the playoffs. He struggled so much that the Ravens opted to go for it on 4th & 6 rather than attempt a 50-yard field goal to tie the game. Cundiff was 1-6 from 50-plus on the season and the Ravens were 4-7 on 4th down. They didn't get it and turned the ball over.
• Later Cundiff missed an NFL chip shot 32-yard field goal to tie the game with seconds left, sending New England to the Super Bowl and his Ravens home, much to the shock and horror of the Baltimore sideline.
• San Francisco lost return man Ted Ginn for the NFC Championship Game with a knee injury, which forced Kyle Williams into the role. Williams had one punt ricochet off his knee and set up the Giants with a go-ahead touchdown and then later fumbled a punt in overtime inside the 49ers’ 25 and handed New York a game-winning field goal attempt.
• Lawrence Tynes kicked his New York Giants into the Super Bowl for the second time in five years. That’s nails.

 
What if Cundiff makes that field goal? The Patriots seemed to be just hanging on against Baltimore in the fourth quarter and Joe Flacco was on the verge of completely losing the “not-ready-for-prime-time” tag he’s gotten lately- except the kick was missed and the fact that Flacco outplayed Tom Brady down the stretch will be forgotten, as will the sickest interception I’ve ever seen that put Baltimore in position for that kick. How different does that New York/San Francisco game look if Ginn plays? You have to assume he doesn’t commit either one of those turnovers. And if those turnovers aren’t made, New York doesn’t get the opportunity for the go-ahead score and doesn’t get the field goal attempt to win in overtime. If San Francisco wins that game, are people like me hailing the efforts and play of Eli Manning, or is he just another game manager that can play well at times? Are we talking about the complete metamorphosis of Alex Smith now instead? See, it isn't just the actual special teams play that is affected- it's everything about the game that can change.

Offensive and defensive stats can be telling, but special teams stats are usually a good barometer of a team’s success. Take a look at the stats in the NFL playoffs: the leading passer (Drew Brees), leading rusher (Arian Foster), leading tackler (NaVorro Brown), leader in sacks (Brooks Reed) and interceptions (Lardarius Webb) are all out of the playoffs. The top passing offense (New Orleans), rushing offense (Houston), total defense (again Houston), rush defense (the Texans), and pass defense (Cincinnati) are all out. Meanwhile the New York Giants lead the league in post-season field goals with eight and New England is tied for second. Giants’ kicker Lawrence Tynes and Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski are also perfect on extra points. That’s not the bottom line stat of the NFL, but it isn’t an accident, either. You simply have to be good in special teams to make a run at any level; but specials are a slippery and unforgiving slope and if you make mistakes it can undo all of your good work. Houston led the playoffs in kick returns, averaging 33 yards per, but Jacoby Jones' mishandle of a punt that resulted in Baltimore taking over at the Texan two gave them all the momentum and ultimately they won the game. Everyone wants to know how Jim Harbaugh turned around a 6-10 9ers team the year before and made them the No.2 seed in the NFC a year later. Part of it is special teams as the 49ers had two All-Pro kickers in David Akers and punter Andy Lee, with Akers being a key addition for the 2011 season. And now, in large part due to those two turnovers on punt returns, they are done and will be watching the Super Bowl on TV. As will the Ravens, who were pretty good themselves in specials in the post-season. See? They affect everything, both good and bad. 

I think it's even a bigger deal in college because of the difference in talent and experience you have on the field. NFL rosters only have 53 players, so your starters are playing a ton of special teams. In college with an 85-man roster, the duties are spread out more with freshman and backups sprinkled in. That means the front line starters on the special teams can make some big time plays at times. I've said this 1,000 times: special teams have the ability to take over and change games, both in good and bad ways. College football is so much more emotional than professional football and many times that's very obvious on special teams. How many times have you seen an underdog pull the upset with a blocked punt? How many times have you seen a team totally deflated because of a missed field goal? As I said, it's everything. Momentum can be won and lost in the blink of an eye on special teams and more times than not it's the decisive factor in games. Look no further than the Alabama/LSU games this year. In the regular season LSU kicker Drew Alleman was 3-3 in Tuscaloosa, nailing his final kick in over time to win the game. Alabama's two kickers struggled mightily, going 2-6 on the night. The result was a 9-6 loss. While LSU safety Eric Reid's goal line interception was considered the single biggest play of the year, the Bama missed field goal and LSU made field goal were the difference. Don't forget LSU punter Brad Wing had a 73-yard punt to flip the field and put four of his six punts inside the 20. Oh yeah, Bama had zero return yards on the day. The National Championship rematch was another story entirely. Tide kicker Jeremy Shelley was 5-7 in the game, accounting for 15 of Alabama's 21 points. Return man Marquise Maze had a 49-yard punt return in the first quarter to set up the first Shelley field goal. Bama punter Cody Mandell directionally punted and the coverage team shut down the Honey Badger, eliminating the big plays from Mathieu. And of course the NFL-ready defenses were the highlight of the both games, and they should have been, but the special teams stats don't lie and the team that won that battle won the game.

I was thinking about the Texas Longhorns, as I often do, and applying this to them. Think about all the big special teams plays, good and bad, in the Mack Brown era:

• Kris Stockton caps off the Ricky Williams/Texas A&M game with a 24-yard field goal with 5 seconds left, his third of the day, to upset eventual Big 12 Champ and 6th ranked A&M, 26-24. It saves Williams' record-breaking day and made a Longhorn day for the ages.
• Three blocked punts in the season opener against NC State in 1999. The Wolfpack upset Texas in the season opener by blocking three kicks, returning two of them for scores and netting a safety on the other to win, 23-20, despite gaining only 172 yards.
• A blocked punt for a touchdown by Stanford at Stanford helps lead to the upset of No.5 Texas in 2000, 27-24.
• Victor Ike breaks a ridiculously long kick return drought (266 games) in the Holiday Bowl against Oregon in an exciting Texas loss, 35-30.
• The non-extra point attempt in 2001 against North Carolina to keep the score at 44 in honor of Cole Pittman, who died in a car accident the previous spring.
• The same game Nathan Vasher breaks the game open, aided by a huge block from Richard Hightower, on a 44-yard punt return for a score. Vasher finishes with 145 yards and a score on seven punt returns and breaks an 8-year streak of games without a punt return for a score. Dusty Mangum adds three field goals as well.
• The roughing the kicker penalty on the attempted blocked punt against CU in the Big 12 Title Game. Colorado ices it with a field goal three plays later, but a huge interception returned for a touchdown by Rod Babers on a Buffalo fake punt got Texas back in the game earlier.
• A blocked punt for a touchdown by Tony Jeffrey and a Dusty Mangum field goal get Texas 10 of its 24 points in a huge win over No.16 Kansas State in Austin, 24-20, in 2003. Remember when we used to beat them? Me, too.
• The missed field goal by Texas Tech that would have sent the game to overtime in 2003. Not sure how Texas holds on to win that if he makes it. He didn't, and Texas wins, 43-40, in the game Chance Mock comes in to bail out the struggling Vince Young.
• A bad snap leads to safety and is the difference in a 22-20 win for Texas at Arkansas in 2004, setting the table for a great 2004 season.
• A blocked punt returned for a score by Bobby Tatum and two Mangum field goals help lead Texas to a 26-13 win over the Aggies and propel them to the Rose Bowl.
• The legendary kick by Mangum in the Rose Bowl overshadows the obscene amount of return yards by Michigan's Steve Breaston.
• Josh Huston misses a 50-yard field goal in the fourth quarter that would have put Ohio State up 25-16. It opens the door for VY to do his thing with Limas Sweed and win the game.
• A blocked punt returned for a touchdown by Cedric Griffin helps lift Texas over a very fired up Aggie team in College Station and into the Big 12 Title Game.
• Ryan Bailey at Nebraska, 2006. The walk-on came in cold (literally, it was snowing) off the bench to fill in for an injured Greg Johnson to kick a 22-yard field goal to win the game, 22-20, in the loudest place in the world.
• A 51-yard field goal by K-State with 4:04 left puts The Purple up 45-35 and an onside kick recovery by Jordy Nelson seals the upset of No.4 Texas, 45-42, in 2006. It ends any shot Texas had to repeat their National Title and was the game Colt McCoy was knocked out with a neck stinger.
• Mr. Automatic with another game-winning kick, this time at Oklahoma State, kicking the game winner with no time left for a 38-35 win. This coming on the heels of OSU kicker Jason Ricks missing a 32-yard field goal with 1:32 left and leaving the door open for Texas to win it with a field goal.
• Jordan Shipley's 96-yard kickoff return completely turns the Texas/ou game around in 2008. The Horns, down, 14-3, are in trouble. The return totally steals all of the momentum and gets Texas back in it. Texas also stops ou on a fake punt later in the game and the result is a 45-35 win a No.1 ranking.
• A blocked field goal and a Shipley punt return for a touchdown nearly brings Texas back against Texas Tech later that same year.
• Marquis Goodwin's kickoff return against A&M ices the game in College Station.
• Hunter Lawrence's 46-yard field goal as time expired gives Texas a 13-12 win in the Big 12 Championship in 2009. The kick not only puts Texas into the National Championship, it saves Colt McCoy from being one of the bigger goats in all of sports due to the “Railing Incident.”
• Malcolm Williams' efforts should not go unnoticed. He was a BEAST in special teams. From the fumbled punt return against ou in 2009, the destruction of the Missouri punter on the blocked punt the same year and the crazy effort to down the ball inside the 20 at Nebraska in the huge upset in 2010, No.9 was an awesome special teamer.
• Remember that ridiculous 99-yard field goal attempt returned for a score at Nebraska by the Cornhuskers? That was nearly devastating.
• The high and lows of the punt return team in 2010. The high was the Nebraska game when Curtis Brown sets up points with some big returns. The lows were pretty much ever other game: the fumble against ou, the fumble against UCLA and the non-catch against A&M as we watched the clock expire on the season.
• Fozzy Whittaker.
• The return of the block party in 2011.
• The kick by Justin Tucker. Scoreboard FOREVER.

And that's just Texas. Every school everywhere has a story, like Alabama. They never get to play Texas in 2009 in the Rose Bowl if Terrence Cody doesn't block two field goal attempts against Tennessee. See what I mean? Special teams affect everything. It's more than return men and kickers. From the snapper to the holder to the blockers to the coverage teams, it's hours and hours of practice, and while it goes unnoticed by many, it's as important as anything on the field, if not more. They are first guys on the field to start the game and as many times as not they are on the field to end the game. And the results of their successes and failures often change how the rest of the team is viewed in the media and the eyes of the fans.

Keep that mind when you're watching the Super Bowl and reading about Spring Practice starting soon. Specials are important because of the impact they have, as you'll it see time and again in just about every game you see if you pay attention.

See you next week.

Hook’em,
trey.

Give me your thoughts on Twitter or email me (FromTheStands@gmail.com)