Shama: Antoine Winfield May Return Punts for Gophers

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Think the argument everyone makes about returns is missing the point. All the data on high injuries is for all the players and the ones who are getting injured at higher rates are not commonly the returners, but the guys setting up to block for them and fielding a blow from a guy who's running at top speed. It's pretty rare to see the returner take that hit unless he makes a mistake.
 

The he might get injured returning punts shouldn’t even be taken into consideration. If Winfield is the best punt returner he be handling that role.
 

Not only is Winfield the best/most important player on the team, he's also probably the most irreplaceable due to his versatility and our woeful DB depth.

Just put someone sure handed back there. Silly to risk him on PR.
 

HoustonTXGopher said:
This article does not address punt returns, so it is useless in trying to make your case.
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I once read a specific play-type and injuries data table published by the NCAA. It was highly detailed and breaks down % of injuries, type of injury, and play in which it occurred. Unfortunately, I can't find the highly detailed version. I think I once linked it on the Northwestern thread - wanting the Unionize.

This is the closest thing I could currently find: https://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/NCAA_Football_Injury_WEB.pdf

On page 2 (right hand side), it gives % breakdowns (more generically):
1. Special Teams (kickoffs, punts, FGs, and PATs) account for 13.6% of all competition injuries,
2. Defensive Running plays - 15.6%
3. Defensive Pass plays - 9.2%
 

Buck_Buchanan said:
I once read a specific play-type and injuries data table published by the NCAA. It was highly detailed and breaks down % of injuries, type of injury, and play in which it occurred. Unfortunately, I can't find the highly detailed version. I think I once linked it on the Northwestern thread - wanting the Unionize.

This is the closest thing I could currently find: https://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/NCAA_Football_Injury_WEB.pdf

On page 2 (right hand side), it gives % breakdowns (more generically):
1. Special Teams (kickoffs, punts, FGs, and PATs) account for 13.6% of all competition injuries,
2. Defensive Running plays - 15.6%
3. Defensive Pass plays - 9.2%
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http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com...turn-injury-patriots-receiver-0912-story.html

I would argue that punt returns make the returner more likely to be blown up than a kick return. I think kick returns are more dangerous for everyone on the field as it is several full speed collisions. However if punt blocking is bad or the returner makes a bad decision he could get blown up.

If losing Winfield last year was one of the reasons our defense suffered last season (as many on here claim) then it would be silly to risk him on punt returns.

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Buck_Buchanan said:
On page 2 (right hand side), it gives % breakdowns (more generically):
1. Special Teams (kickoffs, punts, FGs, and PATs) account for 13.6% of all competition injuries,
2. Defensive Running plays - 15.6%
3. Defensive Pass plays - 9.2%
Click to expand...

Special teams injury rate seems pretty high, then, if you normalize to the % of plays per game on special teams (I wouldn’t count PATs or even FGs because almost nobody ever gets injured on those plays).
 

Pompous Elitist said:
If he’s the best then he should do it. Field position is obviously sort of important.
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Absolutely.

The PR game in recent years has been atrocious. Period. Not just that they haven't been very explosive but the simple fielding of punts to avoid lengthy bounces/rolls, etc. Field position is one of the most underrated aspects of the game and the Gophers have been woeful at this for quite a while.

The best player should be back there fielding punts. It's as simple as that. Maybe it's Winfield, maybe it's not, but it's worth evaluating at this point in camp.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Absolutely.

The PR game in recent years has been atrocious. Period. Not just that they haven't been very explosive but the simple fielding of punts to avoid lengthy bounces/rolls, etc. Field position is one of the most underrated aspects of the game and the Gophers have been woeful at this for quite a while.

The best player should be back there fielding punts. It's as simple as that. Maybe it's Winfield, maybe it's not, but it's worth evaluating at this point in camp.
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In the college game, a scary punt returner also puts a ton of pressure on college punters to attempt to punt away. A shanked punt isn't much different than a turnover.
 




Some numbers - from 2017

Opponents punted 62 times. Gophers returned 9 punts for 36 yards - avg of 4 yds per punt return. No TD's.
Gophers punted 67 times. Opponents returned 19 punts for 114 yards - avg of 6 yds per return. No TD's.

Winfield is a key defensive player. He is coming off an injury that forced him to miss most of last season. I want him healthy, and as fresh as possible on defense, playing the majority of snaps.

going back to the stats - 129 punts last year in Gopher games (Gophs and opponents). No TD's.

Let's say for the sake of argument that Winfield is a good enough athlete that he could improve the punt return average a few yards. Is it worth another couple yards of field position a couple of times a game to expose a key player to a higher risk of injury - and just playing more snaps that could tire him out so he isn't as fresh or available in the 4th quarter? I say no.

Again - Winfield should return punts ONLY if there is no one on the roster who is capable of catching a punt. for the sake of the Gophers, I sure hope there is someone else on the roster who has enough athletic ability to catch a punt. if there isn't, it's going to be a LONG year.
 


If I were a high school Sophomore with much speed looking to get a good scholarship. I'd concentrate on catching punts, studying film, do shifty type drills, and look to see how you can protect yourself for the long haul on the field. This might be simply going down when necessary, running out of bounds and anything else to avoid those direct hits that cause issues both to you and the guy hitting you. Apparently not many players work on catching punts. However I don't know the answer to that one.

Marcus with the Vikings has done pretty good job of avoiding injuries and yes he goes down when necessary (he has good vision). Why get cream with the risk of losing the ball?
 




It’s not just ability to catch the punt and return yards, it’s the decision to field it in the first place. The Gophers have struggled at times with giving away huge chunks of yardage by allowing punts to roll IMO.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
It’s not just ability to catch the punt and return yards, it’s the decision to field it in the first place. The Gophers have struggled at times with giving away huge chunks of yardage by allowing punts to roll IMO.
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This is my biggest frustration, without question. Not even necessarily the decision to field it on the fly; catching it on the first lively bounce and simply hitting the deck could save them 10-20 yards lots of times. Sometimes that requires a deep guy and an intermediate guy; if that's what they need, so be it. Just simply catching the ball before it has a chance to end up 20-30 yards downfield would be a huge improvement, more efficient and effective than a 8-15 yard return.
 

Benny Sapp III. Can catch and has speed to make big plays in return game. If your going to have risk reward projections on injury, he is player I would bet on that can flip position. You cannot hit what you cannot catch up too. He is type of burner that can turn a game and probably see and avoid contact.

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Normally I would not want your best defensive player returning kicks, but this team is going to struggle scoring and it doesn't really help the team to keep Winfield healthy to go 3-9 and score 14 points a game.
 

Unless I'm missing someone, the only two guys in the last 20 years to return a punt for a TD are Marcus Jones and Luke Leverson.
 

Ok, just throwing this out. Pettis had 63 receptions for Washington last year, was All American. Certainly a valuable player. Still, returned punts for 4 years, every year Petersen has been there. 20.4 yards per return along with 4 touchdowns last year.
 


I'm assuming the coaching staff has the numbers on how often punt returners are injured vs. other positions. Assuming it's not a ridiculously high number, I don't have a problem with this. I am a little nervous because he is so important to the defense and they are so thin at DB that I'd like to eliminate the risk, but do they take some of the stress off the defense if they get better field position? Does having better field position lead to more points and possibly keep Winfield off the field more on D?

If there is a WR that is close to as good I would play the WR, just because they at least have numbers now. But this team needs every boost it can get, so it'd be tough to pass up additional yards.
 

Put the guy back there who is the best at fielding punts. If that is Winfield, then he should be doing it.
Watched the Indiana vs. Gophers game yesterday and back then we had Engel returning punts and he was our starting WR.
It would be great if we had a guy who wasn't a starter on O or D who could do that, but the position is too important to not have our best guy out there regardless of who that is.
 

Let's remember that Rodney Smith, our best player on offense, also returns kicks, so I see no reason why Winfield can't return punts.
 

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