Twitter: John Fassel Appreciation

[817Gill]

Huge breathe of fresh air from last year.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Man.....I'm so happy for the players especially our young guys who came to this team with no emphasis on special teams. That has to do wonders for a offense and/or a defense to feel like you have another facet of the game that's important.

I don't care about the failures. I'm down with the aggressiveness.

And I Didn't see many people mention this but in the 1st game of this season....that punt return by Lamb was longer than any punt return we had all of last year. Fassel's presence has already been felt the first game of the season.

 

[cowboyec]

 

[JayFord]

I like his aggressiveness i don’t necessarily agree with some of it , but i can appreciate the fact that the man is trying to win

sometimes you gamble and it pays off and sometimes you go broke..... but just try and win the ball game

 

[Aven8]

Man.....I'm so happy for the players especially our young guys who came to this team with no emphasis on special teams. That has to do wonders for a offense and/or a defense to feel like you have another facet of the game that's important.

I don't care about the failures. I'm down with the aggressiveness.

And I Didn't see many people mention this but in the 1st game of this season....that punt return by Lamb was longer than any punt return we had all of last year. Fassel's presence has already been felt the first game of the season.

That aggressiveness might have something to do with Pollard bringing it out every time. He probably told Mike he might only get to the 20 on most plays, but what if he can get to the 40 or take it all the way?

 

[The Natural]

Like I said in the other Fassel thread, go out and find a defensive coach with his passion and imagination. Whatever Fassel's got, we need more of it.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

That aggressiveness might have something to do with Pollard bringing it out every time. He probably told Mike he might only get to the 20 on most plays, but what if he can get to the 40 or take it all the way?

Aye and I'm for it. I'd rather start on the 20 with a chance to take it all the way than concede to the 25. I hope Pollard continues take it every time.

 

[Nav22]

Aye and I'm for it. I'd rather start on the 20 with a chance to take it all the way than concede to the 25. I hope Pollard continues take it every time.

I like the other forms of Fassel’s aggressiveness but the KO returns from midway through the endzone have been annoying to me.

Seems like at least 80% of the time Pollard’s not making it to the 25, and you also run the risk of a penalty (which could back us up inside our own 10) or a fumble. I’m guessing a lost fumble is more likely than a KO return TD anyways.

Even if he were to break 1 for a TD this season, I’m not so sure that cancels out all the times that decision to bring it out would hurt us over the course of a full season.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

I like the other forms of Fassel’s aggressiveness but the KO returns from midway through the endzone have been annoying to me.

Seems like at least 80% of the time Pollard’s not making it to the 25, and you also run the risk of a penalty (which could back us up inside our own 10) or a fumble. I’m guessing a lost fumble is more likely than a KO return TD anyways.

Even if he were to break 1 for a TD this season, I’m not so sure that cancels out all the times that decision to bring it out would hurt us over the course of a full season.

I understand that but let me ask this....without any "analytics" to back this claim up.....is there really a big difference between starting on the 20 or the 25? I feel like losing 5 yards is worth the risk.

I know we've been taught that every yard matters and I'm big on field position....but if I'm losing 4 or 5 yards here and there on starting field position....I'm ok with it.

 

[fivetwos]

I understand that but let me ask this....without any "analytics" to back this claim up.....is there really a big difference between starting on the 20 or the 25? I feel like losing 5 yards is worth the risk.

I know we've been taught that every yard matters and I'm big on field position....but if I'm losing 4 or 5 yards here and there on starting field position....I'm ok with it.

I'm fully convinced we will never break a long KO return ever again.

Not even a TD, I'd be shocked w something that gets us between the 40s. Dak may not know how to react if that happened.

 

[Nav22]

I understand that but let me ask this....without any "analytics" to back this claim up.....is there really a big difference between starting on the 20 or the 25? I feel like losing 5 yards is worth the risk.

I know we've been taught that every yard matters and I'm big on field position....but if I'm losing 4 or 5 yards here and there on starting field position....I'm ok with it.

I’d be okay with it too if the 20 was the worst-case scenario, but it’s not.

Sometimes he’ll get stopped between the 15-20. A flag on a KO return is almost always a hold or a block in the back, which would pin us inside our own 10.

As for the potential big reward of a TD return... if I were a betting man, I’d wager that Pollard loses a fumble on a KO return before he ever takes one to the house. I have no data to back that up.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

I'm fully convinced we will never break a long KO return ever again.

Not even a TD, I'd be shocked w something that gets us between the 40s. Dak may not know how to react if that happened.

Aye while true I think they are better suited to do it playing aggressive like this then just kneeling most of the game. I think Fassell is trying to get this situated. If we can start from the 30 or 35 that will be refreshing lol.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

I’d be okay with it too if the 20 was the worst-case scenario, but it’s not.

Sometimes he’ll get stopped between the 15-20. A flag on a KO return is almost always a hold or a block in the back, which would pin us inside our own 10.

As for the potential big reward of a TD return... if I were a betting man, I’d wager that Pollard loses a fumble on a KO return before he ever takes one to the house. I have no data to back that up.

Yeah I mean I think I saw like one or maybe 2 that were under 20. I think the plan is to at least be able to get to the 20 yard line.

And aye....I'll settle for just solid field position. It doesn't have to be a touchdown but if I can get field position from the 30 or 35 yard line I can open up my playbook and take some risks down field. I'll take that.

 

[Dallasfann]

That aggressiveness might have something to do with Pollard bringing it out every time. He probably told Mike he might only get to the 20 on most plays, but what if he can get to the 40 or take it all the way?

I really like the aggressiveness of it....I hate the guy doing it. I think Pollard is an awesome back up RB to have no doubt about it, but man he looks bad returning kickoffs. He seems to get the ball and run straight sideways. I don't know..I'm gonna give him a few more weeks but so far I cringe watching him return the kicks.

 

[Nav22]

Yeah I mean I think I saw like one or maybe 2 that were under 20. I think the plan is to at least be able to get to the 20 yard line.

And aye....I'll settle for just solid field position. It doesn't have to be a touchdown but if I can get field position from the 30 or 35 yard line I can open up my playbook and take some risks down field. I'll take that.

Haha that’s my other problem with it... when does Pollard ever even reach the 30? I don’t think he’s done that once this year.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Haha that’s my other problem with it... when does Pollard ever even reach the 30? I don’t think he’s done that once this year.

He hasn't but its still early. The special teams unit is a work in progress. But I like where they are on the punt team.

 

[Nav22]

He hasn't but its still early. The special teams unit is a work in progress. But I like where they are on the punt team.

I really wouldn’t mind a fake punt every week or 2.

They’ll start to work (pass to Goodwin was wide open) and they can be a huge momentum boost. It’s basically like forcing a turnover when it works, which our defense obviously struggles with. Stealing a possession.

If the fake fails, you hurt yourself by about 40 yards of field position. Sucks, but doesn’t totally kill you, especially if you do it near midfield.

 

[gimmesix]

That aggressiveness might have something to do with Pollard bringing it out every time. He probably told Mike he might only get to the 20 on most plays, but what if he can get to the 40 or take it all the way?

I think so. I think Fassel would rather try and break one every now and then than to not try. I think that was his approach on the fake punts as well.

It's up to the head coach to determine when he needs to reel in his ST coordinator. (And maybe they discussed the fact this week that they should have called off that second fake punt based on the defense's alignment.)

 

[Runwildboys]

I understand that but let me ask this....without any "analytics" to back this claim up.....is there really a big difference between starting on the 20 or the 25? I feel like losing 5 yards is worth the risk.

I know we've been taught that every yard matters and I'm big on field position....but if I'm losing 4 or 5 yards here and there on starting field position....I'm ok with it.

And taking one to the house isn't the whole reason for the philosophy. Just getting to the 40 more often is worth it.

 

[gimmesix]

Huge breathe of fresh air from last year.

Probably my favorite coaching hire. And you know players are going to pay extra attention in those special teams meetings after experiencing success on that onsides kick.