08-09-2007, 03:26 PM
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#1 (permalink)
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Both of them
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 10,302
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Clowney gives return game dose of speed
http://www.packersnews.com/apps/pbcs...708090546/1989
Quote:
Tim Goodwell could have made the stop if tackling was allowed.
Green Bay Packers special teams coordinator Mike Stock knew that much after reviewing the tape of rookie David Clowney's 103-yard kick-return touchdown in Saturday night's scrimmage at Lambeau Field.
When Clowney popped out from behind the wedge and broke right to avoid the kicker, Goodwell was in position to make the play and pulled up only because it was a 'thud' period. But Clowney did exactly as Stock told him and the Packers' other prospective return men beforehand:
"I said, 'If you (see) fresh air, take it to the house. Don't worry about if anybody tags you, and just go,'" Stock said this week. "I wanted them to … cross the goal line and see what it feels like. I wanted those people in the stands to say, 'Oh. Speed.'
"Speed kills."
That's why the Packers drafted Clowney in the fifth round as a potential return specialist even though he returned only five kickoffs at Virginia Tech. He was a four-time track letterman in college, holds the school record in the 55-meter dash and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.29 seconds at his campus workout.
Last season, the Packers ranked 26th in average field position after kickoffs, 31st in kickoff return average (19.7 yards per return) and last with a season-long return of 35 yards, by Vernand Morency. So it's only natural Stock wanted to take the first opportunity possible to create a positive buzz about his new return men.
Clowney enters Saturday's preseason opener at Pittsburgh as the No. 2 kick returner behind Shaun Bodiford, who last season averaged a modest 16.2 yards on five kickoff returns for the Packers before landing on injured reserve with a broken shin.
Coaches haven't seen either against live tackling this year, but the early odds favor Bodiford and Clowney competing for one roster spot and doubling as the No. 5 or 6 wide receiver. Their greatest challenge may be not trying to do too much in their preseason auditions.
"You've just got to follow your instincts," said Bodiford, who played in three games after the Packers claimed him off waivers from Detroit on Oct. 23.
"You can't think about saying, 'I've got to do this. I've got to show them that.' You've got to be smart about it, and that's what they want back there. I don't want to try to do too much when I should fair-catch the ball and try to return it and get blown up."
Bodiford doesn't have Clowney's speed — he ran the 40 in 4.47 at his pro day in 2006 — but he has far more experience as a kick returner. He averaged 22.7 yards on 48 kickoffs in two seasons at Portland State, including a school-record 24.1-yard average as a senior.
Bodiford also appears to be a more polished receiver than Clowney, who needs work running routes and adjusting to the ball in the air. Though Bodiford's leg hampered him through minicamp, he showed he's back to full speed with his own long kick return in the scrimmage, albeit one wiped out by an illegal block.
"I'm going to try to be better than anybody in the NFL," Bodiford said. "It's not just this team. It's just me as a competitor, me as an athlete. I want to be the best."
Morency, who led the team's primary kick returners a year ago with a 21.6-yard average, is out indefinitely with a strained patellar tendon in his right knee. Will Blackmon and Noah Herron and rookies Brandon Jackson and DeShawn Wynn — whom Stock said had a great block for Bodiford in the scrimmage — could line up deep on kick returns Saturday as well.
Bodiford also had a 30-yard punt return in the scrimmage, and improvement in that area could help his bid to make the team. The Packers ranked 27th last season with an average of 7.8 yards per punt return; Bodiford returned six for a 4.2-yard average.
Stock said veteran cornerback Charles Woodson, who averaged 8.9 yards on 41 returns last season, will be "the man" come September. But Woodson isn't expected to handle any returns in exhibition games, and his action could be limited in the regular season to keep him healthy and fresh.
Bodiford, Blackmon and perhaps Jones will fill in Saturday and beyond in the preseason. Those auditions may be limited and tough to judge, though, because it's impossible to know how many times opponents will punt or what personnel they'll put on the field when they do.
"It makes it difficult to make the right decisions sometimes," said Stock, who is entering his second season. "You need to get those reps … when it's really important for these guys to shine and show their best under crucial conditions."
Clowney won't return punts, but he will have more opportunities to flash his speed as a headhunter on the punt coverage team — a position for which he volunteered as a senior at Virginia Tech, which is known for its special-teams play. Whether he can have the impact as a kick returner he never made as a Hokie remains to be seen.
"I have good vision, especially when you can just run like that. You just run in the opening, you just find that hole and just go," Clowney said. "Hopefully, my return (Saturday) popped some light bulbs up for the coaches to keep me around."
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Clowney gives return game dose of speed
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