Georgia’s not-so-special special teams

If we can step away from Bobofest ’11 for a minute, there’s an area of the team that deserves more scrutiny than it’s getting. Going into the season, Georgia’s special teams were expected to be a team strength.  Several pundits described them as the best in the nation – and why not?  Blair Walsh and Drew Butler had already received awards for their kicking prowess.  Brandon Boykin was an electrifying kick returner.  Branden Smith turned into one of the better punt returners in the conference.  And the coverage teams ranked in the top two or three in the SEC. Instead, 2011 brought a drop in performance on almost every front. PUNT RETURNS AVG TD 2010 UGA 10.62 0 OPP 5.13 0 2011 UGA 6.68 0 OPP 16.09 2 Branden Smith was Georgia’s leading returner last season.  His average yards per return was 14.3.  This season’s leading returner, Brandon Boykin, averaged 6.77 yards per return.  As for punt coverage, Georgia went from third to last in the SEC and was...