The defense was making plays and the offense was starting to click. Unfortunately, that only makes up two-thirds of a football game, because the Badgers’ special teams play Saturday, to put it bluntly, was an utter nightmare.

UW lost quarterback Tyler Donovan, wide receivers Paul Hubbard and Luke Swan and center Marcus Coleman to graduation, plus cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu early to the NFL Draft. But the players Bielema’s bunch will miss the most from a season ago may very well be kicker Taylor Mehlhaff and punter Ken DeBauche, for the mere fact that their successors look, well, nightmarish.

And Bielema is fully aware of it.

After watching several Philip Welch and Matt Fischer field goals sail wide of the uprights and as many Brad DeBauche (Ken’s younger brother) punts flop to the ground like a dead duck, I asked Bielema if there was any concern in the kicking game, to which he replied, “Well, yeah.”

At least he’s honest.

Following the first and third quarters of the spring game Saturday, the UW kickers partook in a drill Bielema referred to as “rapid fire,” where Welch and Fischer alternated kicking field goals as they moved farther and farther back, away from the end zone. The two finished the day a combined 11-for-20, which includes kicks from rapid fire and the actual game. Only one of their nine combined misses came from over 40 yards (a 45-yard Fischer miss), and Welch missed a 25-yarder (an extra point is essentially from 19 yards out).

Rapid fire, Bielema explained, is a drill used to create game-like situations for the kickers. But with only 22,000 people in the stands and the defense standing around instead of rushing in attempts to block the kicks, it’s scary to think about a real game situation in front of 80,000 screaming fans, under the lights against Ohio State, perhaps.

There were no kickoffs in Saturday’s cardinal and white scrimmage, but it’s hard to imagine either Welch or Fischer comparing to Mehlhaff, who seemed to put the ball into the back of the end zone — or even through the uprights, if I remember correctly — on a regular basis, which in the field position game is an extremely nice luxury to have.

Brad DeBauche’s afternoon wasn’t much better. The freshman punted the ball five times for a total of 177 yards, which equates to 35.4 yards per punt.

Not exactly what you’re looking for from a Division I punter.

And it’s not as if DeBauche had a bunch of good kicks and one shank to ruin the average.

In fact, it was quite the opposite.

Aside from one 55-yarder, his punts were consistently wobbly with little hangtime, which as you know, gives the coverage team little time to get downfield to make a tackle.

Needless to say, if this trend keeps up, opposing punt returners will have a field day against Wisconsin.

Bielema did mention he expects big things from incoming freshman punter Brad Nortmann come fall.

I’ll believe it when I see it.

If you overlook the kicking game as an essential part of a successful football team, think again. I admit, it’s easy to take special teams for granted, especially when your punter is consistent and your kicker is bound to play on Sundays. You assume when fourth down comes around, the possession will change and the defense will take over. But when your punter shanks a line-drive 35-yarder with the chance for a big return, it puts an awful lot of pressure on your defense — something the Badgers simply can’t afford.

I do expect improvements from Wisconsin’s defense next season. But if punts have no hangtime and kickoffs fail to reach the end zone on a consistent basis, there’s nothing any defense, even the 2000 Baltimore Raves, can do.

The UW offense will move the ball and put points up on the board. The defense will get stops and improve against the spread. But if field position is a chronic issue for next year’s Badgers, don’t expect greatness on either side of the ball, because special teams can oftentimes be the difference between winning and losing.

Derek is a sophomore majoring in economics. If you too have concerns about the Badger football team, don’t be afraid to e-mail him at [email protected].