A few things I've noticed

[NoPlayCard]

Some of the things I've noticed, wondering if others are seeing the same things. Some of the longer clips below might be a little off but are close enough to the correct starting points.

1. Counter Option

Last year:

This year:


LBs and safeties (especially the safeties) go with the counter motion in the first clip, at least for a second or two.
In the second clip they don't bite nearly as much if at all...they may have been told to watch the guards (since they pull with the direction of the play) instead of with the a-back motion.

In fact, I'm pretty sure the more elite teams we play completely ignore the motion, which completely eliminates one of the main advantages of the flexbone formation. You might as well be going out of a pro set or a spread formation since the motion isn't fooling anyone or dictating the pre-snap flow of the defense. Ever since the inclusion of the A-back misdirection play seen below

the motion has been ignored by the more elite defenses. Just an observation, not sure
if I'm on to something.

2. OLB blitz

Since our front 5 lines up with huge splits, teams (BYU, VT, Clemson) have started shooting the A gap with an OLB, which has definitely caused more false starts and blown up plays. Can't afford to be in 2nd and 3rd and long. I vaguely remember CPJ saying in a post game presser that we practice against this sort of thing, but it's definitely something to note.
This clip is a good example:


3. Midline play

In games when we are struggling up the middle or struggling with large defensive tackles, I think we could try and read them instead trying to block them. Normally we read the DEs or OLBs, but I haven't seen us read the DTs much this year. Here's a classic clip of the midline play:

And another:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uomtasAvSI
Could help neutralize or at least get in the head of players like Aaron Donald (#97 on Pitt).

4. Rocket toss

http://youtu.be/BDJwRLVchnw?t=1h28m45s

This one is more of a stretch, but I feel like we run the rocket toss out of the formation in the clip above nearly EVERY TIME! I'm talking about the one where one A-Back is on the line and the other one is not. The two wideouts are split on the side with the A-Back on the line. I could be wrong, but it definitely feels like we tip our hand.

 

[shakim3]

This is really well done. I get increasingly frustrated with some of the playcalling, especially when I can tell what is coming next. If I can tell, I can almost guarantee that the opposing defenses can.

But as these videos show, I don't think the fixes are that far off.

 

[NoPlayCard]

------EDIT--------
Some of the links were off in the original post, they should be fixed in this one.

Some of the things I've noticed, wondering if others are seeing the same things. Some of the longer clips below might be a little off but are close enough to the correct starting points.

1. Counter Option

Last year (<-LINK)
This year (<-LINK)

LBs and safeties (especially the safeties) go with the counter motion in the first clip, at least for a second or two.
In the second clip they don't bite nearly as much if at all...they may have been told to watch the guards (since they pull with the direction of the play) instead of with the a-back motion.

In fact, I'm pretty sure the more elite teams we play completely ignore the motion, which completely eliminates one of the main advantages of the flexbone formation. You might as well be going out of a pro set or a spread formation since the motion isn't fooling anyone or dictating the pre-snap flow of the defense. Ever since the inclusion of the A-back misdirection play seen here (<-LINK) the motion has been ignored by the more elite defenses. Just an observation, not sure
if I'm on to something.

2. OLB blitz

Since our front 5 lines up with huge splits, teams (BYU, VT, Clemson) have started shooting the A gap with an OLB, which has definitely caused more false starts and blown up plays. Can't afford to be in 2nd and 3rd and long. I vaguely remember CPJ saying in a post game presser that we practice against this sort of thing, but it's definitely something to note.
This clip is a good example (<-LINK)

3. Midline play

In games when we are struggling up the middle or struggling with large defensive tackles, I think we could try and read them instead trying to block them. Normally we read the DEs or OLBs, but I haven't seen us read the DTs much this year.

Here's a classic clip of the midline play (<-LINK)
And another (<-LINK)
Could help neutralize or at least get in the head of players like Aaron Donald (#97 on Pitt).

4. Rocket toss

Clip (<-LINK)

This one is more of a stretch, but I feel like we run the rocket toss out of the formation in the clip above nearly EVERY TIME! I'm talking about the one where one A-Back is on the line and the other one is not. The two wideouts are split on the side with the A-Back on the line. I could be wrong, but it definitely feels like we tip our hand.

 

[Eric]

Thanks for posting this.

 

[Kmag]

Thanks for putting the time in to show us that. Really great post!

 

[John]

And another (<-LINK)
Could help neutralize or at least get in the head of players like Aaron Donald (#97 on Pitt).

You can see in this clip that even in 2009, VT was blitzing the A-gap just like VT/Miami/Clemson did this year. So this goes along with what CPJ said after the VT game, that we practiced this about a million times and that nothing that they did was a surprise.

On Thursday, we definitely played this a little different than that clip showed. That blitz was picked up by the b-back in most cases and we didn't even bother with the mesh.

All of which makes me wonder why we aren't running as much midline option plays anymore. Even with Tevin, we ran a lot of midline especially in goalline situations which explains why Tevin had so many rushing TDs.

 

[AE 87]

I could swear that I saw one really good midline option against Pitt and some others that if they were midline, they weren't read well. I thought we'd run more midline against Clem's boy too.

 

[awbuzz]

Tim - thanks for putting that together.

I'm ignorant when it comes to football, just enjoy the game, but have learned a bit over the last few years reading the various GT blogs. (Really enjoy the Swarm )

How much of the issue is just guys not doing what they should properly (poor execution / missed assignment) vs. just getting beat by a better player vs. just being out guessed?

 

[Leonard Larramore]

Good Post

 

[vamosjackets]

Number 1 is the first thing I noticed against Clemson. Their LB's keyed on the guards which always took them right to the play. That will KILL our counters - no chance on those plays. Now, what that should do is allow us to out number them to the direction of the motion. It should make rocket toss and triple option a killer. And, as we've seen, rocket toss has been extremely effective this year. That's the long play that Robbie scored on against Clemson. He has been a monster on that play this year. The problem has been that it has also produced blown up plays. Against Clemson, we completely left the DE on the playside untouched (Beasley) and he blew the play up for a 5 yard loss. On another, we tried to use a crack block by the WR on the DE (or maybe OLB on the LOS, can't remember) and Smelter didn't quite get there in time. He made a good physical block and knocked the guy down, but knocked him right into our RB, again for a 5 yard loss. If we can clean that blocking up, it should be a very effective play for us consistently .... like at least 6 yards per play and sometimes going for big yardage. And, theoretically, when that happens, it should make the defense have to adjust and open up a lot more for us. Actually, Clemson did start adjusting to it with their secondary play, which is why we started becoming very effective in the passing game. But, again, that is another place we could be WAYYYY more effective. We did pretty well vs Clemson, but there were at least 2 more TD's out there in the passing game alone ... easy pitch and catch plays that we just missed. If we make those plays, defenses won't have a chance, and they'll again have to adjust and again, lots more of our plays become available for those adjustments.

Triple option also became more effective against Clemson in the 2nd half. What they were doing there was bringing the CB up hard on the outside. Our WR's were able to block them most of the time, but it caused our pitch man to have to take more of an inside track which we weren't ready for in the first few series. Later on, we started making those plays and again, Robbie went for big yardage later in the game. But, by that point there we had to score 55 to win. It was a team loss. The offense could've come back against a 30 point deficit, but not a 50 point deficit. Defense played valiantly at first but had an epic collapse albeit against one of the best QB/WR core in the nation, and they were completely on fire. But, we also should've/could've had 2 pick sixes that would've completely changed the complexion of the game. We just aren't making the game changing plays that are there and available to us. Those are the plays - about 6 plays per game - that determine the outcome.

On offense we've got to be able to make defenses pay for the weaknesses they're willing to give up. And, there are ALWAYS weaknesses against our offense - which is why it's been so effective for 30 years. What will help us make those plays? I think a more experienced Vad/Justin will help. But, I think recruiting and coaching has still obviously got to improve. CPJ isn't the problem, but he's got to try to identify and fix the problems (in recruiting and position coaching). Giving up now would be a big mistake imho.

 

[AE 87]

Vamos, you're spot on imo.

 

[John]

On offense we've got to be able to make defenses pay for the weaknesses they're willing to give up. And, there are ALWAYS weaknesses against our offense - which is why it's been so effective for 30 years. What will help us make those plays? I think a more experienced Vad/Justin will help. But, I think recruiting and coaching has still obviously got to improve. CPJ isn't the problem, but he's got to try to identify and fix the problems (in recruiting and position coaching). Giving up now would be a big mistake imho.

Good post, vamos. Appreciate the analysis.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Number 1 is the first thing I noticed against Clemson. Their LB's keyed on the guards which always took them right to the play. That will KILL our counters - no chance on those plays. Now, what that should do is allow us to out number them to the direction of the motion. It should make rocket toss and triple option a killer. And, as we've seen, rocket toss has been extremely effective this year. That's the long play that Robbie scored on against Clemson. He has been a monster on that play this year. The problem has been that it has also produced blown up plays. Against Clemson, we completely left the DE on the playside untouched (Beasley) and he blew the play up for a 5 yard loss. On another, we tried to use a crack block by the WR on the DE (or maybe OLB on the LOS, can't remember) and Smelter didn't quite get there in time. He made a good physical block and knocked the guy down, but knocked him right into our RB, again for a 5 yard loss. If we can clean that blocking up, it should be a very effective play for us consistently .... like at least 6 yards per play and sometimes going for big yardage. And, theoretically, when that happens, it should make the defense have to adjust and open up a lot more for us. Actually, Clemson did start adjusting to it with their secondary play, which is why we started becoming very effective in the passing game. But, again, that is another place we could be WAYYYY more effective. We did pretty well vs Clemson, but there were at least 2 more TD's out there in the passing game alone ... easy pitch and catch plays that we just missed. If we make those plays, defenses won't have a chance, and they'll again have to adjust and again, lots more of our plays become available for those adjustments.

Triple option also became more effective against Clemson in the 2nd half. What they were doing there was bringing the CB up hard on the outside. Our WR's were able to block them most of the time, but it caused our pitch man to have to take more of an inside track which we weren't ready for in the first few series. Later on, we started making those plays and again, Robbie went for big yardage later in the game. But, by that point there we had to score 55 to win. It was a team loss. The offense could've come back against a 30 point deficit, but not a 50 point deficit. Defense played valiantly at first but had an epic collapse albeit against one of the best QB/WR core in the nation, and they were completely on fire. But, we also should've/could've had 2 pick sixes that would've completely changed the complexion of the game. We just aren't making the game changing plays that are there and available to us. Those are the plays - about 6 plays per game - that determine the outcome.

On offense we've got to be able to make defenses pay for the weaknesses they're willing to give up. And, there are ALWAYS weaknesses against our offense - which is why it's been so effective for 30 years. What will help us make those plays? I think a more experienced Vad/Justin will help. But, I think recruiting and coaching has still obviously got to improve. CPJ isn't the problem, but he's got to try to identify and fix the problems (in recruiting and position coaching). Giving up now would be a big mistake imho.

We had a ton of "not explosive plays" get blown up because of a missed block or two. I'm not talking game changing plays, but plays the keep drives alive, keep the other team's offense on the sidelines and keeps our D fresh. That's on the OL for the most part. A few misreads, but not many. For the most part Vad did well. Our OL, for some reason, is just not up to the task against the better DL's. Most of the time it's just getting whipped mano a mano. Some of the time it's missing an assignment or just being gassed. I wonder if Shaq played well below potential due to undisclosed injury because he played rather poorly.

 

[Boomergump]

Some of the things I've noticed, wondering if others are seeing the same things. Some of the longer clips below might be a little off but are close enough to the correct starting points.

1. Counter Option

Last year:

This year:


LBs and safeties (especially the safeties) go with the counter motion in the first clip, at least for a second or two.
In the second clip they don't bite nearly as much if at all...they may have been told to watch the guards (since they pull with the direction of the play) instead of with the a-back motion.

In fact, I'm pretty sure the more elite teams we play completely ignore the motion, which completely eliminates one of the main advantages of the flexbone formation. You might as well be going out of a pro set or a spread formation since the motion isn't fooling anyone or dictating the pre-snap flow of the defense. Ever since the inclusion of the A-back misdirection play seen below

the motion has been ignored by the more elite defenses. Just an observation, not sure
if I'm on to something.

2. OLB blitz

Since our front 5 lines up with huge splits, teams (BYU, VT, Clemson) have started shooting the A gap with an OLB, which has definitely caused more false starts and blown up plays. Can't afford to be in 2nd and 3rd and long. I vaguely remember CPJ saying in a post game presser that we practice against this sort of thing, but it's definitely something to note.
This clip is a good example:


3. Midline play

In games when we are struggling up the middle or struggling with large defensive tackles, I think we could try and read them instead trying to block them. Normally we read the DEs or OLBs, but I haven't seen us read the DTs much this year. Here's a classic clip of the midline play:

And another:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uomtasAvSI
Could help neutralize or at least get in the head of players like Aaron Donald (#97 on Pitt).

4. Rocket toss

http://youtu.be/BDJwRLVchnw?t=1h28m45s

This one is more of a stretch, but I feel like we run the rocket toss out of the formation in the clip above nearly EVERY TIME! I'm talking about the one where one A-Back is on the line and the other one is not. The two wideouts are split on the side with the A-Back on the line. I could be wrong, but it definitely feels like we tip our hand.

Tim, you are spot on. I have done a lot of film study of GT games in the past and posted results on another site. This is actually my first post here. In watching the last few games, I have noticed far less reaction to AB motion as well. In fact, I believe LBs especially are keying on our pulling guards and Safeties are staying quiet while lining up a little wider and shallower so they can get to the pitch lanes without having to cheat on motion. Last year, if you remember, Clemmons started the game by firing CBs inside towards motion to blow up a couple early plays. GT then raped them with a few quick passes to the vacant space on the sideline. We moved down the field on three of those throws for a quick TD and they never tried it again. FFWD to last thursday and they sporadically fired CBs again. If I remember, we only tried one pass to that area of the field to counter. Maybe it was because the safeties were wider split and shallower, but I am not sure. Everything you try on D has a risk, but give Climpsum credit, they stalled us for a couple early drives doing it and also hit us for a few negative plays later in the game as well.

 

[jchens_GT]

Tim, you are spot on. I have done a lot of film study of GT games in the past and posted results on another site. This is actually my first post here. In watching the last few games, I have noticed far less reaction to AB motion as well. In fact, I believe LBs especially are keying on our pulling guards and Safeties are staying quiet while lining up a little wider and shallower so they can get to the pitch lanes without having to cheat on motion. Last year, if you remember, Clemmons started the game by firing CBs inside towards motion to blow up a couple early plays. GT then raped them with a few quick passes to the vacant space on the sideline. We moved down the field on three of those throws for a quick TD and they never tried it again. FFWD to last thursday and they sporadically fired CBs again. If I remember, we only tried one pass to that area of the field to counter. Maybe it was because the safeties were wider split and shallower, but I am not sure. Everything you try on D has a risk, but give Climpsum credit, they stalled us for a couple early drives doing it and also hit us for a few negative plays later in the game as well.

Thanks for your input Boomer and glad to have you on the site.

 

[awbuzz]

Tim, you are spot on. I have done a lot of film study of GT games in the past and posted results on another site. This is actually my first post here. In watching the last few games, I have noticed far less reaction to AB motion as well. In fact, I believe LBs especially are keying on our pulling guards and Safeties are staying quiet while lining up a little wider and shallower so they can get to the pitch lanes without having to cheat on motion. Last year, if you remember, Clemmons started the game by firing CBs inside towards motion to blow up a couple early plays. GT then raped them with a few quick passes to the vacant space on the sideline. We moved down the field on three of those throws for a quick TD and they never tried it again. FFWD to last thursday and they sporadically fired CBs again. If I remember, we only tried one pass to that area of the field to counter. Maybe it was because the safeties were wider split and shallower, but I am not sure. Everything you try on D has a risk, but give Climpsum credit, they stalled us for a couple early drives doing it and also hit us for a few negative plays later in the game as well.

Boomer, it'll be great to see your input on this site too. You too to great analysis.

 

[awbuzz]

Vamos, I agree with you regarding "But, I think recruiting and coaching has still obviously got to improve. CPJ isn't the problem, but he's got to try to identify and fix the problems (in recruiting and position coaching). Giving up now would be a big mistake imho."
We've got to quit throwing out the baby with the bath water.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Good news is recruiting appears to on the upswing, at that's just from a general measuring stick, the services. More encouraging is the fact that the services tend to undervalue our recruits. It's not done on purpose, I don't think, but rather due to lack of resources, lack of interest and lack of taking our specific needs into consideration.

 

[poodleface]

"Lack of interest" is right. If 90+% of GT commits shut down recruiting after committing, then why would the services bother to re-evaluate star ratings? Stories about high value recruits and their courtship dance is what sells subscriptions to those services.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

"Lack of interest" is right. If 90+% of GT commits shut down recruiting after committing, then why would the services bother to re-evaluate star ratings? Stories about high value recruits and their courtship dance is what sells subscriptions to those services.

But as soon as they flip to a factory they get another star. LOL. Remember Brandon freakin' Douglas, and that's just one of many examples.