Blocking the MLB

[gtg936g]

Exactly @Boomergump. The well prepared teams taught their MLB where to line up, and what track to take to charge the alley.

One thought I had was to slide the WRs into the alley and let them crack the MLB. OT or AB takes the corner and the other hita the safety. Stewart has the size to do it.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Let's be clear about one thing, the MLB isn't waiting to see what happens with the BB before he fills the pitch lane. A more successful dive would be great, but we are not talking about a read situation here for the MLB. We are talking about an assignment thing. We are not talking about a MLB who doesn't respect the dive and just roams at will. We had trouble with the MLB as his assignment was to flow with motion to the lane and we couldn't cut him to the ground. I'm hearing this sentiment like if the dive is good, the MLB will hesitate before filling the lane and that just isn't the case. Teams play assignments against us, not reads.

Then why do MLB's make so many tackles on dives?

 

[gtg936g]

Then why do MLB's make so many tackles on dives?

The MLB and the DE will switch responsibilities like we switch blocking assignments. In that case the C-G (depending on the defensive alignment) will have to pick up the MLB since it will be a give read. That is how I understand it. I think we struggled picking up the MLB when he took the BB as well.

 

[Longestday]

If the the defensive tackles cannot handle the dive, they will try and cheat the MLB to help. That was not the case last year.

Keep in mind this is truly a game of inches. Small inefficiencies make big changes in the score.

The B-Backs did not have the vision (one ran with his head down) and or the experience to follow the right "read" on the lane. This was big. I believe this will be greatly improved in 2016.

The OL was missing the leadership of Shaq. Shaq made the OL greater than the sum of the parts. I believe the team has some talent upgrades that will be more experienced in 2016. Don't forget Freddie was dealing with some difficult issues as well. Normally I listen to CPJ... but the 2014 OL went to the right places and gave JT much more time to pass. Leadership is no small piece of the winning puzzle.

The other teams pinched hard on the OT and disrupted the center release ... more than any other year. I am not sure how this will be solved.

The A-Backs had some small issues as well.... i.e. false starts and going the wrong way. There were not many of these, but more than "normal" (although, I don't have had data).

I am hoping that a WR will build that Smelter JT type of relationship. Smelter knew what JT needed... like he was reading JT's mind.

The spring game did not give me a warm fuzzy, but hope springs eternal. I believe we will be much better on offense in 2016...

 

[Longestday]

The MLB and the DE will switch responsibilities like we switch blocking assignments. In that case the C-G (depending on the defensive alignment) will have to pick up the MLB since it will be a give read. That is how I understand it. I think we struggled picking up the MLB when he took the BB as well.

The OLB and the DE switch to take the BB. A cross charge is when the OLB takes the BB and the DE takes the QB. There is no read if the MLB takes the BB. The MLB will be hit by the center if the MLB comes for the BB.

 

[gtg936g]

Number 1 from the article below is what I was referring to.

http://www.thekeyplay.com/content/2012/august/30/stopping-triple-option

 

[Longestday]

Number 1 from the article below is what I was referring to.

http://www.thekeyplay.com/content/2012/august/30/stopping-triple-option

I agree, only if the defensive tackles cannot handle the dive. The defenses that stop us are the ones that can allow the MLB to roam free to the pitch lanes. These usually have very talented large defensive tackles.

 

[Milwaukee]

It doesn't matter what kind of 'vision' a ball carrier has if there's no space.

I'll say it since some don't want to. The struggles on O last year were mainly because of the OL. Period. They weren't the only reason, but nothing works if up front is a carnival.

Everything, all units, should be improved this year.

 

[Longestday]

I agree sometimes there was no space, but not all the time. Sometimes the BB did not read or see the right lane, but not all the time. There were several parts not operating at 2014 levels.

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

Y'all may all disagree and this may seem counter intuitive but our passing game last year was our primary achilles. Poor line play was a part of that as well as a lack of play making ability at WR. This allowed Ds to pin their ears back and focus heavy to stop the run. We rarely made any teams pay. Our pass pro has never really been stellar in this offense but we have still managed to make big plays in the passing game in prior years. The lack of ability to do so last year was our biggest downfall on O.

 

[gtg936g]

I agree, only if the defensive tackles cannot handle the dive. The defenses that stop us are the ones that can allow the MLB to roam free to the pitch lanes. These usually have very talented large defensive tackles.

I agree, but I have also seen defenses try to blow up the option with a stud DT, by allowing him to tie up the OG. The MLB fires to blow up the B gap, while the DE washes out. If the QB reads the DE it is a give read. CPJ will counter this with a BB option or rocket toss. Just an interesting chess match.

As others have said, when the MLB is assigned the pitch, he is gone at the snap. Why do we not run more midline when this is the case? If the MLB is scraping and the DE is pinching, I would think the midline would make them pay as well.

 

[Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau]

At ND I swore they had an extra man on the field. Their MLB was everywhere. Anytime we tried to go outside he was blowing us up. It was so frustrating to watch.

Uncle Rico had a good plan.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

I agree, only if the defensive tackles cannot handle the dive. The defenses that stop us are the ones that can allow the MLB to roam free to the pitch lanes. These usually have very talented large defensive tackles.

This is exactly what I was talking about in my earlier post. If the defense can stop the dive with the down linemen, we will have a very difficult time doing anything.

'14 was a perfect (bad) storm of events on offense with plenty of blame to go around. Even with all of that and a horrible defense, we still managed to be within striking distance in the forth qtr.

I agree with you in small errors in execution are magnified in the result, especially when they are done across the board. But, just the same, small corrections magnify results, too. I am expecting a much better result on O this year.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

I agree, but I have also seen defenses try to blow up the option with a stud DT, by allowing him to tie up the OG. The MLB fires to blow up the B gap, while the DE washes out. If the QB reads the DE it is a give read. CPJ will counter this with a BB option or rocket toss. Just an interesting chess match.

As others have said, when the MLB is assigned the pitch, he is gone at the snap. Why do we not run more midline when this is the case? If the MLB is scraping and the DE is pinching, I would think the midline would make them pay as well.

The chess match element cannot be over-emphasized. We have to call plays that take advantage of things the D is doing especially when the are committing assets unevenly/taking risks/gambling/selling out. Sometimes the DC guesses right and you just have to give them props. Every play that fails is not an indictment of our players or coaches.

 

[Boomergump]

Some added points:
If the MLB was waiting to read the dive he would never make it over to blow up the pitch lane. The best he could do is make a tackle eight yards down field. When you see a MLB tackle the pitch for no gain, he was gone with motion.

Teams play assignments against us. If the MLB is stuffing the dive, that was his job for the play.

The points about passing game affecting the numbers of crashing defenders are spot on. Some of our blocking problems are about the numbers of guys to deal with. When teams don't worry about covering one on one, we are in trouble.

MM ran great last year when he had space. In traffic he coughed the ball up too much and danced indecisively. He will improve.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Some added points:
If the MLB was waiting to read the dive he would never make it over to blow up the pitch lane. The best he could do is make a tackle eight yards down field. When you see a MLB tackle the pitch for no gain, he was gone with motion.

Teams play assignments against us. If the MLB is stuffing the dive, that was his job for the play.

The points about passing game affecting the numbers of crashing defenders are spot on. Some of our blocking problems are about the numbers of guys to deal with. When teams don't worry about covering one on one, we are in trouble.

MM ran great last year when he had space. In traffic he coughed the ball up too much and danced indecisively. He will improve.

Agree. We have to be able to take advantage of man coverage and large cushions on the outside. We also have to block the edge better. There were several times where we had the numbers advantage but still got blown up because our lead blocker failed to get his guy on the ground. He either took a bad angle, had bad technique on the cut or simply went the wrong way/took the wrong guy.

As far as wr's go, I was hoping JT and BS would have formed the same relationship as JT/Smelter. BS is good at using his body to shield defenders in man coverage. He's also good at high pointing and has good hands, too. Hopefully someone will emerge this fall to take that role.

 

[iceeater1969]

Agree. We have to be able to take advantage of man coverage and large cushions on the outside. We also have to block the edge better. There were several times where we had the numbers advantage but still got blown up because our lead blocker failed to get his guy on the ground. He either took a bad angle, had bad technique on the cut or simply went the wrong way/took the wrong guy.

As far as wr's go, I was hoping JT and BS would have formed the same relationship as JT/Smelter. BS is good at using his body to shield defenders in man coverage. He's also good at high pointing and has good hands, too. Hopefully someone will emerge this fall to take that role.

This ( without player's names ) is what a member of gt coaching staff said before ND game.

Sure hope this happens early in sesson