Defeating Great Defenses in 2013

[Longestday]

Defeating Great Defenses in 2013

 

[dressedcheeseside]

On the last play, we missed two down field blocks on playside that killed the play. Hill missed his guy and the wr missed his. Also, the counter motion made the MLB step the wrong way at first, but he still recovered and made the tackle.

 

[vamosjackets]

On the last play, we missed two down field blocks on playside that killed the play. Hill missed his guy and the wr missed his. Also, the counter motion made the MLB step the wrong way at first, but he still recovered and made the tackle.

Yep, on most of those plays it was just missing the assignment. All we have to do is just get a hat on that MLB, not some great stone block, just a piece of him and we get big yards. And, the WR's getting whipped that quickly by the CB is just aggravating to watch. Even if the WR gets beat, if he can just last a second more on the CB, we still pick up 5 yards and the option march keeps rolling.

But, this is also why yardage in the redzone is sometimes tougher for us. Many times we march up and down the field but fail to punch it in. We'll have 400 yards of offense but only 10 points. If a CB is playing very aggressively, CPJ will make an honest man out of him or burn him with the pass. From the opponent's 30 back, they still have to respect the deep threat. Inside the 20, they can start to play much more aggressively on the outside, and success on the pitch will depend a lot more on the ability of our WR's to handle that CB in a one-on-one blocking assignment.

 

[vamosjackets]

Another big factor in defeating great defenses is winning on the BB dive play. If a MLB is flowing hard to support the outside on the triple, we have to be able to change the blocking scheme to where the OG can handle the DT one-on-one, and the OT can handle the DE one-on-one and hurt them up the middle with the BB. If we can't do that, the MLB is going to have a field day making tackles on the outside. There are some other things we can do to help as the video shows, but if we can hurt them with the dive, we're going to be the ones having the field day. So, having great OL and BB players would obviously make this offense even more impossible to stop.

We were able to do this against Ugag on the first drive before the fumble. We were gashing them up the middle and pushing their huge OL around. It was looking like the beginning of a great offensive day for us.

 

[vamosjackets]

Yep, on most of those plays it was just missing the assignment. All we have to do is just get a hat on that MLB, not some great stone block, just a piece of him and we get big yards. And, the WR's getting whipped that quickly by the CB is just aggravating to watch. Even if the WR gets beat, if he can just last a second more on the CB, we still pick up 5 yards and the option march keeps rolling.

But, this is also why yardage in the redzone is sometimes tougher for us. Many times we march up and down the field but fail to punch it in. We'll have 400 yards of offense but only 10 points. If a CB is playing very aggressively, CPJ will make an honest man out of him or burn him with the pass. From the opponent's 30 back, they still have to respect the deep threat. Inside the 20, they can start to play much more aggressively on the outside, and success on the pitch will depend a lot more on the ability of our WR's to handle that CB in a one-on-one blocking assignment.

Sorry, when I made this post, I was actually thinking about the video below (didn't realize longestdays made another video of similar name):


In the above video, on the 2nd play (around the 2 minute mark) you can see a perfect example of what CPJ is talking about in this option coaches clinic session below:


We had the perfect play called, and the perfect blocking adjustment made to account for the way the FSU defense was aligned and the MLB was playing. The OT (Jackson) just didn't see the MLB in time to adjust to the inside track he was taking. If he does, we have them outnumbered per the plan and it goes for big yardage.

Sooo many obvious missed opportunities in that ACCCG, more than maybe any other game I remember.

 

[AE 87]

Yep, on most of those plays it was just missing the assignment. All we have to do is just get a hat on that MLB, not some great stone block, just a piece of him and we get big yards. And, the WR's getting whipped that quickly by the CB is just aggravating to watch. Even if the WR gets beat, if he can just last a second more on the CB, we still pick up 5 yards and the option march keeps rolling.

But, this is also why yardage in the redzone is sometimes tougher for us. Many times we march up and down the field but fail to punch it in. We'll have 400 yards of offense but only 10 points. If a CB is playing very aggressively, CPJ will make an honest man out of him or burn him with the pass. From the opponent's 30 back, they still have to respect the deep threat. Inside the 20, they can start to play much more aggressively on the outside, and success on the pitch will depend a lot more on the ability of our WR's to handle that CB in a one-on-one blocking assignment.

I think you're on to something, but there are other factors to keep in mind with our RedZone conversion %. We were 103rd in FG % last year. So, while our 80% RedZone conversion rate tied us for 73rd in the nation, we were 32nd in % of RedZone's resulting in a TD. That being said, I agree that the short field takes away most of our passing threat and allows teams to crash their corners to stop our option plays, but that's true for everyone. Still, I think it would be interesting to see what our conversion rate is for starting between the 10 and the 20 over against the whole redzone.

 

[AE 87]

Sorry, when I made this post, I was actually thinking about the video below (didn't realize longestdays made another video of similar name):


In the above video, on the 2nd play (around the 2 minute mark) you can see a perfect example of what CPJ is talking about in this option coaches clinic session below:


We had the perfect play called, and the perfect blocking adjustment made to account for the way the FSU defense was aligned and the MLB was playing. The OT (Jackson) just didn't see the MLB in time to adjust to the inside track he was taking. If he does, we have them outnumbered per the plan and it goes for big yardage.

Sooo many obvious missed opportunities in that ACCCG, more than maybe any other game I remember.

This reflects one of my concerns over the last couple or years. It seems that while we've had a lot of good production from our OL, we've also had a lot of plays where they get to the second level and don't see the guy they're supposed to block in time.

 

[John]

where the OG can handle the DT one-on-one, and the OT can handle the DE one-on-one and hurt them up the middle with the BB.

The problem I have seen with this is when that right guard that is supposed to veer inside to get the MLB (from the coaching clinic video) just gets tripped up in the middle because of all the bodies flailing around in the trench after the ball is snapped. Sometimes our BB gets tripped up with all those bodies inside too and the only way for him to get any decent amount of yards is for him to hurdle over all the bodies. I've seen Zach do this a couple of times to avoid getting tripped up.

 

[vamosjackets]

The problem I have seen with this is when that right guard that is supposed to veer inside to get the MLB (from the coaching clinic video) just gets tripped up in the middle because of all the bodies flailing around in the trench after the ball is snapped. Sometimes our BB gets tripped up with all those bodies inside too and the only way for him to get any decent amount of yards is for him to hurdle over all the bodies. I've seen Zach do this a couple of times to avoid getting tripped up.

So, one of the adjustments we can make there is to arc the OT outside of the DE (like CPJ shows in the video) to cut off the MLB flying outside. That should also make the DE either sit or even step outside to get a piece of the OT, clearing some room for the BB. But, if that DE closes, we're still pulling and going outside with it.

But, the main adjustment I was talking about is to actually change it from an option (where we're option off of the DE) to a straight up dive, where the OT blocks the DE. If we can do this, we should be able to kill it against a MLB who's flying to the outside. If the DT and DE are both blocked by the OG and OT effectively, and the MLB is flying outside, there's nobody left to stop the BB until he gets to the 3rd level.

The key is being able to handle the DT and DE with our OG and OT effectively. This is usually helped a lot by the fact that the DE is used to being left alone and being the option man, so he is usually not ready for the OT firing off and blocking him. His normal aggression has been replaced by read-n-react passivity and our OT can really knock him off the ball. I remember reading an incredible blog about how Navy was able to defeat Notre Dame back in 2007, complete with video clips. One of the main points the Notre Dame blogger was making was how the vastly inferior Navy OL were able to block the 5* Notre Dame DL. He showed how on most plays the DE was left alone to think about what his assignment was on the option. Then all of a sudden, he was not the option man, and the OT fired off the ball and blocked the heck out of him. Even though he was physically superior to the blocker, the blocker was able to get the best of him because he was taken out of his game and wasn't ready to play physical on some plays when he had to do the opposite on most others. We should really be able to exploit this with our guys. And, we usually do.

 

[AE 87]

So, one of the adjustments we can make there is to arc the OT outside of the DE (like CPJ shows in the video) to cut off the MLB flying outside. That should also make the DE either sit or even step outside to get a piece of the OT, clearing some room for the BB. But, if that DE closes, we're still pulling and going outside with it.

But, the main adjustment I was talking about is to actually change it from an option (where we're option off of the DE) to a straight up dive, where the OT blocks the DE. If we can do this, we should be able to kill it against a MLB who's flying to the outside. If the DT and DE are both blocked by the OG and OT effectively, and the MLB is flying outside, there's nobody left to stop the BB until he gets to the 3rd level.

The key is being able to handle the DT and DE with our OG and OT effectively. This is usually helped a lot by the fact that the DE is used to being left alone and being the option man, so he is usually not ready for the OT firing off and blocking him. His normal aggression has been replaced by read-n-react passivity and our OT can really knock him off the ball. I remember reading an incredible blog about how Navy was able to defeat Notre Dame back in 2007, complete with video clips. One of the main points the Notre Dame blogger was making was how the vastly inferior Navy OL were able to block the 5* Notre Dame DL. He showed how on most plays the DE was left alone to think about what his assignment was on the option. Then all of a sudden, he was not the option man, and the OT fired off the ball and blocked the heck out of him. Even though he was physically superior to the blocker, the blocker was able to get the best of him because he was taken out of his game and wasn't ready to play physical on some plays when he had to do the opposite on most others. We should really be able to exploit this with our guys. And, we usually do.

I think I remember us doing this effectively against either FSU or USC. I was actually wondering if we may have switched our dive key to the MLB. When he crashes hard to playside, then we give, if he stays home, we hold, and the DE is getting blocked by the play side tackle. Does that sound possible to you?

 

[Eric]

Great thread here guys...some good info.

 

[BainbridgeJacket]

I think I remember us doing this effectively against either FSU or USC. I was actually wondering if we may have switched our dive key to the MLB. When he crashes hard to playside, then we give, if he stays home, we hold, and the DE is getting blocked by the play side tackle. Does that sound possible to you?

We did this quite effectively my junior year vs. Harrison high. C-G combo on 2, T on the 5. TE blocked Sam. Option was on Mike's motion. Not normal, but effective considering they were firing him outside.

 

[vamosjackets]

I think I remember us doing this effectively against either FSU or USC. I was actually wondering if we may have switched our dive key to the MLB. When he crashes hard to playside, then we give, if he stays home, we hold, and the DE is getting blocked by the play side tackle. Does that sound possible to you?

Definitely.

 

[texasjacket]

.

I could watch this type of video all day

 

[texasjacket]

From the opponent's 30 back, they still have to respect the deep threat. Inside the 20, they can start to play much more aggressively on the outside, and success on the pitch will depend a lot more on the ability of our WR's to handle that CB in a one-on-one blocking assignment.

I don't think they (better teams,defenses) have respected that deep threat over the last two years. For this to work, we have to be consistence in A.beating the CB and getting vertical, and B. being accurate with the pass, delivering a catch able ball. We have never had the combination of those two on the field at the same time since CPJ has been here. Once we do, this offense will really start putting up those playstation type numbers. We have had pockets of it here and there, but we have yet to be consistent game in and game out.