Missed assignments

GT_05

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CPJ often talks about “missed assignments”, particularly after a loss. Based on his comments, it seems that he is talking about missed blocking assignments but the numbers he reveals post-game seem really high. Why do we have so many missed blocking assignments?

Miscommunication between sideline and QB?

Miscommunication between QB and team in the huddle?

Confusion about assignments?

Defense outmaneuvers blocking assignment?

We have some pretty smart guys on our team and coaching staff so it seems like this is something that can be minimized. What am I missing about missed assignments?


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YJMD

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It's a really good question, and I bet some engineer with quality improvement expertise could seriously help the team improve in this area.
 

TheSilasSonRising

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Maybe the S/As CPJ recruits are not common sense or football smart?

Maybe it is standard of OL coaching going on year 11?

Maybe DCs on other teams have more than “caught up”with this unorthodox O?

Who knows?

Only thing that matters is it will not change.

CPJ said on coaches call in show in 2015 that the 2014 OL blocking was really not that good (or WTTE).
 

JDjacket

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I would have to go hunting for it, but in one post game interview or maybe on the call in show he mentioned what a normal number is for a game. I guess the normal number would be just what you kind of expect since no one plays a perfect game, but even that number was still high. It would be good to have that number he threw out when comparing to how many missed assignments he says we had. If the standard is 20 and we had 30 it may not be as bad as it sounds.
 

takethepoints

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I'm betting that its the quick-shift-before-the-snap style of playing D against us that VT came up with and so many have adopted.

They do it to confuse the blocking by forcing our OLs and backs to change their assignments on the fly right before the snap. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't. What I bet (I don't know, of course) is that, even if the wrong player is blocked, a play can work if most of the right ones are. This is largely because D players a) get put in positions where they have a hard time executing and/or b) get confused by all the shifting themselves. Oth, if enough confusion about who to block shows up right before the snap, the play will fail. This isn't because there wasn't a scheme to execute the blocks, but because the players didn't change their assignments fast enough; i.e. they "missed assignments". I think this is one reason why we now allow OLs more leeway about whether to cut block or not: if in doubt, block the guy in front of you and hope for the best. But that doesn't always work either.

This isn't new, but it was exacerbated last year, imho, by the lack of continuity on our OL. Here I speak from experience: being on the same OL with the same people game after game helps with adjustments no end.
 

Yaller Jacket

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I sure don't know, but this question bugs the hell out of me too. Do Navy and Army have this problem? Is it something about the nature of our offense? Do defenses to a lot of stuff we were not expecting in game preparation? Maybe take's thought about continuity is as close to an answer as we can get.
 

RonJohn

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CPJ often talks about “missed assignments”, particularly after a loss. Based on his comments, it seems that he is talking about missed blocking assignments but the numbers he reveals post-game seem really high. Why do we have so many missed blocking assignments?

Miscommunication between sideline and QB?

Miscommunication between QB and team in the huddle?

Confusion about assignments?

Defense outmaneuvers blocking assignment?

We have some pretty smart guys on our team and coaching staff so it seems like this is something that can be minimized. What am I missing about missed assignments?

He has said in the radio show several times that missing a block or being over played by a better player does not count as a missed assignment. A missed assignment is when someone doesn't go to the right place to get the right person. If a guy tries to block the correct defender, but misses, that isn't a missed assignment. If the QB misunderstands the play call, then the whole offense would still run the same play, so that wouldn't be a missed assignment. They only two you listed that could cause missed assignments are: confusion, and one player not understanding the play call in the huddle or an audible at the line.

To get ahead of people who will complain that CPJ blames everything on everyone else, he said several times during press conferences when discussing missed assignments that it was apparent that the coaches(himself included) were not doing a good enough job of teaching the guys what they are supposed to do. What he is doing when he talks about the missed assignments is giving actual and factual answers to questions about what went wrong during the game. Many press guys and many fans appear to be very taken aback that he tells truthful answers instead of long-drawn out-coach speak-non answers.
 

Sideways

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Maybe the S/As CPJ recruits are not common sense or football smart?

Maybe it is standard of OL coaching going on year 11?

Maybe DCs on other teams have more than “caught up”with this unorthodox O?

Who knows?

Only thing that matters is it will not change.

CPJ said on coaches call in show in 2015 that the 2014 OL blocking was really not that good (or WTTE).

It is true that the offensive line blocking was really not that good according to Coach Johnson but what he did not comment on was perimeter blocking that year which was outstanding. This is an area that must improve for this year's team to show progress. It was not very good last year. In my opinion, the guy leaving that will be missed the most is Ricky. As far as Brad goes, well, I am from Missouri "show me".
 

AE 87

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Theoretically I guess, anytime the other team makes a tackle someone missed their assignment.

No. See post from @RonJohn

A missed assignment is a guy not doing the right thing which is different from doing the right thing poorly.

There are 11 guys and between 50 and 100 plays per game. So, it seems to me that the possibility of missed assignments is between 550 and 1100 per game.

I think the high water mark was at ND with 70 missed assignments and that normal is closer to 20. However, I really don't know the context of those numbers.
 

iceeater1969

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This play seems to have inside ol blocking - the rt down blocked and guard pulled and headed steaijght up field. Lots of bodies on ground.
But Backfield is headed right with no blocking. The dawg defender s see raw meat.
I think this seems bad for the last game .

Missed assignment late in year - folks giving false pre snap reads to trick us?

20171231_212907.jpg
 

TromboneJacket

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If the pre-snap shifts were really that much of a problem, I imagine CPJ would have ran some plays with early snaps and no pre-snap motion, causing the defenders to be out of position due to not having a chance to shift to their planned alignments. It just seems that, for whatever reason, the OL are having a hard time executing. I hope it's just inexperience and/or injuries and that the problems will be corrected this offseason. I spent too many plays in the stands last year screaming "Block the [expletive] linebacker!"
 

Bogey

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He has said in the radio show several times that missing a block or being over played by a better player does not count as a missed assignment. A missed assignment is when someone doesn't go to the right place to get the right person. If a guy tries to block the correct defender, but misses, that isn't a missed assignment. If the QB misunderstands the play call, then the whole offense would still run the same play, so that wouldn't be a missed assignment. They only two you listed that could cause missed assignments are: confusion, and one player not understanding the play call in the huddle or an audible at the line.

To get ahead of people who will complain that CPJ blames everything on everyone else, he said several times during press conferences when discussing missed assignments that it was apparent that the coaches(himself included) were not doing a good enough job of teaching the guys what they are supposed to do. What he is doing when he talks about the missed assignments is giving actual and factual answers to questions about what went wrong during the game. Many press guys and many fans appear to be very taken aback that he tells truthful answers instead of long-drawn out-coach speak-non answers.
I'm glad to learn that a missed block due to a defensive player over playing the block is not considered a missed block according to PJ. That has always bothered me.

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jgtengineer

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This play seems to have inside ol blocking - the rt down blocked and guard pulled and headed steaijght up field. Lots of bodies on ground.
But Backfield is headed right with no blocking. The dawg defender s see raw meat.
I think this seems bad for the last game .

Missed assignment late in year - folks giving false pre snap reads to trick us?

This was a power load option, it is suppose to attack where the guard is pulling, the B-BAck is basically going to kick out. Because the outside backer had flowed very hard up field the read was actually to keep and cut back inside. Marshall pitched instead. So this was a missed assignment on marshall. He probably gets 4 or so.
 

85Escape

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Couldn't you counter the pre-snap shift by simply triggering some snaps off of their shift? If you snapped the ball while they were shifting you'd blow them back into tomorrow and quickly teach them to that there is a price to pay (in knees) of that BS.
 

Sideways

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This play seems to have inside ol blocking - the rt down blocked and guard pulled and headed steaijght up field. Lots of bodies on ground.
But Backfield is headed right with no blocking. The dawg defender s see raw meat.
I think this seems bad for the last game .

Missed assignment late in year - folks giving false pre snap reads to trick us?

View attachment 3293

I don't know Ice. Roquan (spelling) and that other dude for UGA did not have to resort to any trickery pre snap or otherwise. They shed blocks and made plays against us like they were from the U. Not much can be done about that.
 

iceeater1969

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I don't know Ice. Roquan (spelling) and that other dude for UGA did not have to resort to any trickery pre snap or otherwise. They shed blocks and made plays against us like they were from the U. Not much can be done about that.
If we are behind the curve - on recognizing defense - they get the angles.
To your point with guys like roquan, we have to be spot on to get a piece.
The picture shows the right tackle down blocking - noone to block olb safety.

Got to improve
 

Sideways

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If we are behind the curve - on recognizing defense - they get the angles.
To your point with guys like roquan, we have to be spot on to get a piece.
The picture shows the right tackle down blocking - noone to block olb safety.

Got to improve
The key words from Ice: GOT TO IMPROVE
 

dressedcheeseside

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This was a power load option, it is suppose to attack where the guard is pulling, the B-BAck is basically going to kick out. Because the outside backer had flowed very hard up field the read was actually to keep and cut back inside. Marshall pitched instead. So this was a missed assignment on marshall. He probably gets 4 or so.
I'd call it a misread on Marshall rather than a missed assignment. The ironic thing is that most of his misreads were the opposite, when he kept and should have pitched. I can see JeT doing the ol' fake pitch on this play and getting out into the open.

All that said, we cannot see the whole field in this screen shot and there very well could have been another LB or safety or both cutting off the cut back lane, we just can't see it. It could have been a blown up play all along. It is safe to say a keep would have at least not suffered the loss that this pitch likely did.
 

dressedcheeseside

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The key words from Ice: GOT TO IMPROVE
I see this as more likely than hopeful. Guys get better at their jobs in this offense the longer they're in it. They also mature physically and that helps a ton, too. I expect improvement on all fronts, but especially OL and QB. TM has all offseason to watch film and see exactly what he should have done on each and every play. He can also see his explosiveness when he does everything right. I'm one fan not ready to write this guy off and immediately move him to Aback. He'll be better and the guys behind him will have to be better than that to get the nod. That makes me optimistic for the position.
 
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