Tech vs Navy's Offense

GTJackets

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Yep but the difference was in the NCST game two of the three TOs you mention were defensive TDs. None of the ones in the Pitt games led to defensive TDs. All 8 TDs were scored by the offense.

Well, yeah. That was my point. It doesn't happen often but you can put up points without the offense. Although the offense did their part against NC St that weekend as well. But the game swung early when they couldn't tackle our D.
 

GT Tennessee

Jolly Good Fellow
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Little food for thought on the Pitt/Navy/GT comparison. Navy had arguably one of their best players in school history in Keenan Reynolds as the trigger man he f their offense.
 

Skeptic

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Had the chance to talk to one of my friends today who got a good amount of playing time over the past two years for Pitt, and asked him about how Tech and Navy differed in approach and how Pitt defended both offenses (Pitt played Navy in their bowl game this past year). Thought it was interesting that he said "Navy was much harder to play against," as the players on Navy's offense in his opinion were MUCH more disciplined in their approach, which comes with the serviceman attitude that they are exposed to everyday. Also said that Pitt literally plays the option the same on every single play, and rarely if ever switches responsibilities for dive, pitch, etc. Also said that Pitt defense typically has a default set of audibles on D which are completely thrown out when playing an option team, keeping the defense as vanilla as possible, as Narduzzi (who controlled the defense for both the Tech and Navy games) believes that the option can be stopped strictly with discipline instead of switching responsibilities. Food for thought for the Pitt game this year.
I think Johnson has in the past noted one reason he loved coaching Navy: in shorthand, often his players were not the best player on their HS team, nor even JVs; they had to battle every day to get playing time and then to crack a starting lineup, way before Navy came calling. The result was a roster that never quit, battling to the very end on every play since that is how they originally got playing time. I'm sure the same is true of the other academies. I'll take a player's word for degree of difficulty as he was on the field. As for Pittsburgh, it's hard to figure why so many people were down on Clemson after their loss to Pitt in 2016. Pitt had a really good team and if Clemson's staff is to be believed, Narduzzi is a terrific football coach. They will give everybody all they can handle, and the coach is one of the reasons.
 

1939hotmagic

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. . . I'll take a player's word for degree of difficulty as he was on the field. As for Pittsburgh, it's hard to figure why so many people were down on Clemson after their loss to Pitt in 2016. Pitt had a really good team and if Clemson's staff is to be believed, Narduzzi is a terrific football coach. They will give everybody all they can handle, and the coach is one of the reasons.

No argument that Narduzzi is an excellent coach. That said, I was glad to see LSU pluck Narduzzi's OC, Matt Canada, away from Pitt. Heaven help the SEC if Canada does with LSU-level talent anything like he did at Pitt and NCSU. https://www.seccountry.com/lsu/10-things-know-new-lsu-oc-matt-canada

You probably wince, as I do, when Canada had his QB toss a lateral pass to a lineman, Brian O'Neill, who proceeded to score a TD:

And later last season, Canada used that same athletic lineman for a successful -- and very old-fashioned -- tackle reverse, for a TD against Bud Foster's crew:

Narduzzi replaced Canada with longtime coordinator Shawn Watson, who has plenty of great things on his resume, particularly at Louisville during the Teddy Bridgewater years and, before that, highly productive offenses at Nebraska. Still -- I'm glad to see Matt Canada gone to the SEC.
 

IslandsofGaunilo

Georgia Tech Fan
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That Navy runs the offense quicker than we do is simply a myth, the refutation of which is available to anyone with some gamefilm and a stopwatch. Go ahead and time each team running identical plays, if you don't believe me. Just because it "seems" to be quicker, doesn't make it so.
 

Skeptic

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That Navy runs the offense quicker than we do is simply a myth, the refutation of which is available to anyone with some gamefilm and a stopwatch. Go ahead and time each team running identical plays, if you don't believe me. Just because it "seems" to be quicker, doesn't make it so.
That has been addressed several times, I think. Much of the perception seems to trace to Tech's tendency, particularly with Thomas, to string out the option east-west, while Navy, probably for a lack Tech's speed -- counterintuitive here -- gets north-south much quicker. (No point in running wide when you can be chased down.) But often I think Navy looks more polished, and were I a betting man, Navy's B back looks half a step closer to the QB in the set. But no, no way would Navy's backs win a footrace.
 

UgaBlows

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No argument that Narduzzi is an excellent coach. That said, I was glad to see LSU pluck Narduzzi's OC, Matt Canada, away from Pitt. Heaven help the SEC if Canada does with LSU-level talent anything like he did at Pitt and NCSU. https://www.seccountry.com/lsu/10-things-know-new-lsu-oc-matt-canada

You probably wince, as I do, when Canada had his QB toss a lateral pass to a lineman, Brian O'Neill, who proceeded to score a TD:

And later last season, Canada used that same athletic lineman for a successful -- and very old-fashioned -- tackle reverse, for a TD against Bud Foster's crew:

Narduzzi replaced Canada with longtime coordinator Shawn Watson, who has plenty of great things on his resume, particularly at Louisville during the Teddy Bridgewater years and, before that, highly productive offenses at Nebraska. Still -- I'm glad to see Matt Canada gone to the SEC.


I agree, i bet LSU will suprise some folks on offense this year if they give Canada complete control of the O
 

deeeznutz

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I agree, i bet LSU will suprise some folks on offense this year if they give Canada complete control of the O

I really hated playing Pitt's offense...it seemed they just had a pile of good RBs and were always sending one in motion across the formation to distract your eyes and catch you napping. Wait, that sounds very familiar [emoji848]
 

Milwaukee

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Navy hits the hole quicker on the triple, it's not a myth. I think someone timed us out back in 08 when Dwyer was BB and timed it next to Navy's BB at the time, and that "study" is still being used by some almost a decade later. They showed a few plays where Dwyer and Navy's BB hit the hole pretty much the same...a few plays. Mind-blowing stuff.

It's now 2017. If your eyes are telling you Navy hits it quicker more consistently, they're not lying to you.

There, I've said my piece. ;)
 

Techster

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Navy hits the hole quicker on the triple, it's not a myth. I think someone timed us out back in 08 when Dwyer was BB and timed it next to Navy's BB at the time, and that "study" is still being used by some almost a decade later. They showed a few plays where Dwyer and Navy's BB hit the hole pretty much the same...a few plays. Mind-blowing stuff.

It's now 2017. If your eyes are telling you Navy hits it quicker more consistently, they're not lying to you.

There, I've said my piece. ;)

Someone mentioned that Navy "hits the hole" quicker because their BBs are slower so they line up closer to the LOS. I remember someone doing a screen shot comparison. Our BBs are quicker off the snap so they line up a little further back.

I'm too lazy to do a screen capture and compare...so others who are less lay feel free to prove me wrong (or right). :)
 

AE 87

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We often run much wider splits than Navy which may affect the apparent speed to the edge.

For those that think Navy is demonstrably faster (at least by eye test), what do you think explains it? Better athletes? Better coaching? More disciplined athletes (how does it affect speed?)?
 

Milwaukee

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It's probably more alignment than anything. PJ wants our players to have more space to make more plays since we are obviously a more athletic group than Navy. Their alignment looks to favor more power where ours caters to speed. Not that they don't have athletes and we don't have power, you know what I mean.

Whatever it is, them hitting the hole quicker on the option, it's by design. If PJ wanted to pack us in tighter to the LOS we'd obviously hit it quicker.
 

takethepoints

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That has been addressed several times, I think. Much of the perception seems to trace to Tech's tendency, particularly with Thomas, to string out the option east-west, while Navy, probably for a lack Tech's speed -- counterintuitive here -- gets north-south much quicker. (No point in running wide when you can be chased down.) But often I think Navy looks more polished, and were I a betting man, Navy's B back looks half a step closer to the QB in the set. But no, no way would Navy's backs win a footrace.
Yes, I think this is the case, especially with JT at QB. Another thing to notice is that Navy seldom runs the speed option; their BBs are essentially dive and trip backs. Last year this wasn't that surprising; both their BBs were in the 250lb range. But I've noticed that even when they had smaller, faster BBs, they still wren't as fond of the speed option as we are (exception = Eckel). Why? Search me.
 
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