Offensive play calling???

[BBShopGo4]

Does anyone else think that the offensive play calling, particularly the run game, is too predictable and making us easy to defend? I'm not talking about needing anything too complex, but it doesn't feel like they have attacked the edges of the defense with anything except the bubble screen very often. The majority of the runs have been the up the middle or maybe off-tackle. I remember one jet sweep and it was successful. It's awfully tough to run straight into the teeth of an 8-man box, especially with an unproven OL.

With defenses stacking 8 in the box they have enough defenders to cover both the RB and QB in the read option, wouldn't it be easier to set the corner and run wide? You should be able to get leverage and numbers by running away from some defenders and pinning others inside with the traffic.

I'm envisioning more jet sweeps, swing passes and maybe wheel routes to RBs (an advantage for Bennett), and quick pitches. You can create defensive confusion with motion and play fakes. Give the D more to think about. We've seen some of it, so it's in the playbook, but it's not being called. For an offense that is supposedly built on creating mismatches and finding ways to outnumber the D and create leverage, it seems like maybe they've gone too simple. Hopefully, there's a plan at work here and we will see improvement as the season goes on.

 

[nsmike]

The reason is simple, your working with a inexperienced quarterback, and the first year of the system. It will take time but as the team settles down the playbook will be opened up. The great unanswered question is, how fast will Gray develop, he's getting better each week. When he speeds up his reads and starts hitting the open recievers he'll be awsome.

 

[The 12th Man]

So, you didn't see motion? Swing passes? Play action? There was a TON of that in the game.

The issue is that all of the parts need to work together. The running game opens up when the defense must respect the pass. The passing game opens up when the defense must respect the run. Both aspects are improved when the QB is a running threat.

We have the QB running aspect taken care of. Gray improved by leaps and bounds in this regard from game 1 to game 3 because he has grown more comfortable. What the offense needs now is more consistency in the passing game and better push from the OL in the run game. You saw Gray do very well at the beginning of the game because he grew more comfortable with the short passes. The result is that the DBs are forced to walk up and play tighter (this is why the second swing pass to Moulton was almost stopped for a loss). The next step is to grow more comfortable with the intermediate and deep passing games. When that happens, the entire defense must loosen up and the run game will improve as well.

The reason I am not critical of the play calling right now is that what thy are trying to do seems obvious to me. At least one aspect of the offense has improved each game, and the coaching staff is working hard to call plays tailored to the strengths of they players they have. That comes with time, experience, and repetitions. They clearly designed shorter passes for Gray this week that they thought he could hit. He did. Now, they will do the same with the intermediate passes and the deep passes.

Kill's teams improve over time because they have a set system and it takes time to get the kids to understand it, more time for the coaches to understand the kids, and even more time for the system to become second nature. They are in that process right now and are doing what they can to win games with the kids they have. I like the playcalling a lot for this reason.

 

[BBShopGo4]

So, you didn't see motion? Swing passes? Play action? There was a TON of that in the game.

You are correct there was motion, but what I was referring to was motion that gives the option for a jet sweep or other outside run. My memory could be bad, but most of the motion that I saw was designed to determine what D was called or move a blocker around. I don't remember showing the threat of outside running, allowing the defense to load up against the middle runs. As I noted, they have run a few such plays and we saw NIU run them under the Kill/Limegrover regime, so we know they are in the playbook.

They also used the short, quick passes to the outside as you noted. But I was really talking about outside runs and and short, wide passes to the RBs to use Bennett's strength.

As you noted, I believe there is a plan and we all need to be patient and see how it all works out. I get the simpler playbook to help the players, and particularly Gray, be successful. But I don't think that having a few runs designed to get to the outside is terribly complicated. We shall see what happens.

 

[Governor Sibley]

My only thoughts are that we should not d*ck around behind the line of scrimmage so much. It kills me when the play is designed to develop behind the line of scrimmage. Don't have the personnel for that.

 

[Rosemountian]

We can't line people up and pound it. It'd be interesting to see our ypc from running backs out of the gun vs under center through three weeks.


I liked the play calling yesterday for the most part. In the redzone I hate then they pack it in. Spread them out. Other than that I'd say I was encouraged.

 

[The 12th Man]

You are correct there was motion, but what I was referring to was motion that gives the option for a jet sweep or other outside run. My memory could be bad, but most of the motion that I saw was designed to determine what D was called or move a blocker around. I don't remember showing the threat of outside running, allowing the defense to load up against the middle runs. As I noted, they have run a few such plays and we saw NIU run them under the Kill/Limegrover regime, so we know they are in the playbook.

You are right about why they used motion, and I see what you are getting at. Having an outside running game would be nice. I think there are two reasons it is lacking: inexperienced OTs who can't reach the DEs and a lack of any deep passing threat. The former is obvious: if we can't seal the edge, we can't run there. The latter matters because the threat of the deep ball will soften the LBs and secondary, thus opening up more room on the outside. Everyone will be in tight (especially with the safeties) if all they think we can do is throw short, so they are in better position to defend those plays.

The sooner we can work out that issue, the better the running game will be as well!