OL Play & Run Game

[The 12th Man]

I am in the midst of re-watching the game, and I am not too upset with the OL play. The mistakes that I saw, for the most part, were mental and were all correctable. Interestingly, the two most glaring examples happened when they were backed up in their own zone:

1. In the first half, Kirkwood is stopped on a zone play for a loss. At the tail end of the play, you will see Caleb Bak on the inside hip of his man, trying to ride him out of the play. The problem is that his man beat him to the hole (he was most likely slanting that way), so Bak was a step slow. While it was a problem, this is correctable by repping proper form. If he is blocking an outside technique, he will need to take a better bucket step to get the proper angle. This is not an uncommon error, and I am sure they will focus on it going forward.

2. The play after Kirkwood got hurt, they ran an outside zone play to the right. The tackle was made by an unblocked OLB. The RT (Campion?) took a proper zone step but did not see the LB. Campion was decisive in his decision to help on the the front line, which was good, but by misreading the play, he allowed the OLB to make the tackle. I think that play goes big if Campion blocks it properly. On zone plays, the OL must know where to look in order to block it properly. Live reps are key.

Now, it does matter that these plays happened when they were backed up. The UNLV LBs were playing aggressively because they didn't really have to worry too much about counter or play action. Teams typically like to run quicker-hitting plays when in their own endzones because they don't want too many moving parts and don't want to open up gaps for blitzing defenders. Thus, the small mistakes in blocking, like the two I highlighted above, are amplified. The LBs can make a quick read and then play downhill rather than having to worry about what else is happening. The OL needs to be perfect. This is good teaching film in that regard, since they now have a couple clear examples to point to.

 

[husker70]

The UNLV tackles slants to the inside were a defensive design, they also had the ends taking a quick inside rush. As I noted earlier with linebackers also slanting inside you had 7 players inside the offensive line. Meaning 5 maybe 6 blocking 7. Running inside was a film study. And when Nelsons option counter outside broke. It was open whenever they needed it. Even when Nelson need to scramble for the first down he went outside and straight up. We were attacking what we called the 8 hole. And when they ran 39 counter with Cobb he was gone. One thing I think will prove devastating is Edwards speed and quickness on 38 or 39 Counter.

 

[GopherinPhilly]

The UNLV tackles slants to the inside were a defensive design, they also had the ends taking a quick inside rush. As I noted earlier with linebackers also slanting inside you had 7 players inside the offensive line. Meaning 5 maybe 6 blocking 7. Running inside was a film study. And when Nelsons option counter outside broke. It was open whenever they needed it. Even when Nelson need to scramble for the first down he went outside and straight up. We were attacking what we called the 8 hole. And when they ran 39 counter with Cobb he was gone. One thing I think will prove devastating is Edwards speed and quickness on 38 or 39 Counter.

I am certain Kill saw the same thing watching film which is why he chastised himself for not running more zone option. He wanted to keep his QB from running too much but the defense was really focusing on the back and the option was there all the time. If he had run it more in the first half, more than likely it would have loosened up the inside for the backs and made play action more effective by forcing them to bring the safety up to cover the middle as the OLBs would have been forced to respect the QB keep on the option plays while DE covered the back.

 

[GopherInPittsburgh]

I am certain Kill saw the same thing watching film which is why he chastised himself for not running more zone option. He wanted to keep his QB from running too much but the defense was really focusing on the back and the option was there all the time. If he had run it more in the first half, more than likely it would have loosened up the inside for the backs and made play action more effective by forcing them to bring the safety up to cover the middle as the OLBs would have been forced to respect the QB keep on the option plays while DE covered the back.

Yep. It was open all day long. I was begging for a naked bootleg.

 

[The 12th Man]

The UNLV tackles slants to the inside were a defensive design, they also had the ends taking a quick inside rush. As I noted earlier with linebackers also slanting inside you had 7 players inside the offensive line. Meaning 5 maybe 6 blocking 7. Running inside was a film study. And when Nelsons option counter outside broke. It was open whenever they needed it. Even when Nelson need to scramble for the first down he went outside and straight up. We were attacking what we called the 8 hole. And when they ran 39 counter with Cobb he was gone. One thing I think will prove devastating is Edwards speed and quickness on 38 or 39 Counter.

Agreed. His speed changes things, as does getting film on their future opponents ahead of time. Week 1 games involve a lot of guesswork, and as a result things can look sloppy. So much of game planning and scheme relies on film, so the first couple series of game 1 are usually based on educated guesses. That is why I looked at technique rather than scheme, and I assume the coaches will do the same. Focus on the things you can control and prepare like hell for the next opponent.

On a separate note, I was left thinking how different the game would have seemed if Nelson hadn't fumbled the handoff near the goal line. I think the entire tenor of the conversation would be much more positive right now if they had punched that one in. It definitely looked like they would have scored on that play.

 

[hungan1]

I am certain Kill saw the same thing watching film which is why he chastised himself for not running more zone option. He wanted to keep his QB from running too much but the defense was really focusing on the back and the option was there all the time. If he had run it more in the first half, more than likely it would have loosened up the inside for the backs and made play action more effective by forcing them to bring the safety up to cover the middle as the OLBs would have been forced to respect the QB keep on the option plays while DE covered the back.

What a difference a year makes in the tone of conversations at GH! We are actually talking more and more about positive nuts and bolts of football instead of superlatives. If the team can stay healthy and lock up the pre-season and can beat Iowa and start 5-0, we will have an exciting football season. There are bound to be upsets in the making.

 

[howieramone]

Great posts you guys!

 

[husker70]

Nelson did run a bootleg to the right and hit Goodger on an out. I did not notice if Goodger ran a cross from the left to right side of the field leaving the strong safety behind him. That action puts the TE and QB running across the field at the same time. If he hits him early enough the TE can turn it up.

 

[husker70]

From under the center, a simple counter step by the back or a reverse pivot by Nelson can change linebacker keys. There is so much they need to get done, so much they can get done. I would like to see a series with Goodger and Williams in a two Tightend set. Possibly flex one. Williams size, speed, and athleticism is a mismatch for most defensive backs.

 

[balds]

Given our lack of depth, I'm entirely uncomfortable with the number of hits Nelson took. If they load the box, I'd like to see a lot more Maye in motion/jet sweeps or some quick screens to exploit the boundary. Makes me nervous every time I see Nelson get tackled, which was A LOT Thursday night.

 

[Meyerchiro34]

Goodger did start on the left. Bak I thought struggled but and I'm sure they tried to keep it simple

 

[husker70]

The slanting inside called for Christensen to take one tackle and seal him, and one guard need to cut the other one off. A step around by the remaining guard and a lead up into the hole taking the linebacker should have done the trick. The tackles need cutoff blocks and getting to the second level. This was something they had not planned for, nor were able to execute. It will be something NMSU will try. I imagine we will be ready for this stunt.

 

[Great Plains Gopher]

Great posts you guys!

Ditto. Great stuff. I, too, worry about Nelson running so much, though he's a good ball handler and is a natural for bootlegs. Would like to see Limegrover use more misdirection, too.

 

[The 12th Man]

From under the center, a simple counter step by the back or a reverse pivot by Nelson can change linebacker keys. There is so much they need to get done, so much they can get done. I would like to see a series with Goodger and Williams in a two Tightend set. Possibly flex one. Williams size, speed, and athleticism is a mismatch for most defensive backs.

The steps that the QB and RB take, however, are typically dictated by the play action pass or counter run that comes off of it. I'm guessing we only saw a small piece of the playbook in that regard.

The inside zone read is, in one sense, a counter play since it gets the defense working one way then has the ability to hit back against the grain. My guess for this week is a similar play calling style. It will be vanilla, with maybe a slight wrinkle added. They will want to get better at what they did last week in terms of the basics and then try to work in different concepts (but not too many) to challenge the players. The Gophers will be the better team, so the name of the game is execution.

 

[corcoran1]

The steps that the QB and RB take, however, are typically dictated by the play action pass or counter run that comes off of it. I'm guessing we only saw a small piece of the playbook in that regard.

The inside zone read is, in one sense, a counter play since it gets the defense working one way then has the ability to hit back against the grain. My guess for this week is a similar play calling style. It will be vanilla, with maybe a slight wrinkle added. They will want to get better at what they did last week in terms of the basics and then try to work in different concepts (but not too many) to challenge the players. The Gophers will be the better team, so the name of the game is execution.

The name of the game is also speed. Part of the reason UNLV was able to play eight defenders against our 0-line is knowing Kirkwood can not change the run and go outside even if it is there. He simply does not change direction well enough to do it if it really entails going parallel to the line of scrimmage. Any time he is going East and West he is the easiest guy to tackle on the field.
Hopefully Cobb, Williams, or Gillum can make that less of an obvious weakness. They are all faster and have at least some hope of getting outside if the defense totally commits to stopping inside runs.

 

[walleyeking48]

Is Gillum still around?

 

[MaxyJR1]

Given our lack of depth, I'm entirely uncomfortable with the number of hits Nelson took. If they load the box, I'd like to see a lot more Maye in motion/jet sweeps or some quick screens to exploit the boundary. Makes me nervous every time I see Nelson get tackled, which was A LOT Thursday night.

Nelson and Leidner will both play this year and the coaches know it. QB runs are part of the offense. Kill doesn't teach them to o down which may become a problem down the road.