A Pivotal Play – Houston #2 (Revelation at the Rent)

[Kgun7]

4th Quarter 9:58 left – UCONN 2nd & 11 from Houston’s 45. UCONN has been moving the ball pretty well with runs and short passes, the latest pass being a first down catch by Anderson.

#1 – UCONN in shotgun formation twins right … Houston in 3-3-5 Cover 1 Man … #16 McDonald the Deep Safety and #3 Jackson III on Thomas … notice Anderson lined up a half yard behind Boyle …

 

[Kgun7]

#2 – Anderson goes in motion behind Boyle … Deep safety slides with him …

 

[Kgun7]

#3 – At the snap … Houston LB #9 Matthew Adams reads Anderson’s route … FS #16 McDonald drifts even further toward the sideline …

 

[Kgun7]

#4 – CB #3 Jackson III gives Thomas a free inside release … Bloom is reading the LB’s run, but preparing to protect Anderson …

 

[Kgun7]

#5 – How is this not a pick 6???

 

[Kgun7]

#6 – Mayala picks up a block … Anderson looks upfield …

 

[Kgun7]

#7 – Bloom finally picks up #9 LB Adams … Anderson can’t even step into the throw …

 

[Kgun7]

#8 – Thomas is 5 yards behind the DB’s … Anderson’s throw is slightly under thrown … nobody even sees how open Johnson is …

 

[Kgun7]

#9 – Thomas does well to adjust to the throw …

 

[Kgun7]

#10 – Thomas goes into the end zone untouched …

 

[Kgun7]

Conclusion – Great time to call this play! The execution could have been better, but it totally caught Houston off guard. The safety for Houston #16 McDonald had been blitzing relentlessly and this play call took advantage of his aggressiveness. It looks like Bloom was surprised by the LB’s run at Anderson, but he recovered in time to protect Anderson.

Also … one good thing came from the injury to Myers: Anderson was utilized more up to that point in the game so his presence in the backfield didn’t hint at a potential gadget play.

Revelation - a surprising and previously unknown fact, especially one that is made known in a dramatic way.

On to Temple ….

 

[rbny1]

Thanks. Interesting dissection of the details of the play. I didn't grasp most of the details on TV, but was amazed at the time that Boyle's throw wasn't a pick six. Boyle did a great job of getting the ball over the defender and into the hands of Anderson.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Amazing play. Amazing, ballsy call (for a change).

Incredible to think, if that pass were picked off (and probably returned for a touchdown), we'd be crucifying Boyle and the coaching staff. In retrospect, Boyle probably should have thrown it out of bounds. We got a little lucky that it worked out.

 

[CL82]

Amazing play. Amazing, ballsy call (for a change).

Incredible to think, if that pass were picked off (and probably returned for a touchdown), we'd be crucifying Boyle and the coaching staff. In retrospect, Boyle probably should have thrown it out of bounds. We got a little lucky that it worked out.

Or hold on to it and make the throw to Thomas himself.

 

[businesslawyer]

Or hold on to it and make the throw to Thomas himself.

This. The ball he threw should not have been thrown. He should have pump faked to Anderson to keep the blitzing LB on that side from continuing to rush Boyle, and then looked downfield to see if he had Thomas (and if he didn't because not throwing to Anderson meant the Safety was still deep), then thrown to Johnson in the left flat.

But, as I said, the football Gods were with us on that play.

 

[Kgun7]

This. The ball he threw should not have been thrown. He should have pump faked to Anderson to keep the blitzing LB on that side from continuing to rush Boyle, and then looked downfield to see if he had Thomas (and if he didn't because not throwing to Anderson meant the Safety was still deep), then thrown to Johnson in the left flat.

But, as I said, the football Gods were with us on that play.

Absolutely agree with that statement 100%.

I think either Boyle never saw the Houston LB ... or he expected Bloom to pick him up.

 

[Jerry27]

The only reason I think it wasn't picked off was Boyle throws hard and much like our receivers who drop many of his throws couldn't hang on but took enough off of it to let it float right to Anderson.

 

[cttxus]

#5 – How is this not a pick 6???

View attachment 11237

Don't forget what GA had to do to make this play work. First, he has to adjust to the deflected pass from TB and make a clean catch without losing his concentration. Then, with three defenders closing in on him at full speed from different directions, he had to locate Thomas, grip the ball correctly and then heave it over 40 yds, and without even planting his back foot.

This kid's a gamer. I hope the coaches saw enough last Saturday to know he's a legit weapon. Someone who can also be used take pressure off TB and the OL. We all know Temple is going to try and stack the box and pressure TB all day Saturday. GA can give them something to really worry about.

 

[BugsyCT]

Probably the play of the year for UConn (so far).

I think the whole stadium let out a collective gasp when that Houston LB nearly picked that off for 6.

 

[noeynox]

The only reason I think it wasn't picked off was Boyle throws hard and much like our receivers who drop many of his throws couldn't hang on but took enough off of it to let it float right to Anderson.

On TV and in the stadium, Boyles passes look beautiful. Tight spirals, shows enough touch to drop it in the bucket sorta speak, in front of safeties and behind the LB's. Yet somehow, he has more drops of his passes than any QB I've ever seen. The juggling catch by Beals is a perfect example. I don't think it's a pass Shirrefs can make or would attempt given where the defenders were. It looked like a perfect pass but it took Beals 3 tries to haul it in. On Boyles 1st series, Bloom dropped what should have been an easy catch and 1st down gain on 3rd down.

I remember Frazer and Lorenzen threw every pass the same way. Max rpms all the time. To the naked eye Boyle shows the ability to put something on and take something off passes as needed yet kids can't hang to his,throws. It really is a mystery.

 

[JMick]

On TV and in the stadium, Boyles passes look beautiful. Tight spirals, shows enough touch to drop it in the bucket sorta speak, in front of safeties and behind the LB's. Yet somehow, he has more drops of his passes than any QB I've ever seen. The juggling catch by Beals is a perfect example. I don't think it's a pass Shirrefs can make or would attempt given where the defenders were. It looked like a perfect pass but it took Beals 3 tries to haul it in. On Boyles 1st series, Bloom dropped what should have been an easy catch and 1st down gain on 3rd down.

I remember Frazer and Lorenzen threw every pass the same way. Max rpms all the time. To the naked eye Boyle shows the ability to put something on and take something off passes as needed yet kids can't hang to his,throws. It really is a mystery.

The ball really looks great coming out of his hand, it really is a mystery as to why everyone drops his throws. They didn't in high school...

 

[Dooley]

I think years from now, we will all look back to this play as being one of the most important plays in UConn history. I know it sounds a bit overdramatic but we desperately needed to do something different to score points and hold them off. This play cemented every fan to their seat (or feet to the ground since everyone was standing the whole 4th quarter) until the end of the game and made the place loud...even despite the kickoff return for a TD on the very next play.

And yes, the football gods were smiling down on the UConn sideline for this to work.

 

[noeynox]

The ball really looks great coming out of his hand, it really is a mystery as to why everyone drops his throws. They didn't in high school...

To be fair, defenders even have a hard time hanging on to his throws. That looked like a certain pick 6 on replay.