A Pivotal Play - Holy Cross

[Kgun7]

Thanks to the USF cancellation I had a little extra time ...

4th Quarter 13:14 - UCONN 3rd & 7 from the HC 32

The second drive after the move to Shirreffs. For almost 3 quarters Holy Cross had done an admirable job of containing UCONN's offense. The offense and Shirreffs needed to find a way to expose the Holy Cross aggressive D ...

 

[Kgun7]

#1 - UCONN 4 WR/1 RB ... Shirreffs pre-snap reads 4-3 Cover 2 Zone, press coverage on Mayala ...

 

[Kgun7]

#2 - HC CB #20 Tyler shows blitz ...

 

[Kgun7]

#3 - Shirreffs calls out Tyler and makes adjustments ... also turns to Thompson and directs him ...

 

[Kgun7]

#4 - Tyler backs away again ...

 

[Kgun7]

#5 - But Tyler shows blitz again at the snap ... and so does LB #43 McBeath who had been in UCONN's backfield all night ... Mayala locked in 1 on 1 ...

 

[Kgun7]

#6 - Thompson fills the breach ... does just enough to head off the lead blitzer #12 Tyler ...

 

[Kgun7]

#7 - The ball is in the air before the blitz arrives ... and Mayala isn't out of his break yet ...

 

[Kgun7]

# 8 - Mayala turns into the path of the ball ... just beyond the sticks ...

 

[Kgun7]

#9 - A few jukes and a stiff arm to end the YAC ... and check out #48 already down field after making the block in the backfield ... and Beals, McLean, and Skanes playing till the whistle ...

 

[Kgun7]

Conclusion - This was a pivotal time in the game because a drive stall at this point may have slowed the building momentum. UCONN may have gone for it on 4th down anyway ... but the play stands out to me as crucial, at the time. Holy Cross had found a way to slow Pindell and Newsome up to that point. Something needed to be done to slow that run blitz down ... and that is exactly what Shirreffs brought to the game.

I don't know how UCONN will come out @ UVA. But if Thompson can come from the backfield to block downfield ... and if Beals, McLean, and Skanes can come from 30 yards across the field to block for Mayala ... I think they'll have a fighting chance.

 

[History Geek]

I look forward to these every week. Thanks KGun!

 

[TheDoggPound]

McLean is our best blocker out of the WR's

 

[Exit 4]

Great stuff Kgun. Do you think our receivers go to block the run too early on running plays? Maybe I dont have a valid point, but it seem to me that our WRs were tipping off run plays by failing to break aggressively downfield at the snap. They would pause or stutter or just move a bit slower at the snap to get to the DB rather than selling the pass a bit longer. It would seem to me that there are times when it might be worth it to not sell the pass on a running play, but at the same time you need to keep a D honest. When the WRs don't streak down the field, it should tip off the safeties and LBs for run or screen.

 

[JMick]

Great stuff Kgun. Do you think our receivers go to block the run too early on running plays? Maybe I dont have a valid point, but it seem to me that our WRs were tipping off run plays by failing to break aggressively downfield at the snap. They would pause or stutter or just move a bit slower at the snap to get to the DB rather than selling the pass a bit longer. It would seem to me that there are times when it might be worth it to not sell the pass on a running play, but at the same time you need to keep a D honest. When the WRs don't streak down the field, it should tip off the safeties and LBs for run or screen.

I don't know how Lashlee does it, but in a lot of these spread offenses the WR's will run their guy off in man coverage and and sell the pass less in zone by engaging in a block sooner. Also, if it's an RPO the receiver has to run their route

 

[RSTuthill]

I look forward to these every week. Thanks KGun!

Hear hear!!

 

[Kgun7]

Great stuff Kgun. Do you think our receivers go to block the run too early on running plays? Maybe I dont have a valid point, but it seem to me that our WRs were tipping off run plays by failing to break aggressively downfield at the snap. They would pause or stutter or just move a bit slower at the snap to get to the DB rather than selling the pass a bit longer. It would seem to me that there are times when it might be worth it to not sell the pass on a running play, but at the same time you need to keep a D honest. When the WRs don't streak down the field, it should tip off the safeties and LBs for run or screen.

It all depends on the coverage. You cant expect a defender to be locked in on you if they're in zone coverage with 1 eye in the backfield. I can tell you that HC was in a lot of zone coverage and was sending corners on the run blitz more often than probably expected. They attacked UCONN pretty successfully for 3 quarters.

 

[Nostical]

Great job Kgun. Bottom line HC played great that night. They deserve all the the credit. With the number of FCS teams winning lately, there were times in that game that we all questioned the outcome. Edsall's move to BS was brilliant, but moves are only brilliant if the player steps up and performs.

 

[jdb50]

Frame #7, we have our two guards and center blocking one D tackle while two blitzers run at # 48. This has been an on going problem for the whole Diaco era. Hope RE can get this corrected. Great play by Sherriffs here.

 

[uconndogs]

That's good analysis.

Broadly speaking I am optimistic about the Holy Cross outcome. The defense settled down and shut them out in the second half sans Foley and down the stretch Joseph.

Similarly, Shirreffs settled the offense down with a few plays and then we controlled the line of scrimmage. Hopkins pretty much had his way. There's something to build on for sure.

 

[blue93]

Finally some football talk on this board. Awesome analysis, as always, Kgun.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Kgun my dog!

 

[UConnRock]

Frame #7, we have our two guards and center blocking one D tackle while two blitzers run at # 48. This has been an on going problem for the whole Diaco era. Hope RE can get this corrected. Great play by Sherriffs here.

That is a total mis-read by the LG (probably Rutherford but number not visible). The left DT stunted and played kind of a shadow should Shirriffs attempted to run. That left the C and RG to block the right DT. Rutherford blocked down on the right DT even thought he was already double teamed, while two HC players blitzed through the LG gap. Given Shirriffs' check when he spotted the potential blitz and the LB was 4 yards deep at the time of the snap, it is scary that Rutherford, a senior, didn't adjust. Those mistakes are a killer in some situations. The other OLinemen all did their jobs perfectly. The two OTs were in perfect position and technique, and the C and RG did what was needed with an easy double-team. A classic example of how an Oline is a 5 player machine and one breakdown crashes the whole unit.