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Offense Must Grow To Reach Diaco's Goal (Jacobs)
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I think our OL is plenty strong by now.. when does actual football knowledge come into play? Techique?
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exactly. Physical size and strength is only valuable if a player has the overall athleticism, talent, knowledge of the scheme, and technique to utilize the size and strength.
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When your guards can't get their head across the face of the DL in front of them, and make decent contact and not get blown up. It doesn't matter how strong they are in a weight room.
When you're not getting fits and alignments and assignments right pre-snap, it doesn't matter how strong you are in the weightroom.
How are you going to teach that? Know the offensive system. Know teh play calls. Get the assignments right if you can count to 6. Identify the lineman and linebackers. We've had the same group now for a full season on the field. They're going to have the same coordinator, same position coach and same system for the first time in years. That , which is all communication and mental - better get better.
In the marshall game, we had a play in the first half where it was one of the misdirection things out the backfield. We ran that all day. 2nd down if I'm not mistaken, after a decent first down gain. QB kept the ball and rolled to the left of the formation. We had our LG and C double team a DL and had the DL that was lined up across from the LG come in unblocked and was in Shireffs face 7 yards deep as soon as Shireffs turned his head. Sack. 2nd and manageable to 3rd and forever.
That's the mental part of the game though - that takes time, practice, decent coaching, vision and communication among the OL and backfield on the field.
The technique stuff?
Early in the game we had a 3rd and 2. Lined up in a standard power formation. RG comes out of his stance doesn't get good contact on the DL, and the DL moves him out of the way like a snowplow and Newsome has a DT in his mug 3 yards deep as soon as he gets the ball. 4th down - punt.
Sleds, and scrimmages. When your lineman can't get their heads across the face of the DL's that they're supposed to moving regularly - you got to practice that explosion off the LOS somehow. Ea
We either aren't doing enough it, or our lineman are really, really not very talented football players. I refuse to believe that they don't have enough talent - they need to line up and hit sleds.
When you're not getting fits and alignments and assignments right pre-snap, it doesn't matter how strong you are in the weightroom.
How are you going to teach that? Know the offensive system. Know teh play calls. Get the assignments right if you can count to 6. Identify the lineman and linebackers. We've had the same group now for a full season on the field. They're going to have the same coordinator, same position coach and same system for the first time in years. That , which is all communication and mental - better get better.
In the marshall game, we had a play in the first half where it was one of the misdirection things out the backfield. We ran that all day. 2nd down if I'm not mistaken, after a decent first down gain. QB kept the ball and rolled to the left of the formation. We had our LG and C double team a DL and had the DL that was lined up across from the LG come in unblocked and was in Shireffs face 7 yards deep as soon as Shireffs turned his head. Sack. 2nd and manageable to 3rd and forever.
That's the mental part of the game though - that takes time, practice, decent coaching, vision and communication among the OL and backfield on the field.
The technique stuff?
Early in the game we had a 3rd and 2. Lined up in a standard power formation. RG comes out of his stance doesn't get good contact on the DL, and the DL moves him out of the way like a snowplow and Newsome has a DT in his mug 3 yards deep as soon as he gets the ball. 4th down - punt.
Sleds, and scrimmages. When your lineman can't get their heads across the face of the DL's that they're supposed to moving regularly - you got to practice that explosion off the LOS somehow. Ea
We either aren't doing enough it, or our lineman are really, really not very talented football players. I refuse to believe that they don't have enough talent - they need to line up and hit sleds.
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Look - last post on this for now - unless somebody provokes me, or the feeling to write more comes over me.
We have very poor blockers on offense, across the board. There is not a dominant blocker anywhere on the roster. I'm talking aobut run blocking only right now, and for a dominant run game, you need at least 9 guys blocking on every run play.
We need to fix this, sooner than later. That means the players we have, need to get better at, and reach their potential. I refuse to believe that we've got anyone on the roster that's near full potential - we need to accelerate the learning curve somehow this season. THat means they need to work their asses off both lifting and running in the offseason conditioning, and when spring practice starts - we need to be really focused on improving the ability of the entire offense to block - across the board.
THe first step - is knowing the system, and identifying WHO to block. That should improve with a consistency in coaching and a consistency in system.
After that it's HOW to block. Fundamental football position, and getting proper head, hand, upper body position to get leverage on the guy you're supposed to move, and then keeping your balance and your legs driving to move them.
We are limited in what we can do when it comes to offensive scheming by our speed at the OL and TE positions. It's glaringly obvious. We don't have the speed, the footspeed at the OG position or OT position for any kind of pulling or trapping in run blocking. Defenses we face don't need to do anything except make sure they've got at least one player in every gap - to significantly hurt our ability to run the ball. We need to do all kinds of stuff with misdirection to generate a running game, and our most effective runs, are when the QB is the runner directly off the snap, generating essentially 10 blockers instead of 9.
It was all on display on Saturday.
The only way you fix that is by recruiting faster big men for the OL. Without that, you're left with the scheming we've got and working on getting better at what we can do. And that's simple football. Line up and hit the guy that's closest to you, and make them move the way you want them to move.
We have very poor blockers on offense, across the board. There is not a dominant blocker anywhere on the roster. I'm talking aobut run blocking only right now, and for a dominant run game, you need at least 9 guys blocking on every run play.
We need to fix this, sooner than later. That means the players we have, need to get better at, and reach their potential. I refuse to believe that we've got anyone on the roster that's near full potential - we need to accelerate the learning curve somehow this season. THat means they need to work their asses off both lifting and running in the offseason conditioning, and when spring practice starts - we need to be really focused on improving the ability of the entire offense to block - across the board.
THe first step - is knowing the system, and identifying WHO to block. That should improve with a consistency in coaching and a consistency in system.
After that it's HOW to block. Fundamental football position, and getting proper head, hand, upper body position to get leverage on the guy you're supposed to move, and then keeping your balance and your legs driving to move them.
We are limited in what we can do when it comes to offensive scheming by our speed at the OL and TE positions. It's glaringly obvious. We don't have the speed, the footspeed at the OG position or OT position for any kind of pulling or trapping in run blocking. Defenses we face don't need to do anything except make sure they've got at least one player in every gap - to significantly hurt our ability to run the ball. We need to do all kinds of stuff with misdirection to generate a running game, and our most effective runs, are when the QB is the runner directly off the snap, generating essentially 10 blockers instead of 9.
It was all on display on Saturday.
The only way you fix that is by recruiting faster big men for the OL. Without that, you're left with the scheming we've got and working on getting better at what we can do. And that's simple football. Line up and hit the guy that's closest to you, and make them move the way you want them to move.
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Was going to start a new thread but this one hasn't gone off the rails (yet):
UConn offense will need to take next step next season (Jim Fuller's View)
http://www.nhregister.com/sports/20151227/uconn-offense-will-need-to-take-next-step-next-season
>>Let’s start at quarterback where Bryant Shirreffs is the first UConn quarterback since Dan Orlovsky in 2004 to pass for more than 2,000 yards, complete 60 percent of his passes and have more touchdown passes than interceptions. Fellow sophomore Arkeel Newsome’s 1,686 all-purpose yards are the most for a UConn player since current NFL running back Jordan Todman’s 1,844 yards during the 2010 season. The Huskies not only return Noel Thomas, who had 54 catches despite being held without a catch in the bowl game, and Newsome who hauled in 45 passes. Tight ends Alec Bloom and Tommy Myers will be coming back after combining for 38 more catches and true freshmen Tyraiq Beals, Hergy Mayala and Aaron McLean combined for 35 additional receptions. Beals got off to an impressive start and his 24 catches is one shy of Terry Caulley’s mark for more receptions by a UConn true freshman during the FBS era.<<
>>As has been the case for the last few seasons, much of the focus will be on the offensive line. UConn returns all five linemen who started against Marshall. While he was a bit of a forgotten piece, the injured Ryan Crozier may have been the Huskies most effective offensive lineman in the final few games of the 2014 season. Crozier suffered a knee injury the end of spring practice and start of fall camp. Trey Rutherford is coming on strong and he started at guard ahead of Tyler Samra in the bowl game. True freshman Matt Peart was working with the second team at offensive tackles from the early stages of camp. UConn protected his redshirt status, but he could push starting tackles Richard Levy and Andreas Knappe next season.<<
UConn offense will need to take next step next season (Jim Fuller's View)
http://www.nhregister.com/sports/20151227/uconn-offense-will-need-to-take-next-step-next-season
>>Let’s start at quarterback where Bryant Shirreffs is the first UConn quarterback since Dan Orlovsky in 2004 to pass for more than 2,000 yards, complete 60 percent of his passes and have more touchdown passes than interceptions. Fellow sophomore Arkeel Newsome’s 1,686 all-purpose yards are the most for a UConn player since current NFL running back Jordan Todman’s 1,844 yards during the 2010 season. The Huskies not only return Noel Thomas, who had 54 catches despite being held without a catch in the bowl game, and Newsome who hauled in 45 passes. Tight ends Alec Bloom and Tommy Myers will be coming back after combining for 38 more catches and true freshmen Tyraiq Beals, Hergy Mayala and Aaron McLean combined for 35 additional receptions. Beals got off to an impressive start and his 24 catches is one shy of Terry Caulley’s mark for more receptions by a UConn true freshman during the FBS era.<<
>>As has been the case for the last few seasons, much of the focus will be on the offensive line. UConn returns all five linemen who started against Marshall. While he was a bit of a forgotten piece, the injured Ryan Crozier may have been the Huskies most effective offensive lineman in the final few games of the 2014 season. Crozier suffered a knee injury the end of spring practice and start of fall camp. Trey Rutherford is coming on strong and he started at guard ahead of Tyler Samra in the bowl game. True freshman Matt Peart was working with the second team at offensive tackles from the early stages of camp. UConn protected his redshirt status, but he could push starting tackles Richard Levy and Andreas Knappe next season.<<
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SubbaBub
Your stupidity is ruining my country.
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I'd like to be good at whatever we decide to do on offense. I like power football. I could watch the last ten minutes of the Notre Dame game forever. Give me this year's defense, Shirreffs, Donald Brown, Anthony Sherman and their big uglies and I'd bet on us winning the Orange Bowl if the D can hold up against top competition.
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Good work on the positive stats out of New Haven.
Rutherford was the player that got blown up in the 1-1 blocking matchup on the early 3rd and 2 run. Let's hope it's a rookie problem and will get fixed before next season. I don't see a change in the OT positions, unless Peart is something really, really special. One can hope. One dominant blocker on the OL can really change things for the better and accelerate things for that 5 man unit. Who is it going to be to get this unit up front over the hump and back to controlling the LOS next year? IDK.
We have a lot of players now, that have experience. We need to find a G-C-G threesome that can control the interior of the field. What combination of players can do it? THe good news, is that since the cliff fall in recruiting a few years ago, we're going to have several experienced lineman and enough younger players on the roster - that should create for a good competition to get that interior line set.
We're limited by team speed in the front line right now, and we need to get better at being able to engage in simple drive/run blocking because of it, and I'll believe we've got the speed to "run to daylight" when I see it. Until then, it's line up, heads up blocking.
HuskyHawk
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Here is the other part that works...when you are smashing the other team off tackle or with pulling guards with fast RBs getting the corner for 8-9+ the ability of the defense to pin their ears back and come for the QB goes way down. Play-action effectiveness goes way up, and you can get those big plays.
While they looked like hell...the Patriots ran and ran against the Jets yesterday because the OL was essentially an NFL version of UConn's (once the 3rd string LT got hurt it was just ridiculous) and they couldn't get the passing game going unless the defense was forced to respect the running game. Bill Belichick and his HOF QB looked a lot like Diaco yesterday on offense...and still nearly won.
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We were one score away from beating Marshall too.
I've written elsewhere, that I knew this game we were going to be in trouble after the first 3rd and short conversion got blown up. I've focused on that player - for a number of reasons. For me - it was the moment on the screen when I saw the 7 on the back on the jersey chasing the DT instead of the 6.
Rutherford started ahead of graduating senior Samra in a bowl game after Samra started all 12 games?
What does that tell you about the preparation that went into the bowl game? If there is something to get on Diaco about - it's when he's going to stop throwing away games to prepare for the future. It really pisses me off.
But we're just UCONN. I'm just one voice on an internet board. It's not like we've got 80,000 people that are going to go nuts over something like that - treating games as practice.
Just keep improving. Next season needs to be better than this season.
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I agree with your assessment about playing a kid over a vet for the future in our bowl game... The good part about all that is it's only year 2 of the Diaco regime so, hopefully, in the long run, this move pays off... Rutherford ends up taking that next step... Let him be the guy that provides what we've been missing on the OL... Help lead that group along with the 2 SR OT's, because we currently don't have one there...
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Agreed. But from what I saw on the opening possession of the bowl game - it's not happening anytime soon, unless we get a LOT of really good coaching work done - and hitting sleds. A lot.
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UCFBfan
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The part I'm confused about with the whole talk of the offense remaining a smash mouth run offense is the trend we've gone in recruiting. Last year Diaco brought in a slew of skilled WR, many of which saw the field this season. Then you look at this years recruiting and you see a few QBs, who could be switched to other positions, and more skill position players. We just recently landed a few OL prospects but for much of this recruiting year we've focused on non smash mouth type players it seems.
It's just hard to see how Diaco plans on continuing his planned offensive trajectory while bringing players that seem to counteract that type of Offense.
It's just hard to see how Diaco plans on continuing his planned offensive trajectory while bringing players that seem to counteract that type of Offense.
Husky25
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If the offensive line was a basketball team, Rutherford would be the 6th man. He didn't start the games but in the second half of the year, he got starters minutes. The fact that he started over Samra doesn't say a whole heck of a lot, unless you think Samra is an All-American headed for NFL stardom. He is not. He has been an average-at-best (sub-par for long stretches) lineman for the past 2 years. For all the flack the O-line is getting (albeit deserved), they are a young group and have been under Cummings' tutelage for only a single season. I don't put a ton of stock in the two-deep, but for what it's worth, UConn only loses one player out of the 10, Peart (Who the staff is presumably high on, by virtue of being on the Two-deep.) will be closer to or at weight, Crozier returns from injury, and I'd expect Cespedes to be a backup tackle in the Andreas Knappe mold. He may be a project, but he has already gained 27 lbs. from his recruited size.
It's tough to project offensive linemen especially at the recruiting world where UConn lives. The 5-star recruits on the line are already 6'-6" and a chiseled 300+lbs. Regardless, they are by and large going to P-5 schools. UConn is bringing in kids with large frames but probably 50 or so lbs. under-weight for FBS competition. This means they also have to get creative with their recruiting, including looking for larger TEs or converted Defensive Linemen. I think Peart is going to be a huge contributor on the O-line next year and more importantly, I think he will succeed. I don't want him to be plugged in at left tackle just yet, but unless Levy takes a giant leap forward for Husky-kind, he is certainly in danger of losing significant playing time.
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2 things then I'm out on the OL business.
#1. I'm tired of seeing our interior offensive lineman, specifically the guards, unable to get out of a stance and engage a DT 1-1 with proper head, shoulder and hand positioning to get leverage and at least hold their ground on running plays. Never mind the ability to pull out of the formation and get around the center and into an opposite hole,. We haven't put anybody on the field yet that has shown the footspeed to do to that with effectiveness in years. You can't fix the footspeed thing, in any other way than recruiting. We need faster big men in the middle. The straight up blocking thing, you can fix easy - by hitting sleds, using other kinds of frames, and other crap that exists to make sure that lineman have their knees bent, their asses down and their backs flat and low enough, when getting into that block, and practicing your technique and position with good coaching. THey need to get better at that.
#2. Andreas Knappe, once set in his stance, needs to stay in his stance and not move until he hears the cadence from the QB or a referee's whistle. If he gets out of his stance again and points at a DL that moved and draws another false start penalty that way - it's going to annoy me. It's happened too many times.
#1. I'm tired of seeing our interior offensive lineman, specifically the guards, unable to get out of a stance and engage a DT 1-1 with proper head, shoulder and hand positioning to get leverage and at least hold their ground on running plays. Never mind the ability to pull out of the formation and get around the center and into an opposite hole,. We haven't put anybody on the field yet that has shown the footspeed to do to that with effectiveness in years. You can't fix the footspeed thing, in any other way than recruiting. We need faster big men in the middle. The straight up blocking thing, you can fix easy - by hitting sleds, using other kinds of frames, and other crap that exists to make sure that lineman have their knees bent, their asses down and their backs flat and low enough, when getting into that block, and practicing your technique and position with good coaching. THey need to get better at that.
#2. Andreas Knappe, once set in his stance, needs to stay in his stance and not move until he hears the cadence from the QB or a referee's whistle. If he gets out of his stance again and points at a DL that moved and draws another false start penalty that way - it's going to annoy me. It's happened too many times.
The Funster
What?
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It has to start with the line: strong, quick feet and technique. You need at least two of the 3, usually our guys only have one. They might be strong but you have to beat your man to a spot or have superior technique to win the battle for leverage. Hat on hat our guys were going to be beaten too often. It's why Diaco had to go with two TE and we still had too many runs for negative yardage. Setting a philosophy of ground and pound does not mean you eschew sophistication in your passing game, it simply means you want to establish the run and dictate the game off that...if you choose to. Whatever you decide to do, the defense must respect the run. With a QB like BS, you establish the run, bring playaction, short to medium passing with the occasional long ball and rollouts to create space. Look for for a good percentage of passings yards to YAC because that plays to BS's arm strength. You WANT to be able to be creative and show some different looks but you simply cannot do it without a solid offensive line. Build a line, use that line to establish your identity and grow from that.
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Rutherford didn't start over Samra, he started over Hopkins. Then they rotated each series. Rutherford did not have a good game at all. He needs to get a ton stronger and needs to stay low.
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Husky25
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Sounds like principles of the West Coast offense. I'll absolutely sign up for that.
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I've been saying this since the last regime. The offense doesn't need to be hurry up Chip Kelly offense, but at least have some urgency.
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Myers and Bloom need more targets. They can be Gronk good
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I'm not sure what you consider a starter (i.e., game program, 2 deep roster, etc...) but on the very first play from scrimmage I saw L to R: Levy, Hopkins, Vechery, Rutherford, Knappe.
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