The View From Section 241

[Carl Spackler]

That is what I was trying to say. But for the one pitch option (which the D blew up), it looked like we were running a fake freeze-option where he had, for whatever reason, decided to hand off before taking the snap. Add to that Michael Smith then getting snaps there to actually run the ball, and I am still guessing something might be wrong with mcCummings that we're not being told.

I remember conner, or another beat writer, or something, reporting that there were players other then McCummings taking the snaps in practices through camp, and that Smith was one of them.

I don't know BL, I'm jsut worried that our offense is out-scheming itself.

 

[businesslawyer]

OK there Mr. "We're going inside of 'em, we're going outside of 'em - inside of 'em outside of 'em - and when we get 'em on the run once, we're going to keep 'em on the run. And we're not going to pass unless their secondary comes up too close. But, don't forget, men - when we get 'em on the run, we're going to go, go, go, go! And we aren't going to stop until we go over that goal line! And don't forget, men - today is the day, we're going to win."

Sounds like Cid Ceasar (I think) playing the Rydell HIgh football coach in the movie Grease.

LMAO.

 

[Kgun7]

Right, I get the impression that we've got an offensive set, that gives the outward appearance of an option play, but is not. I don't mind cat and mouse games in x's and o's, as long as the results are positive with whatever you are going with. That didn't happen saturday.

The last play of the 1st quarter (the extended play after the roughing the passer) is a wildcat play. NW31 lines up wide and is pointed out by a few NC State defenders. Clearly they were prepared for the wildcat and clearly they account for #31. NW31 goes in motion, the ball is snapped, and the wide side DE and the LB jump the NW31 sweep. However, RG94 doesn't even attempt to block and allows both the DE & the LB to jump the NW31 sweep as he heads upfield in a passing route or to block downfield ... can't tell because of the camera angle.

So, I think I agree with the above posters who say the wildcat options may not really be options at all. NW31 was never an option on the sweep because RG94 made no attempt to block the end. Maybe they were setting up a pass play for later in the game? Is all this effort worth the mediocre results? I was 100% in support of a continuation of the wildcat last week ... but now I may be down to 70% ... and Whitmer could use the practice reps.

 

[SubbaBub]

I don't know if you guys are discussing something specific that happened, or are generalizing....but I do think that if you try to turn a read/option offensive play calling set, into a scripted play calling set, you're going uphill against water, and I had the distinct feeling on Saturday, that there was very little to nothing that was actually read or option, in any of the play calling that came out of those kinds of offensive formations that we trotted out.

I also felt that SM had his mind made up what to do with the ball pre-snap.

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2

 

[rich1122]

After watching the game (twice) I think that this whole thing is an overreaction and it won't be played out until after maybe the 4th or 5th game. Sure we looked bad on offense and especially on the run game, but the game was LOST because of mental errors. PP mentioned that 14 out of the 15 offensive sets were held back because of problems.

Like

Penalties
Whitmer falling down
Turnovers (5).
Can't call a decent play on third and 1 which we missed 2 times

We had a good chance to win the game against a pretty good team. Besides better execution, we need to stop the above or we will be 6-6, no matter how good the D is.

 

[RedStickHusky]

This thread is always a highlight - thanks BL. Catching a game at the rent is high on my bucket list but until then, I can offer a view from 6800 miles. The season prediction thread seemed to settle on 8-4 (4-3) for a good season, 9 wins or better for a very good season. So the OOC game we all viewed as the most troublesome turned out to be a 10-7 loss. Still on schedule for good, but we have to make one up now (probably one of Lou, Cinnci, and USF) to get to 9. Not undoable. I remember a former UConn coach (his name escapes me) saying, "we only get 12 games, we don't want to waste any". I think we wasted one last week.
- The offensive performance was particularly alarming because as much as our defense will keep us in games, offense at that level will keep our opponents in them as well. I don't think this defense needs much help, just a few minutes of possession, first downs and field goals.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

Sounds like Cid Ceasar (I think) playing the Rydell HIgh football coach in the movie Grease.

LMAO.

Cid Ceasar, huh? Maybe. But actually Knute Rockne-Spackler (parents decided give him both of their name).

 

[Bootsthemonkey]

The problem with the wildcat is generally the same problem with the offense overall. The formations and tendencies telegraph everything. There's another thread about NC State players knowing our plays - how tough is this, really? Wilcat offense = 95% run probability, and on the occasion it is a pass it will be to the TE leaked out the middle and the QB throwing has questionable accuracy. You don't think a D reads this formation and cheats to stop the run?
When UConn lines up two TE's and power I with Frank in the backfield, odds are this will be a run between the tackles. Bring Osiecki in at FB and they may leak him out to the flat for a throw.

Even the service academies who run predominantly option/or wishbone offenses over the years aren't telegraphing much because they'll run almost everything out of the same formation. The offense may be run dominated but the ball could go to a variety of backs and it isn't given away at the line of scrimmage. Same thing with teams that run almost exclusively spread offenses - the formation doesn't give anything away. I'm not saying UConn needs to run everything out of one formation but it seems they stick to the same tendencies with each formation and down/distance scenario.

Tell me when you're in the stands and you see #11 come onto the field you don't have a pretty good idea what's coming. Why should the defense be any more surprised?

 

[pj]

The problem with the wildcat is generally the same problem with the offense overall. The formations and tendencies telegraph everything. There's another thread about NC State players knowing our plays - how tough is this, really? Wilcat offense = 95% run probability, and on the occasion it is a pass it will be to the TE leaked out the middle and the QB throwing has questionable accuracy. You don't think a D reads this formation and cheats to stop the run?
When UConn lines up two TE's and power I with Frank in the backfield, odds are this will be a run between the tackles. Bring Osiecki in at FB and they may leak him out to the flat for a throw.

Even the service academies who run predominantly option/or wishbone offenses over the years aren't telegraphing much because they'll run almost everything out of the same formation. The offense may be run dominated but the ball could go to a variety of backs and it isn't given away at the line of scrimmage. Same thing with teams that run almost exclusively spread offenses - the formation doesn't give anything away. I'm not saying UConn needs to run everything out of one formation but it seems they stick to the same tendencies with each formation and down/distance scenario.

Tell me when you're in the stands and you see #11 come onto the field you don't have a pretty good idea what's coming. Why should the defense be any more surprised?

Yes, if the fans know the plays then certainly the opposing coaches and players will know the plays.

 

[OHusky]

Biz - been waiting for one of the sharpies to call you on this but no one did. Guess I'm the only one old enough so here goes - Cyd Ceasar makes as much sense as Cody Whitmer!

Otherwise, thanks for the write ups. I look forward to them. Agree that Jeremy Davis has to go after the ball. I recall Michael Crabtree and if the ball was any where near Crabtree, he was intense pursuing the ball. He might not catch it but if he didn't no one else was going to. JD needs to get some of that drilled into him.

 

[Kgun7]

The point that was being made earlier in the thread was that it appeared the "option" part of the wildcat was missing. I watched the last play of the first quarter in slo-mo about 5 times and it appeared the decision was made in the huddle to fake to NW31 and have SM11 keep it.

Now we have others stating that NC State knew the plays. Maybe I agree with that to a certain degree in other formations, but judging by their defensive reaction to the wildcat they did not know where the ball was going. They clearly prepared for it, but they did not know where the ball was going.

And as much as it pains me to say it ... had there been a little better execution of the back side blocks SM11 would have had a much bigger gain. And if that play would have been executed better, we would have later seen a pass play out of the same wildcat formation ... no doubt in my mind.

 

[Carl Spackler]

There's nothing wrong with coming out in a formation that you can run multiple scripted plays out of, but has the appearance of an option play. It seems that some here have gathered that there might be a problem with doing that or something. Nothing wrong with it all. In fact, it is a ton, for a defense to prepare for, out of a single formation, that can shift multiple personnel around, and when you look at it run on the field, if it is - that nasty word - executed - properly, by all 11 guys, the opportunity to advance the ball in many ways, big ways, is there.

That formation was not defended as a true option play by NC State on Saturday. Whether or not our staff expected their staff to think it was an option play, or what not, cat and mouse games that go on between game planners, coaches, who knows. None of us do.

THis is my opinoin only, i"m not sure what others would think, about practice and time and things like that , but my concern with running this wildcat as it seems that we're doing it---

i think there's a lot of practice time that needs to go into running a scripted play offense, no matter what offensive formation you're building it out of, and if we;re doing it with the wildcat formation, in addition to the pro-set scripted offense? that's a lot of practice time needed to get it right.

When a zone/read offense out of that wildcat, jet motion formation, keying off either the DT in a Zone or man up on the DE, doesn't require as much practice time, because it really is the same thing over and over, and it's up to the players simply to key off that position on the line of scrimmage, and make their decisions, and the guy taking the snap (whether it be a QB, or not) either moves the ball to another offensive player, or keeps it from there.

I think that what happened on Saturday, was a clear sign that something is not translating right, from practices to the game field. Just trying to figure it out.

 

[Carl Spackler]

I should actually correct that, b/c I have no idea what our coaches and players, and their (NC State coaches and players were actually thinking)

Based on what it appears we were doing out of that 'wildcat' formation, and how NC State was defending it, it did not seem that either side of the line of scrimmage was operating with the concept of that formation being a true option play for the player taking the direct snap.


I can't imagine that our coaching staff, is not aware of this.


It seems to me, that the formation is being used by us, to create multiple personnel matchups, and possibilities to put the ball in our athletes hands that can make a play, and multiple things that a defense needs to account for. It's a solid approach to the game if you ask me, and I've been in favor of using this offense as much as they want to and most definitely, if you can trot that formation out, and line up multiple different players at the direct snap, and motion and downfield options - in addition to running a pro-set offense with a traditional drop back timing passer?

Defense should have it's head spinning.

But I'm just not sure if there's enough time in a college football practice week, for all the things we are trying to do on offense, and get it right, and the results on the field so far, would seem to confirm it.

We need to win games. A devastating offense that takes 12 weeks of practice to get functiong properly, isn't going to mean much.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Scott Mc. had two weeks of camp. How many reps does anybody think he got, not much unless Deleone considers the UMass game the end of fall camp.

 

[mattp]

Biz - been waiting for one of the sharpies to call you on this but no one did. Guess I'm the only one old enough so here goes - Cyd Ceasar makes as much sense as Cody Whitmer!

Otherwise, thanks for the write ups. I look forward to them. Agree that Jeremy Davis has to go after the ball. I recall Michael Crabtree and if the ball was any where near Crabtree, he was intense pursuing the ball. He might not catch it but if he didn't no one else was going to. JD needs to get some of that drilled into him.

How can you make fun of Biz's spelling of "Cid Caesar" and follow it up with "Jeremy Davis"?

 

[Husky68]

Just plain and simple, offensive football at the college level should not be as hard as Uconn makes it look. You can talk all you want about penalties, QB foot being stepped on, turnovers, etc. Just watching player get plays in, go to LOS, speed of actions (re knowing what they are doing), standing around out of action by some players as play is going on, body language of WR; this is a poorly schemed/trained/executed offense; well below anything this caliber of player should be doing - its on the coaches.

 

[PUPPY4]

Biz, what was your take on the 4 & inches in the second QTR?

I said we should have went for it, a red line mate agreed as the game plan was way to conservative,

 

[pj]

How can you make fun of Biz's spelling of "Cid Caesar" and follow it up with "Jeremy Davis"?

I think he was jokingly mixing up Cyd Charisse and Sid Caesar, but yes, the joke falls flat when you mess up Geremy Davis yourself.

 

[businesslawyer]

Biz, what was your take on the 4 & inches in the second QTR?

I said we should have went for it, a red line mate agreed as the game plan was way to conservative,

You'd love to see a team be aggressive, but we had already established we couldn't convert a 3rd and short and their offense had shown zip.

I had no problem with punting there. If blidi doesn't forget where he is on the field, we pin them inside the 3, probably go up 3-0 on our next possession (maybe without needing a first down) and that might have been enough to pull out a win.

But where you go for it or punt, the players need to execute. Wagner did there, but Blidi didn't.

 

[PUPPY4]

You'd love to see a team be aggressive, but we had already established we couldn't convert a 3rd and short and their offense had shown zip.

I had no problem with punting there. If blidi doesn't forget where he is on the field, we pin them inside the 3, probably go up 3-0 on our next possession (maybe without needing a first down) and that might have been enough to pull out a win.

But where you go for it or punt, the players need to execute. Wagner did there, but Blidi didn't.

I would have liked to have seen Coach challenge the big uglies to get the length of their shoe!
If they can't push that far, they don't belong on this team!