ill run down some of the defensive issues frame by frame in a minute...
ill break this up a bit so i dont try to kill myself, and make the post unreadable.
General thoughts, some really good guys, and good conversation, the Varsity Blue guys, Brian, the WLA guys, Jamie, WOlV54, lots of good convos, and fun times, wish it was warmer, ten years in the south has soften me up. Would have been nice to have more time to talk and hang out, gone out or something, but I took off right after the game. Think i disappointed some by not fighting anyone, but really the guys that were there were good guys, and deserved to live. I am not really a mean guy, as long as i have the opportunity to not have to listen to stupid people.
If there were 50,00 people there than a that place must hold 200,000. I would say the number was closer to 30,000, but it was still a good turnout. I would have rather just watched a practice, but it was ok.
so a couple of different fronts, couple of different coverages, and blitzes. Ill go through a couple of key situations...
Lots of bad LB play btw.
ill use the mgoblue video and give the counter times so you can follow along with what im talking about.
http://mgoblue.com/multimedia/page.aspx?id=1344
first series.
17:49-
looks like a 4-2-5 nikle type package here,... this is the other major front i suspect michigan will use against a spread... basicly looks like a version of cover zero, the olb was getting ready to pick up the back out of the back field, it could be a type of cover 4 deep zone.
most of the game it was 1 vs two's... and if 52 sees the field during the season at mlb, we may be in trouble,,, throughout the game, 52 trying to tackle forcier in space was kinda funny...
2nd play-18:15
mike jone, i hope isnt suppose to play the bubble this way.. He is playing that olb role, and is a contain player, therefore his job is to force that play back to the inside, where the safety and ilb can make a play.
3rd play 18:40 now we go to the hybrid defense.. evens his playing an end type spot, he put his hand in the ground, (sprinter type stance) for the up field rush... wow this defensive group is really bad, the de, squeezes down, like it looks like he was suppose to do, make the play fill, but when he sees the qb with the ball, decides he is going to go after the qb, and instead of keeping inside leverage, and force the qb to the unblocked outside lb, he tries to go to far outside, and gives up a seam. making our QB look awefully good.
4th play 19:30
type of under front here... evens playing the hybrid, drops and the olb rushes the end (notice he is in a two point stance and not the sprinter stance that he was when he was trying to get up field)
5th play 19:42 looks like a base 3-4... like i suspected looks like they are slanting and playing a 1 gap system (bite me) safety is rolled down playing a cover 1 scheme so the olb is going to have to pick up backs out of the backfeild... evens gets caught looking in the back field, and folding in too much, fullback gets out side, its a good throw, but even should have met him and smacked him not allowing him into the flats... then he is quick enough to get the angle on a fullback (not good)
its a good play by the fullback who fakes like he is going to try to seal the end
6th play- 20:09 back to the even front, 4-2-5 notice that when they runt he 4-2-5 they are playing a true even front, double eagle (double a gaps) some times.
in fact this is really a nickel, we would call it a LIGHT defense, and had i been able to access my car without hailing a cab during the game, i would have pulled out my defense playbook that i brought up, to show people how we run it... although we do it with only 2 real dlmen, and 2 of those rush end/big olb types... but Robinson is running it with one, it looks like. Ill post more about the light defense sometime soon...
7th play, - 20:40 a pretty obvious blitz with a cover zero.. safety does come close to making a play unblocked.. leaves to an easy read for the qb, blitz of two lbs+safety= cover zero= easy scramble.
8th play- 21:08 missed the play...
9th play - double eagle...
10th play- whatever
11th play- wow, that was really bad.
well the 2nd team defense isn't very good, but i think you see a good mix of defenses here to play against the spread teams. those hybrids are used in the 3-4 and in the 22, 44 even front as well, although not very good in that role, at least the two that were out there with this group.
2nd series,
1st play- 23:50 cover zero here, and an over front, with the safety rolled down to the weak side. williams plays this real well... notice the slanting front...
2nd play- good play action here. zone coverage, takes the easy throw.. but defense keeps the play in front..
3rd play 24:50... 3-4 look... notice brown not lined up on te, (bite me) he will play over slots, and to the most receiver side if no te, but he will not be playing on te's unless its a double te situation... i told someone during the game, bobo is the best player on the defense.. and he is a best open field tackler...
big difference between the first and second group obviously....
ill do more tomorrow...
they will show 52 getting his ankles broke by forcier, and then being totally out of position, and opening up the lane for carlos brown on the big run...
Later
G
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
the 3-4 defense, remix, part 7, all over again.
Well, well here we are again, revisiting a concept that some people just cant seem to grasp. A concept while simple on the outside seems to have really put people into a predicament. Despite the million ways to skin a cat approach to defense, some things really are as easy as they seem. Yet at the same time, some things are a little more difficult to explain then by simply allowing a google search to answer the question for you.
For example, a google search with the title of 3-4 defense, or 3-4 vs. 4-3 defense will bring up a plethora of information. Most of the search results will include things like wikipedia, and smart football, and coaching football for dummies and things of that sort. Many will include such awesome phrases as two gap verses one gap, attacking verses plugging, de's verses olb's. Some of the information is good, some of it sucks. The idea behind the two defenses is what we will first look into.
The Power of 50
In order to talk about the 4-3 verses 3-4 we have to talk about the 50 defense first. Um what? Yes, thats right we have to start with the 50 defense that became the ultimate defense against the power running teams of the time. The 50 defense was a simple concept. A Defensive line man for every offensive line man. Power against power, man to man, strength against strength. The predominate offense was a bone, and the best defense to stop it was a 5-2. All the oline was occupied ilb's were free to roam the insde run, and safety's were rolling down to help contain. The dline here were 2 gap players, they lined head up and they destroyed the man in front of them, and played off of their blocks.
Couple of things to note here, if the bones were flexed, the safties/olbs could be used to cover them up, giving a 6-2 look. Now its still a 50 front because there are 5 defensive lineman. That's the key, the premise is you can line them up in a variety of positions, but at the end of the day a 50 front uses 5 dlineman, and 2 lb's. This will be an important piece to figuring out modern defenses in just a moment.
If a team runs a te, you need to be able to have a strong side olb that is tough enough to be able to play a 9 tech on him. Otherwise a 3-4 is not the way to go. Another thing you need is a good edge rusher as a wlb, someone who can apply a lot pf pressure from the non-te side in a base offense. You can cover up for the strong side olb not being a good cover guy by angling him into the b gap like a 50 slant, and rolling a safety down, like we showed doing in the 50 front very early on. So its usually more important that the weak side olb be a better cover guy than the strong side olb.
Now when teams are a pound it at you double tight or single tight power I type team. 3-4 defenses are at a disadvantage from the typical 50 defense. Often times extra dline will match extra olinemen as the package dictates.
Having said all that, the thing many are trying to do now is to have a 3-4, with a olb that's so strong you can put him in at a 7 shade on the te, and put his hand in the ground and play him like a 4-3 end. Coaches get tired of trying to say they are a 3-4 or a 4-3 team, because if you have the right players, your packages can play like both. To me watching a team on film, the easy teams to prepare for are the ones that line up in a shade.
Conclusion.
the main points
1. 3-4 is a 50 front concept improved to be used against spread teams
2. The number of each positions on the field dictates what is a 4-3 and 3-4 not the number of players on the LOS, or where they line up.
3. the 3-4 looks like a 4-3 when there is a single te in the game, as the stud (strong olb) will come down and play a nine, and it will look like a 50 against a double tight.
4. The 4-3 is a good defense, and so is the 3-4.
5. Most importantly the following things CAN NOT be used to decide weather or not a defense is a one gap or a two gap defense.
a. the alignment of the dline
For example, a google search with the title of 3-4 defense, or 3-4 vs. 4-3 defense will bring up a plethora of information. Most of the search results will include things like wikipedia, and smart football, and coaching football for dummies and things of that sort. Many will include such awesome phrases as two gap verses one gap, attacking verses plugging, de's verses olb's. Some of the information is good, some of it sucks. The idea behind the two defenses is what we will first look into.
The Power of 50
In order to talk about the 4-3 verses 3-4 we have to talk about the 50 defense first. Um what? Yes, thats right we have to start with the 50 defense that became the ultimate defense against the power running teams of the time. The 50 defense was a simple concept. A Defensive line man for every offensive line man. Power against power, man to man, strength against strength. The predominate offense was a bone, and the best defense to stop it was a 5-2. All the oline was occupied ilb's were free to roam the insde run, and safety's were rolling down to help contain. The dline here were 2 gap players, they lined head up and they destroyed the man in front of them, and played off of their blocks.
Couple of things to note here, if the bones were flexed, the safties/olbs could be used to cover them up, giving a 6-2 look. Now its still a 50 front because there are 5 defensive lineman. That's the key, the premise is you can line them up in a variety of positions, but at the end of the day a 50 front uses 5 dlineman, and 2 lb's. This will be an important piece to figuring out modern defenses in just a moment.
Now to keep up with more modern pulling and trapping offenses, Bo Shembechler and others made the50 front a more of a 1 gap defense. By giving the defensive line what we call "three way go" options. The term we used for this new 50 defense, was the 50 slant, or the Okie defense, as it will be called later. The premise is still the same, line up head up, and give the impression of being a 2 gap defense. But the difference with the 50 slant or okie defense, is that on the snap of the ball the defensive line will attack a gap, or a shade of the oline. Turning itself into a 1 gap defense. By angling or pinching, or looping, or whatever, the dline was moving from a 2 gap look, to a single gap control defense. Often times a safety was brought down to fill one of the open edges, if not both safeties. This was a great and powerful defense especially against the new option teams, the new power I teams, and the trap teams. Mainly because the offense was unable to dictate what the defense was going to do, the 50 slant became a popular defense.
The Birth of the 4-3
Its during this time the the 4-3 was develop. The were several reasons for the 4-3. One main reason was because teams that felt they had a superior defense, often didn't feel the necessity to give the disguise of a 2 gap system. Instead they put their player to begin with in a gap, and played. There is no opportunity to play a 2 gap scheme in the 4-3 and therefore many teams stopped teaching the jam 2 gap technique, and instead simply worked only with shade, one gap techniques. Another reason some coaches claimed to be going to the 4-3 was to give their kids/men a head start to where they were ending up anyway in a 50 shade. Notice the similarity between were a base 4-3 starts, and where a 50 angle ends up. The 4-3 became a very easy to install defense, that required dline coaches to spend most of their time teaching their men how to hold their gaps, and not a whole lot else. In the era of expanding football, and complex offensive blocking schemes this became a popular easy to teach defense.
Offense Strikes back against the 4-3
two things that offenses tried to do to make up for the fact that people were loading the boxes with up to 9 guys. One way was to go with a TE a powerful extra lineman to help gain the advantage back in favor of the offense. It was the ultimate ill take your power game, and raise you a big te and a fullback, tactic. We start talking about wing t offenses as well, taking advantage of a gap canceling defense, with 4 linemen in the game. 4-3 defense were forced to adjust, and to adjust teams developed the 4-3 under(eagle)
and the 4-3 over shifts..
now its not like these shifts are very difficult, and in fact, there are many different variations of eagle fronts and over fronts, with different combinations of safeties and lb's filling various gaps. But what makes it a 4-3 is the fact that on every play, there are still 4 linemen, 3 lb's and 2 safeties.
The 50 defense on the other hand, simply bumps the end to a 7 shade on the te, and is still able to cover up all the gaps fairly simply. by slanting, the 50 can cover all the gaps.
Notice, up to this point both defense have shown the ability to be a one gap defense. The 50 defense has the ability to be a 2 gap defense, but often times is used as a single gap defense. The 40 defense, up to this point, has only been used as a single gap defense.
At some point 4-3 guys that didn't want to get out of the 4 dlinemen mindset starting dabbling around with the idea of a 4-4 defense where they could play their linemen head up and play 3 way go positions. The 4-4 for a few years became the way to play single tight teams and double tight teams, by bringing in an extra lb, and the cost of one safety. With the 4-4 you could line people head up, and match up a te, with a stronger olb type instead of a safety trying to hold the edge...
The 4-4 however and the 4-3 defenses had one big disadvantage though. With the shift you are forced into a 3 shell, or a single man free defense against the pass.... and the offenses were going to catch on....
The Birth of the run and shoot and the spread offenses.
It didn't take long for offenses to attack the new 4-3 and 4-4 defense at their biggest disadvantage, through the air. by forcing the 4-3 to move into something it didn't want to be, and then forcing teams to take out one of their skill guys for a lb (4-4) the offenses had set the defense up for disaster. Every time the offense lined up, it could see where the defense was going, and what they were going to play behind it. The run and shoot became a great offense because most of the qb's reads were pre snap determined. The 4-3 4-4 played right into their hands.
then ultimate 4-3 killer was the spread offense...
Teams quickly realized that they could force a 4-3 into either man to man, or a cover three by doing the opposite of what the old way of bringing in more bodies did. By spreading the offense out, the lack of skill guys on the field would force 4-3's into very bad match ups.
The 50 slant is reborn
So its in this environment that the 50 makes its comeback, and in the last 7 or so years has really taken the football world by storm. The only difference is that the 50 okie slant, comes back as the 3-4. As teams started to spread defenses out, it became necessary to come up with a defense that could do 3 things
1. Get athletes on the field
2. Create a 3 way go situation to compensate for putting more specialty guys on the field
3. Allowing defense to run any type of coverage scheme they want.
Out of the 3-4 teams were able to to match up with the run and shoot, and then the spread. They were able to still use slants and angles and jam techniques the same way they were able to out of the 50. But the ultimate question is, HOW IN THE CRAP IS THIS A DEFENSE. I didn't say it was a 50 defense because remember a 50 defense has 5 dlinemen in the game, what i did say (or what i mean when i say its a 50) is that its based on the 50 concept. Perhaps it will look more like the 50 if we look at it against a standard team.
Ahhh, now all of sudden, hopefully you see the 50 defense in the disguise of a 3-4. And in fact most of today's 3-4 defenses are in fact based on the ideas of the 50 slant defense. Now does it still look like a jam technique 2 gap defense? sure, but is it? well lets just say i hope you think it is, and i hope you play me. Notice that the player playing the 9 tech over the te is actually a lb. That is what distinguishes this 3-4 over the 4-3 eagle or over.
Why the 3-4 with zone blitzes?
Obviously as i have illustrated on this blog before, the 3-4 is the best defense to zone blitz out of. The main reason is because the reason it is the 3-4, and listen carefully now, regardless of where they line up there are 3 dl, 2 ilb's and 2 olb's.. SO if you are going to rush 5 and drop 6, you know you are going to have 6 specialty guys in coverage, not a real de, but rather an olb, who may be playing the c gap like a de would in a 4-3. Like we saw, with a olb playing over the te, and another wlb playing the c gap to the weak side, you are guaranteed that if you drop and end he will be a cover olb. As opposed to a 4-3, that would require a real dlinemen to drop into the a zone coverage if you were going to run a zone blitz. My zone blitz section was here..
Its during this time the the 4-3 was develop. The were several reasons for the 4-3. One main reason was because teams that felt they had a superior defense, often didn't feel the necessity to give the disguise of a 2 gap system. Instead they put their player to begin with in a gap, and played. There is no opportunity to play a 2 gap scheme in the 4-3 and therefore many teams stopped teaching the jam 2 gap technique, and instead simply worked only with shade, one gap techniques. Another reason some coaches claimed to be going to the 4-3 was to give their kids/men a head start to where they were ending up anyway in a 50 shade. Notice the similarity between were a base 4-3 starts, and where a 50 angle ends up. The 4-3 became a very easy to install defense, that required dline coaches to spend most of their time teaching their men how to hold their gaps, and not a whole lot else. In the era of expanding football, and complex offensive blocking schemes this became a popular easy to teach defense.
Offense Strikes back against the 4-3
two things that offenses tried to do to make up for the fact that people were loading the boxes with up to 9 guys. One way was to go with a TE a powerful extra lineman to help gain the advantage back in favor of the offense. It was the ultimate ill take your power game, and raise you a big te and a fullback, tactic. We start talking about wing t offenses as well, taking advantage of a gap canceling defense, with 4 linemen in the game. 4-3 defense were forced to adjust, and to adjust teams developed the 4-3 under(eagle)
and the 4-3 over shifts..
now its not like these shifts are very difficult, and in fact, there are many different variations of eagle fronts and over fronts, with different combinations of safeties and lb's filling various gaps. But what makes it a 4-3 is the fact that on every play, there are still 4 linemen, 3 lb's and 2 safeties.
The 50 defense on the other hand, simply bumps the end to a 7 shade on the te, and is still able to cover up all the gaps fairly simply. by slanting, the 50 can cover all the gaps.
Notice, up to this point both defense have shown the ability to be a one gap defense. The 50 defense has the ability to be a 2 gap defense, but often times is used as a single gap defense. The 40 defense, up to this point, has only been used as a single gap defense.
At some point 4-3 guys that didn't want to get out of the 4 dlinemen mindset starting dabbling around with the idea of a 4-4 defense where they could play their linemen head up and play 3 way go positions. The 4-4 for a few years became the way to play single tight teams and double tight teams, by bringing in an extra lb, and the cost of one safety. With the 4-4 you could line people head up, and match up a te, with a stronger olb type instead of a safety trying to hold the edge...
The 4-4 however and the 4-3 defenses had one big disadvantage though. With the shift you are forced into a 3 shell, or a single man free defense against the pass.... and the offenses were going to catch on....
The Birth of the run and shoot and the spread offenses.
It didn't take long for offenses to attack the new 4-3 and 4-4 defense at their biggest disadvantage, through the air. by forcing the 4-3 to move into something it didn't want to be, and then forcing teams to take out one of their skill guys for a lb (4-4) the offenses had set the defense up for disaster. Every time the offense lined up, it could see where the defense was going, and what they were going to play behind it. The run and shoot became a great offense because most of the qb's reads were pre snap determined. The 4-3 4-4 played right into their hands.
then ultimate 4-3 killer was the spread offense...
Teams quickly realized that they could force a 4-3 into either man to man, or a cover three by doing the opposite of what the old way of bringing in more bodies did. By spreading the offense out, the lack of skill guys on the field would force 4-3's into very bad match ups.
The 50 slant is reborn
So its in this environment that the 50 makes its comeback, and in the last 7 or so years has really taken the football world by storm. The only difference is that the 50 okie slant, comes back as the 3-4. As teams started to spread defenses out, it became necessary to come up with a defense that could do 3 things
1. Get athletes on the field
2. Create a 3 way go situation to compensate for putting more specialty guys on the field
3. Allowing defense to run any type of coverage scheme they want.
Out of the 3-4 teams were able to to match up with the run and shoot, and then the spread. They were able to still use slants and angles and jam techniques the same way they were able to out of the 50. But the ultimate question is, HOW IN THE CRAP IS THIS A DEFENSE. I didn't say it was a 50 defense because remember a 50 defense has 5 dlinemen in the game, what i did say (or what i mean when i say its a 50) is that its based on the 50 concept. Perhaps it will look more like the 50 if we look at it against a standard team.
Ahhh, now all of sudden, hopefully you see the 50 defense in the disguise of a 3-4. And in fact most of today's 3-4 defenses are in fact based on the ideas of the 50 slant defense. Now does it still look like a jam technique 2 gap defense? sure, but is it? well lets just say i hope you think it is, and i hope you play me. Notice that the player playing the 9 tech over the te is actually a lb. That is what distinguishes this 3-4 over the 4-3 eagle or over.
Why the 3-4 with zone blitzes?
Obviously as i have illustrated on this blog before, the 3-4 is the best defense to zone blitz out of. The main reason is because the reason it is the 3-4, and listen carefully now, regardless of where they line up there are 3 dl, 2 ilb's and 2 olb's.. SO if you are going to rush 5 and drop 6, you know you are going to have 6 specialty guys in coverage, not a real de, but rather an olb, who may be playing the c gap like a de would in a 4-3. Like we saw, with a olb playing over the te, and another wlb playing the c gap to the weak side, you are guaranteed that if you drop and end he will be a cover olb. As opposed to a 4-3, that would require a real dlinemen to drop into the a zone coverage if you were going to run a zone blitz. My zone blitz section was here..
If a team runs a te, you need to be able to have a strong side olb that is tough enough to be able to play a 9 tech on him. Otherwise a 3-4 is not the way to go. Another thing you need is a good edge rusher as a wlb, someone who can apply a lot pf pressure from the non-te side in a base offense. You can cover up for the strong side olb not being a good cover guy by angling him into the b gap like a 50 slant, and rolling a safety down, like we showed doing in the 50 front very early on. So its usually more important that the weak side olb be a better cover guy than the strong side olb.
Now when teams are a pound it at you double tight or single tight power I type team. 3-4 defenses are at a disadvantage from the typical 50 defense. Often times extra dline will match extra olinemen as the package dictates.
Having said all that, the thing many are trying to do now is to have a 3-4, with a olb that's so strong you can put him in at a 7 shade on the te, and put his hand in the ground and play him like a 4-3 end. Coaches get tired of trying to say they are a 3-4 or a 4-3 team, because if you have the right players, your packages can play like both. To me watching a team on film, the easy teams to prepare for are the ones that line up in a shade.
Conclusion.
the main points
1. 3-4 is a 50 front concept improved to be used against spread teams
2. The number of each positions on the field dictates what is a 4-3 and 3-4 not the number of players on the LOS, or where they line up.
3. the 3-4 looks like a 4-3 when there is a single te in the game, as the stud (strong olb) will come down and play a nine, and it will look like a 50 against a double tight.
4. The 4-3 is a good defense, and so is the 3-4.
5. Most importantly the following things CAN NOT be used to decide weather or not a defense is a one gap or a two gap defense.
a. the alignment of the dline
b. the formation the defense is in (3-4, 4-3, 6-2, 3-3-5)
The only way to tell whether or not a team is playing a single gap or a 2 gap system is to see how the player attacks the offensive LOS. if he is trying to control the linemen, he is playing a jam technique 2 gap system, if he is attacking a gap, and trying to control the olinemen assigned to that gap (in other words not allowing himself to be reached, or to be trapped, or to be pushed out of the hole) he is playing a single gap.
The only way to tell whether or not a team is playing a single gap or a 2 gap system is to see how the player attacks the offensive LOS. if he is trying to control the linemen, he is playing a jam technique 2 gap system, if he is attacking a gap, and trying to control the olinemen assigned to that gap (in other words not allowing himself to be reached, or to be trapped, or to be pushed out of the hole) he is playing a single gap.
As for the question ultimately of whether or not a specific defense is a 3-4 or a 4-3 type package, for the novice, a good rule of thumb to follow is in the shades. very rarely do 3-4 schemes or 50 schemes not have a head up alignment for anything other than a te, and conversely very seldom does a 4-3 use a head up technique. I happen to be a base 3-4 okie front guy, who incorporates a 4-3 under and a 4-3 over look at times. (of course i run double eagle fronts and bear fronts as well so... whatever..)
Hope this was informative, and not too hard to read.
Later
G
Hope this was informative, and not too hard to read.
Later
G
Monday, March 16, 2009
When A Punt is your best offensive play
Ive been meaning to do a post for some time now about the importance of the punting game/punt return game to the overall success/failure of an offense or a defense.
There have been several discussions and theories about the reasons why more coaches don't go for it on 4Th down. The basic premise is based on ypc, probability models etc. Usually the argument comes down to the theory that Coaches are creatures of habit, and fear change. Therefore common wisdom and mathematics are thrown out because of coaches' hard-headedness and general lack of statistical analysis.
Since Internet discussions have become more and more popular, the most common usage among sports fans is to second guess coaches. The most common way to second guess said coaches is with the common phrase "_______ has no idea what he is doing"
translated, "I know More bout the game and the game situation, the team, and the strength and weaknesses of said team, then the coach does."
Usually the image i get from most fans is that coaches are these jocks, has been athletes, that couldn't make it in the pros (you know those who cant do, teach) that really don't understand the big concepts and big analytical approaches to dealing with people and situations. They just kind of go around cussing at people and running into walls and stuff, without any real plan or purpose other than winning, and beating people up.
Obviously not every one views their teams coach in this manner, and obviously some coaches are more likely to run into a wall than others. I don't consider my self a particular big time pragmatic coach, or even particular cutting edge when it comes to statistical analysis and tendency breakdowns. So from that standpoint nothing i say can be viewed as anything other than norm, or middle of the road behavior for a coach.
Obviously there is only so much insight i can give you, if you are not part of our day to day operations. but i can tell you that the average coordinator/head coach spends hours upon hours breaking down both his own film and his opponents films. He is looking for tendencies- player package tendencies, field position tendency, down and distance tendencies, etc. He is looking at particular players, formations, plays, etc. He is putting that info into a spread sheet, or a computer program that then will be used to predict offensive and defensive plays, substitution patterns, etc.
Now coaches all differ on exactly what to do on game day as far as using data, but the data is always there, and always in the back of the coaches mind at the very least.
It's this DATA that i want to explore a little more, when it comes to feild position and the decision to punt/go for it.
this is a chart we put together on a weekly/ seasonally/ career basis as needed.
So at any rate the chart shows how often our offense scores on average, from various starting positions. Now obviously this doesn't take in to account many variables including, but not limited to, How we got the ball, when we got the ball, who is on the field, how good the offense is doing at that moment, how healthy we are, and how good has their defense been against us.
From an offensive perspective we see how much of an advantage we have if we can kick the ball out of certain places, into other places. From a defense perspective it shows how important it is to keep offenses to three and outs, when the offense pins them deep. Basically the best offensive play from a defensive perspective is one that puts our defense in a place where we can get the offense the ball back with a legitimate chance of scoring.
In other words, sometimes the punting game is the most important aspect of the team. If teams are starting drives inside their own ten that has a pretty good chance of being positive points for us. Conversely, if we can punt the ball deep into the opponents territory, there is a a pretty good probability of it ending out being positive points for us.
now obviously i understand that 4Th down conversion rates are a completely different argument all together. But from a field position statistical stand point, punting the ball often times results in a higher probability to score positive points for the punting team, and increases the probability of keeping points off the board for the offense. Sounds simple, but there is so methods behind some of the madness that fans often times criticize.
I always tell my head coach, when he asks what im looking for from the offense, etc. I say "coach if everyone of our possessions ends with some type of kick, ill be happy, and we will win the game."
still looking for time to do the film break down/tendency break down chalk talk session for you.
Later
G
There have been several discussions and theories about the reasons why more coaches don't go for it on 4Th down. The basic premise is based on ypc, probability models etc. Usually the argument comes down to the theory that Coaches are creatures of habit, and fear change. Therefore common wisdom and mathematics are thrown out because of coaches' hard-headedness and general lack of statistical analysis.
Since Internet discussions have become more and more popular, the most common usage among sports fans is to second guess coaches. The most common way to second guess said coaches is with the common phrase "_______ has no idea what he is doing"
translated, "I know More bout the game and the game situation, the team, and the strength and weaknesses of said team, then the coach does."
Usually the image i get from most fans is that coaches are these jocks, has been athletes, that couldn't make it in the pros (you know those who cant do, teach) that really don't understand the big concepts and big analytical approaches to dealing with people and situations. They just kind of go around cussing at people and running into walls and stuff, without any real plan or purpose other than winning, and beating people up.
Obviously not every one views their teams coach in this manner, and obviously some coaches are more likely to run into a wall than others. I don't consider my self a particular big time pragmatic coach, or even particular cutting edge when it comes to statistical analysis and tendency breakdowns. So from that standpoint nothing i say can be viewed as anything other than norm, or middle of the road behavior for a coach.
Obviously there is only so much insight i can give you, if you are not part of our day to day operations. but i can tell you that the average coordinator/head coach spends hours upon hours breaking down both his own film and his opponents films. He is looking for tendencies- player package tendencies, field position tendency, down and distance tendencies, etc. He is looking at particular players, formations, plays, etc. He is putting that info into a spread sheet, or a computer program that then will be used to predict offensive and defensive plays, substitution patterns, etc.
Now coaches all differ on exactly what to do on game day as far as using data, but the data is always there, and always in the back of the coaches mind at the very least.
It's this DATA that i want to explore a little more, when it comes to feild position and the decision to punt/go for it.
this is a chart we put together on a weekly/ seasonally/ career basis as needed.
So at any rate the chart shows how often our offense scores on average, from various starting positions. Now obviously this doesn't take in to account many variables including, but not limited to, How we got the ball, when we got the ball, who is on the field, how good the offense is doing at that moment, how healthy we are, and how good has their defense been against us.
From an offensive perspective we see how much of an advantage we have if we can kick the ball out of certain places, into other places. From a defense perspective it shows how important it is to keep offenses to three and outs, when the offense pins them deep. Basically the best offensive play from a defensive perspective is one that puts our defense in a place where we can get the offense the ball back with a legitimate chance of scoring.
In other words, sometimes the punting game is the most important aspect of the team. If teams are starting drives inside their own ten that has a pretty good chance of being positive points for us. Conversely, if we can punt the ball deep into the opponents territory, there is a a pretty good probability of it ending out being positive points for us.
now obviously i understand that 4Th down conversion rates are a completely different argument all together. But from a field position statistical stand point, punting the ball often times results in a higher probability to score positive points for the punting team, and increases the probability of keeping points off the board for the offense. Sounds simple, but there is so methods behind some of the madness that fans often times criticize.
I always tell my head coach, when he asks what im looking for from the offense, etc. I say "coach if everyone of our possessions ends with some type of kick, ill be happy, and we will win the game."
still looking for time to do the film break down/tendency break down chalk talk session for you.
Later
G
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Excuse me, let me get by....
This post is not meant to be anything more than simply an informative post about the recent resignation of Scott Shafer as the DC at Michigan. Its the last post on this matter, unless It's not.
As was the case when things didn't go well this year, as soon as the news broke so called "Michigan fans" who like nothing more than just to be right, even if its not helping the team, or even when the team is loosing, flooded me with statements to the effect of "see told you Shafer sucked" or "now maybe we can get a real DC in here" and very ignorant statements like that.
First lets make sure we are very clear on something; even when coaches are fired (which i don't necessarily think was the case with shafer) very seldom is that indicative of anything other than the fact that the ones making the decisions are wanting to go in a different direction. Some of the greatest head coaches in High school, college, and even pro sports, find themselves without a job a good portion of the time. Coaches leave places or are forced out of places for various reasons; personality conflicts, differences of approach and philosophy, personal issues, management changes, stagnation, and job performance, to name a few.
Another point to get out there, if one more person makes another stupid uneducated remark about any of the following things, I will find you i don't care who you are, how "respected" you are in the Michigan community, or what you think you have a right to say.....
#1 "I'm glad shafer is gone because of the third down conversion rates, and his insistence to use 3 man fronts, taking our best players off the field, rushing only 3...etc etc"
If by three man fronts you are referring to the 3-3 stack, i will deal with that in a minute. If by talking about the 3 man fronts you are talking about the Okie, learn something about pass defense. If you are not a very good pass defense team (ie you have bad coverage lb's, and bad safeties) those problems are going to be magnified on third down plays, when the offense is in a throwing situation. I saw a combination of press coverage, man to man, bringing man heat from different places a lot this year. Sometimes it was in the 4 man front some times its in the 3. And Michigan got burnt doing that. I saw Michigan run zone blitzes out of the 3 and 4 Man front, and get burned by it. I saw Michigan drop 8 out of a 4 man and 3 man front, and get burned by it. At the same time i saw Michigan confuse qb's force a check down throw and watch a kid break 4 tackles to get the first down, against a 3 man front. I also saw kids make big plays in both 3 and 4 man fronts. Now explain to me, how that is indicative of bad schemes? If anything that is indicative of bad technique, that which can not be solved in one season, during the season.
If we have the top 11 de's in the world on our defense, if we played all 11 of them on the field, we would loose and loose bad. Michigan and big time weaknesses in the secondary and at the lb position, that could not be over come this year.
#2 "we need a DC that makes adjustments in game, and during the season"
Like RR, Shafer was limited in what he could do, all season long i saw only 3 or 4 different types of zone blitzes, Shafer pretty much wrote the book on modern zone blitzes and fire coverage. Without a full repertoire, The defense was limited to what it could actually do. You saw several different fronts and coverages this year, several different lb and dl combos, and several different lineups in a very thin secondary. Those things are marks of a coach trying to find a combination that work.
#3 "I win Simmons, you loose haha Shafer sucks"
I like Shafer, because i know a lot about him. If he wasn't the right fit for Michigan so be it. If he isn't the coach so be it. But to think for one second that changes my mind about his ability, or what i have learned from him, you are an idiot. If you think that your opinion on the matter is of any consequence to me, then obviously you need to ask somebody about me. It was never about a competition with other Michigan fans about who is more knowledgeable about football. Sorry guys but i have forgotten more football than most of you will ever know. It's that kind of cockiness that drives me, and that makes me good at what I do. The only reason i blog at all is because of my love for football, and Michigan athletics.
OK so now on to my thoughts on the situation....
RR came to Michigan with the expectation of bringing his offense and his defense. Remember all the quotes about how he ran the 3-3 and wanted to runt he 3-3 here. Yet when he couldn't get what he felt was the best guy to run the 3-3 he went to option number 2 and that was the guy he had always felt was a great coach, and admired his work. Problem was in retrospect it was a hodgepodge of coaches. We have the 3-3 stack guys along with Shafer the 4-3/ 3-4 guy. Allot of what i saw this year was not what i was accustomed to seeing from a Shafer defense, i attributed this to player development or lack of, but perhaps i missed something. Perhaps it had more to do with a conflict among the defensive coaches. Normally putting guys together with different scheme ideas is not a bad thing. But the 3-3 stack is a different kind of animal. Its the only defense that will keep te's uncovered. that will allow de's to get washed down, etc. and has very specific agenda attached to it. I can see how it would be difficult to try to juggle those fronts. As evident by the Purdue game, Shafer was forced to give in a bit to the stack defense. At the end of the day, I think this was probably the convo.
RR- So Scott you think we are going to shift the the 3-3 next year?
SS- Nope
RR- ok well maybe we should think about parting ways
SS- ok
coupled with the need for a scape goat, and the pressure from the community about what went wrong. The effect is that Michigan losses a great defensive mind, but perhaps it is for the best. I wish Scott all the best, and i still feel he has a bright future.
I will have another defensive philosophy post when the new DC is announced.
Later
G
As was the case when things didn't go well this year, as soon as the news broke so called "Michigan fans" who like nothing more than just to be right, even if its not helping the team, or even when the team is loosing, flooded me with statements to the effect of "see told you Shafer sucked" or "now maybe we can get a real DC in here" and very ignorant statements like that.
First lets make sure we are very clear on something; even when coaches are fired (which i don't necessarily think was the case with shafer) very seldom is that indicative of anything other than the fact that the ones making the decisions are wanting to go in a different direction. Some of the greatest head coaches in High school, college, and even pro sports, find themselves without a job a good portion of the time. Coaches leave places or are forced out of places for various reasons; personality conflicts, differences of approach and philosophy, personal issues, management changes, stagnation, and job performance, to name a few.
Another point to get out there, if one more person makes another stupid uneducated remark about any of the following things, I will find you i don't care who you are, how "respected" you are in the Michigan community, or what you think you have a right to say.....
#1 "I'm glad shafer is gone because of the third down conversion rates, and his insistence to use 3 man fronts, taking our best players off the field, rushing only 3...etc etc"
If by three man fronts you are referring to the 3-3 stack, i will deal with that in a minute. If by talking about the 3 man fronts you are talking about the Okie, learn something about pass defense. If you are not a very good pass defense team (ie you have bad coverage lb's, and bad safeties) those problems are going to be magnified on third down plays, when the offense is in a throwing situation. I saw a combination of press coverage, man to man, bringing man heat from different places a lot this year. Sometimes it was in the 4 man front some times its in the 3. And Michigan got burnt doing that. I saw Michigan run zone blitzes out of the 3 and 4 Man front, and get burned by it. I saw Michigan drop 8 out of a 4 man and 3 man front, and get burned by it. At the same time i saw Michigan confuse qb's force a check down throw and watch a kid break 4 tackles to get the first down, against a 3 man front. I also saw kids make big plays in both 3 and 4 man fronts. Now explain to me, how that is indicative of bad schemes? If anything that is indicative of bad technique, that which can not be solved in one season, during the season.
If we have the top 11 de's in the world on our defense, if we played all 11 of them on the field, we would loose and loose bad. Michigan and big time weaknesses in the secondary and at the lb position, that could not be over come this year.
#2 "we need a DC that makes adjustments in game, and during the season"
Like RR, Shafer was limited in what he could do, all season long i saw only 3 or 4 different types of zone blitzes, Shafer pretty much wrote the book on modern zone blitzes and fire coverage. Without a full repertoire, The defense was limited to what it could actually do. You saw several different fronts and coverages this year, several different lb and dl combos, and several different lineups in a very thin secondary. Those things are marks of a coach trying to find a combination that work.
#3 "I win Simmons, you loose haha Shafer sucks"
I like Shafer, because i know a lot about him. If he wasn't the right fit for Michigan so be it. If he isn't the coach so be it. But to think for one second that changes my mind about his ability, or what i have learned from him, you are an idiot. If you think that your opinion on the matter is of any consequence to me, then obviously you need to ask somebody about me. It was never about a competition with other Michigan fans about who is more knowledgeable about football. Sorry guys but i have forgotten more football than most of you will ever know. It's that kind of cockiness that drives me, and that makes me good at what I do. The only reason i blog at all is because of my love for football, and Michigan athletics.
OK so now on to my thoughts on the situation....
RR came to Michigan with the expectation of bringing his offense and his defense. Remember all the quotes about how he ran the 3-3 and wanted to runt he 3-3 here. Yet when he couldn't get what he felt was the best guy to run the 3-3 he went to option number 2 and that was the guy he had always felt was a great coach, and admired his work. Problem was in retrospect it was a hodgepodge of coaches. We have the 3-3 stack guys along with Shafer the 4-3/ 3-4 guy. Allot of what i saw this year was not what i was accustomed to seeing from a Shafer defense, i attributed this to player development or lack of, but perhaps i missed something. Perhaps it had more to do with a conflict among the defensive coaches. Normally putting guys together with different scheme ideas is not a bad thing. But the 3-3 stack is a different kind of animal. Its the only defense that will keep te's uncovered. that will allow de's to get washed down, etc. and has very specific agenda attached to it. I can see how it would be difficult to try to juggle those fronts. As evident by the Purdue game, Shafer was forced to give in a bit to the stack defense. At the end of the day, I think this was probably the convo.
RR- So Scott you think we are going to shift the the 3-3 next year?
SS- Nope
RR- ok well maybe we should think about parting ways
SS- ok
coupled with the need for a scape goat, and the pressure from the community about what went wrong. The effect is that Michigan losses a great defensive mind, but perhaps it is for the best. I wish Scott all the best, and i still feel he has a bright future.
I will have another defensive philosophy post when the new DC is announced.
Later
G
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Predictions for Saturday...
I predict this about the big game between Michigan And Ohio State...
It will be fun to watch Michigan play one more time this year, it will be sad to know we wont see them again until next season.
I will enjoy Evey snap, and enjoy watching the Michigan colors one more time...
I will try to remember that these are kids playing the game, and try to imagine what they are going to be like when they are men, and how much fun its going to be to watch them mature.
I will sing the victors with my sons when/if we score..
I will change chairs if we aren't playing well, just because my wife thinks its cute..
I will eat my wings, and drink my orange crush, because i don't keep beer in the house since my sons have been born.
I will make fun of stupid ignorant people.
I will threaten to beat up someone/somewhere over something stupid.
I will try to ignore the idiots, although i probably wont be able to do it...
I will enjoy the last time of being able to debate X's and O's with some of you on the live blog.
Michigan may win, or may loose.. least of my concern, because I have no effect on that outcome.
When the game is over, ill turn the TV off, and go work out... or talk with my WLA friends if I'm in a good mood, then work out.
On Monday I'll be a bit sad that the season is over, ill talk about how it was a tough year to the buckeye fans that will come by if we loose, I will just smile and enjoy my time to myself if we win, because those buckeye fans wont come by.
Either way I'm going to enjoy the ride and enjoy the game...
you're welcome to join me, or not....... If you want to be negative, see the post below and study your MMA moves, because your time is coming..
Later
G
It will be fun to watch Michigan play one more time this year, it will be sad to know we wont see them again until next season.
I will enjoy Evey snap, and enjoy watching the Michigan colors one more time...
I will try to remember that these are kids playing the game, and try to imagine what they are going to be like when they are men, and how much fun its going to be to watch them mature.
I will sing the victors with my sons when/if we score..
I will change chairs if we aren't playing well, just because my wife thinks its cute..
I will eat my wings, and drink my orange crush, because i don't keep beer in the house since my sons have been born.
I will make fun of stupid ignorant people.
I will threaten to beat up someone/somewhere over something stupid.
I will try to ignore the idiots, although i probably wont be able to do it...
I will enjoy the last time of being able to debate X's and O's with some of you on the live blog.
Michigan may win, or may loose.. least of my concern, because I have no effect on that outcome.
When the game is over, ill turn the TV off, and go work out... or talk with my WLA friends if I'm in a good mood, then work out.
On Monday I'll be a bit sad that the season is over, ill talk about how it was a tough year to the buckeye fans that will come by if we loose, I will just smile and enjoy my time to myself if we win, because those buckeye fans wont come by.
Either way I'm going to enjoy the ride and enjoy the game...
you're welcome to join me, or not....... If you want to be negative, see the post below and study your MMA moves, because your time is coming..
Later
G
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Unbelieveable (fandom in the new world order)
Ok well, now that i have some time to reflect and unwind, i find myself unable to unwind. Its Ohio State week, yet i don't feel the burning hate, and anticipation that i have every year for the past 30 years or so. Why is that? some would argue, as i have seen, that its because of the lack of big time 4 year starter Icons. Some argue that its because Michigan has broken away from its traditions. Some Argue Its because of the disconnect with the new coaches and regime to the past and all that was great. Some would argue that its just because we aren't very good. But none of these explanations apply to me. I'm not worried about how good Michigan is, I Don't ever know any of the players, because i didn't coach them, or against them, and i didn't play with them, or against them. That's why i root for teams like App State, ECU, Wake, etc. because that is my connection to them. But Michigan is different. I root for them, because i Love the big house. I root for them because I love Their helmets. I root for them because i get chills when i hear the victors. I root for them because i love seeing them touch the banner. I root for them because its what i have done my entire life, usually with my Dad by my side. I don't live in Michigan anymore, I don't live in Ohio either, so i don't care who wins or losses for my living sack. My life on Monday's is the EXACT same win or loose. I root and cheer because its what i like to do on Saturday's. For just a moment, I'm not the underachiever that didn't get a chance to play in the big ten, I'm not the looser who left his family and friends to live a long ways a way, I'm not the DC who has to worry about his job after every TD. I'm a fan of Michigan, like every other person in that crowd, like millions of people around the world. I like that, and i enjoy that.
So then whats different? The only thing that is different this year, to every other year in my mind, is this place. The Bloggispehere. The connect to the inner thoughts of fans who don't think like me. That's what has been different for me. That is whats watering down my love and passion. Its as if i have been exposed to a different consciences now, and i cant escape it. Sure i can turn off the computer, i can leave for long periods of time. But i know its there. I know that there is something on line about what a jerk RR is. Or how bad Shaffer's schemes are. Or about the weaknesses of 18-22 year old kids. I know its there, and EVERYONE knows its there, and you cant escape it. I get on, and i start this blog to try to get more peopel to think like me. To try to convince peope that its ok to just be a fan, but it doesnt work, and i get stuck. Socrates, speaking through Plato, describes the burden of knowing something you don't really want to know in his "allegory of the cave". Once the people in the cave, were exposed to the truth, they could never go back to their previous position, which they were happy in. I can never go back to my ignorant Fandom, where i thought everyone loved Michigan the same WAY that i did. Now i have seen the real source of light, and i cant return to the cave the same way.
The Purpose of Blogs--
I have never liked sports writers. Its know secret my disdain for sports writers who criticize and break down sports that they have no more connection to then any other fan, they just happen to know how to put sentences on paper together well. I have never enjoyed sports writings by anyone other than former players, trainers, coaches etc. The only purpose of reports to me, is to report what is happening, ask the questions at the press-conference, and report it, that's it. For the better part of my life I was able to ignore the fools, we were able to keep our kids ignoring the fools, by simply not buying the papers, by not listening to the talk shows. But now all that crap is on the Internet. Every teenager in America has access to it, and its next to impossible to ignore. Just like any other commodity, the more market their is, the more product there has to be, and the more water down and bad it gets. So now there are worse and worse sports writers, becoming more and more difficult to ignore. Then we start talking about bloggers. By simply putting the label "blog" on something, it allows more freedom of expression and is, by very nature, meant to be personal reflections and opinions. Sometimes bloggers cross over into the reporting aspect, but remain unbound because of the "blogger" label. This is where the problem lies. As i have already stated, it is impossible today in major college football to ignore the Internet. Coaches use it to recruit, sports stations use it to collect data, and fans (like me) use it to find out everything about their favorite team. With bloggers now we have insights and opinions being thrown around that never would have been open to public view before. And who does this effect? EVERYONE fans, players, coaches, officials, prospective students, heck the president of the united states. Everyone reads the blogs, and everyone is effected by them, including me. Don't for one second think that student athletes aren't searching the web for hits to their name. Don't for one second think that a coach, isn't researching whats being said about him, to counter it at a recruiting visit. Don't for one second think that School officials aren't interested in the topic of discussions among its supporters. And when those student athletes come across blogs, questioning their heart, criticising their running ability, and questioning the knowledge of their coaches, do you expect it not to effect them? Sure a blog is your domain, and its your Chance to air out your thoughts, but with the line becoming less and less clear between reporting and blogging, don't expect it not to be seen by someone, or effect someone.
So don't Be surprised when players look like they don't listen to their coaches sometimes when times are rough, don't be surprised when home sick kids leave school, don't be surprised when the head coach gets defensive about certain questions. Because you may have had something to do with it.
the big difference between me and the guys in the allegory of the cave. Is unlike Socrates, i don't give a crap if you listen to me or not, but when i come back down into that cave, and you start effecting my happiness and enjoyment, well then I have to deal with you...
You have the right to say whatever the freek you want to say, but now your effecting my enjoyment, and that is pissing me off...
One reaon why the Whistle Stop campaign my be paying a visit to you in the near future...
Later
G
So then whats different? The only thing that is different this year, to every other year in my mind, is this place. The Bloggispehere. The connect to the inner thoughts of fans who don't think like me. That's what has been different for me. That is whats watering down my love and passion. Its as if i have been exposed to a different consciences now, and i cant escape it. Sure i can turn off the computer, i can leave for long periods of time. But i know its there. I know that there is something on line about what a jerk RR is. Or how bad Shaffer's schemes are. Or about the weaknesses of 18-22 year old kids. I know its there, and EVERYONE knows its there, and you cant escape it. I get on, and i start this blog to try to get more peopel to think like me. To try to convince peope that its ok to just be a fan, but it doesnt work, and i get stuck. Socrates, speaking through Plato, describes the burden of knowing something you don't really want to know in his "allegory of the cave". Once the people in the cave, were exposed to the truth, they could never go back to their previous position, which they were happy in. I can never go back to my ignorant Fandom, where i thought everyone loved Michigan the same WAY that i did. Now i have seen the real source of light, and i cant return to the cave the same way.
The Purpose of Blogs--
I have never liked sports writers. Its know secret my disdain for sports writers who criticize and break down sports that they have no more connection to then any other fan, they just happen to know how to put sentences on paper together well. I have never enjoyed sports writings by anyone other than former players, trainers, coaches etc. The only purpose of reports to me, is to report what is happening, ask the questions at the press-conference, and report it, that's it. For the better part of my life I was able to ignore the fools, we were able to keep our kids ignoring the fools, by simply not buying the papers, by not listening to the talk shows. But now all that crap is on the Internet. Every teenager in America has access to it, and its next to impossible to ignore. Just like any other commodity, the more market their is, the more product there has to be, and the more water down and bad it gets. So now there are worse and worse sports writers, becoming more and more difficult to ignore. Then we start talking about bloggers. By simply putting the label "blog" on something, it allows more freedom of expression and is, by very nature, meant to be personal reflections and opinions. Sometimes bloggers cross over into the reporting aspect, but remain unbound because of the "blogger" label. This is where the problem lies. As i have already stated, it is impossible today in major college football to ignore the Internet. Coaches use it to recruit, sports stations use it to collect data, and fans (like me) use it to find out everything about their favorite team. With bloggers now we have insights and opinions being thrown around that never would have been open to public view before. And who does this effect? EVERYONE fans, players, coaches, officials, prospective students, heck the president of the united states. Everyone reads the blogs, and everyone is effected by them, including me. Don't for one second think that student athletes aren't searching the web for hits to their name. Don't for one second think that a coach, isn't researching whats being said about him, to counter it at a recruiting visit. Don't for one second think that School officials aren't interested in the topic of discussions among its supporters. And when those student athletes come across blogs, questioning their heart, criticising their running ability, and questioning the knowledge of their coaches, do you expect it not to effect them? Sure a blog is your domain, and its your Chance to air out your thoughts, but with the line becoming less and less clear between reporting and blogging, don't expect it not to be seen by someone, or effect someone.
So don't Be surprised when players look like they don't listen to their coaches sometimes when times are rough, don't be surprised when home sick kids leave school, don't be surprised when the head coach gets defensive about certain questions. Because you may have had something to do with it.
the big difference between me and the guys in the allegory of the cave. Is unlike Socrates, i don't give a crap if you listen to me or not, but when i come back down into that cave, and you start effecting my happiness and enjoyment, well then I have to deal with you...
You have the right to say whatever the freek you want to say, but now your effecting my enjoyment, and that is pissing me off...
One reaon why the Whistle Stop campaign my be paying a visit to you in the near future...
Later
G
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
The film room 3rd quarter MSU
dont forget to start with the first and second quarter breakdowns...
1st series
1st and 10 msu 28
4-3 press man, swing pass blown up by trent... good pressure from a quick outside rush by the de...
2nd 12
4-3 against a spread formation, doubles gun to be exact
G scheme out of the spread, try to bait the De up field by set blocking the Tackle, it works, good adjustment by msu, still (8) meets the g block in the hole, gets knocked back, the play bounces and warren makes a hold the hell on tackle.. gain of about 3.... dangerous here as the playside lb doesn't force the play back inside...
3rd 10
4-3 against an empty set... very bad matchups all over the field while trying to keep an even front, 2 drop zone coverage, great outside rush by graham, and goo initial coverage= sack
I would say this was one heck of an opening series for the defense
second series
1st and 10 msu 40
after a Michigan touchdown... but a good return
4-3 press man against the pro I
well you can see the adjustment on the power G game, no longer a down play, because of how bad our de's were crashing down.. now the ot's are pass setting, inviting an up field rush... the fullback goes opposite, filling for the pulling guard, so it is a split flow read for ezeh, this causes him to not get to the whole sharply, coupled with the DT not getting penetration on the double team, means that when the playside lb blows up the g pull, there is a small crease for a good rb to get through off the guards butt. IF ezeh will just focus on ringer, screw the fullback, he would be there to blow him up.. as is slow to get to hole=4 yard gain... good down field fill by safety...
2nd 7
4-3 base 2 drop coverage vs a trips open gun look... double assault blitzes by the inside lb's trips lb is wide over the trips formation, de needs to hug up on the tb crossing his face on his outside rush, he doesn't, but luckily the pass to the swing is not well thrown...
3rd and 7
4-3 press man coverage, vs doubles gun. double nads stunt... looks like a 2 deep man under concept, and bobo gets lost on the post wheel combo route... just like earlier in the game, looks like warren and the other safety and olbs' have it played right on the bottom, but bobo gets caught looking in the back field.... it could be a straight cover 2, then its bobo's fault as well for not carrying the vertical, with no underneath threat, he has to carry that threat. harrison has a middle vertical threat that he has to overplay...
1st and 10 at the 8
the 5-2 press man safety on the te look from earlier...
power G play is blown up... we play this perfect 90% of the time... stevie brown levels ringer when it bounces
2nd and 9
same defense, press man. the is a pro wing formation. with an extra TE playing a wing back, not sure if i've identified it for you or not... play action off of the G action.. you can see just how the coverage is suppose to work, the strong safety picking up the TE, the playside lb picking up the back out of the back field...
3rd and 9
4-3 press man, double outside thunders cover 0
no chance ... great call great exectution...
1 bad play, by a freshmen, only problem on this series...
3rd series... after the offense had a chance to blow this game open, but gets pushed back and punted out of our endzone...
1st and 10 msu 35
4-3 press man, against a pro-twins look, first time for this... b gap blitz... play action off the g fake, warren gets beat, trent reads the qb's arm, and comes off of his to get over top of the post, just a great job by trent....
2nd and 10
4-3 under look with a balls blitzes here with the outside lb coming inside and a dt twist.. tight man coverage, very unique blitz.. against a trey tight formation, first time out of that for msu, must have been ready for a stretch play, because Michigan ran the perfect play, and executed it perfectly...
3rd and 6
4-3 apache zone blitz against the doubles formation, fire zone... de gets a little too up field before he sinks to the middle Zone, other wise this would have been a pick and he has to locate the crossing route, ilb tries to chase, but is a tad too slow... good play, one step away from getting blown up... stevie terrible technique on the tackle...
1st and 10
4-3 press man twins formation...
great coverage, great sack with nothing fancy....
2nd and 14
4-3 pro twins gun... try a little utah action... its a cover 0 scheme fs on slot, ss on te.. little slow on the utah ie zone play, but still only 4 yards...
3rd and 12
4-3 2 drop coverage, protect the sticks.. great idea of dropping one late into the underneath middle, the problem is he should have been spying the qb the dt that is, and not dropped so far, then he could have attacked him when he had to jump up the middle out of the rush.. great rush by the outside forces him into the middle. everyone is in position here. but brown is turned around by the throw, and gets tangled up in his own feet, he should have easily had the pick, if the ball wasn't under thrown badly, he would have... bad luck here... but have to locate the ball...
1st and goal...
our 5-2 bear front press man look again ( bear meaning a nose and two 3 shades)
toss sweep is a great call against this defense, and the way we are playing the power G and down g game. but brown does a great job of fitting up, keeping outside contain, and attacking the ball carrier...
2nd and goal
5-2 bear zero again..... wow what a play call, the safety over the te sees downblock, like he has seen all day, but its not really a down block, he is on a shallow cross... he thinks down g, and losses the te across the field. the playside te blocks which freezes the safety from droping, he is thinking ally fill (brown) and the corner picks up the late back out of the backfield. great example of a great play call, but if the ss reads his key all the way through, there is no play, example of sticking with your game plan power g, and reaping the rewards of the play action, even though we have been stooping the main run off of it. another note here is that everyone of course is blaming Stevie on the Internets, but its obviously man, like we have been running in our 5-2 bear front, and it was a great throw back type, counter pass, not stevies man although he reads it late, and almost gets a finger on the pass, great effort kid...
4th quarter tomorrow
hope this is clearing some things up for ya
Later
G
1st series
1st and 10 msu 28
4-3 press man, swing pass blown up by trent... good pressure from a quick outside rush by the de...
2nd 12
4-3 against a spread formation, doubles gun to be exact
G scheme out of the spread, try to bait the De up field by set blocking the Tackle, it works, good adjustment by msu, still (8) meets the g block in the hole, gets knocked back, the play bounces and warren makes a hold the hell on tackle.. gain of about 3.... dangerous here as the playside lb doesn't force the play back inside...
3rd 10
4-3 against an empty set... very bad matchups all over the field while trying to keep an even front, 2 drop zone coverage, great outside rush by graham, and goo initial coverage= sack
I would say this was one heck of an opening series for the defense
second series
1st and 10 msu 40
after a Michigan touchdown... but a good return
4-3 press man against the pro I
well you can see the adjustment on the power G game, no longer a down play, because of how bad our de's were crashing down.. now the ot's are pass setting, inviting an up field rush... the fullback goes opposite, filling for the pulling guard, so it is a split flow read for ezeh, this causes him to not get to the whole sharply, coupled with the DT not getting penetration on the double team, means that when the playside lb blows up the g pull, there is a small crease for a good rb to get through off the guards butt. IF ezeh will just focus on ringer, screw the fullback, he would be there to blow him up.. as is slow to get to hole=4 yard gain... good down field fill by safety...
2nd 7
4-3 base 2 drop coverage vs a trips open gun look... double assault blitzes by the inside lb's trips lb is wide over the trips formation, de needs to hug up on the tb crossing his face on his outside rush, he doesn't, but luckily the pass to the swing is not well thrown...
3rd and 7
4-3 press man coverage, vs doubles gun. double nads stunt... looks like a 2 deep man under concept, and bobo gets lost on the post wheel combo route... just like earlier in the game, looks like warren and the other safety and olbs' have it played right on the bottom, but bobo gets caught looking in the back field.... it could be a straight cover 2, then its bobo's fault as well for not carrying the vertical, with no underneath threat, he has to carry that threat. harrison has a middle vertical threat that he has to overplay...
1st and 10 at the 8
the 5-2 press man safety on the te look from earlier...
power G play is blown up... we play this perfect 90% of the time... stevie brown levels ringer when it bounces
2nd and 9
same defense, press man. the is a pro wing formation. with an extra TE playing a wing back, not sure if i've identified it for you or not... play action off of the G action.. you can see just how the coverage is suppose to work, the strong safety picking up the TE, the playside lb picking up the back out of the back field...
3rd and 9
4-3 press man, double outside thunders cover 0
no chance ... great call great exectution...
1 bad play, by a freshmen, only problem on this series...
3rd series... after the offense had a chance to blow this game open, but gets pushed back and punted out of our endzone...
1st and 10 msu 35
4-3 press man, against a pro-twins look, first time for this... b gap blitz... play action off the g fake, warren gets beat, trent reads the qb's arm, and comes off of his to get over top of the post, just a great job by trent....
2nd and 10
4-3 under look with a balls blitzes here with the outside lb coming inside and a dt twist.. tight man coverage, very unique blitz.. against a trey tight formation, first time out of that for msu, must have been ready for a stretch play, because Michigan ran the perfect play, and executed it perfectly...
3rd and 6
4-3 apache zone blitz against the doubles formation, fire zone... de gets a little too up field before he sinks to the middle Zone, other wise this would have been a pick and he has to locate the crossing route, ilb tries to chase, but is a tad too slow... good play, one step away from getting blown up... stevie terrible technique on the tackle...
1st and 10
4-3 press man twins formation...
great coverage, great sack with nothing fancy....
2nd and 14
4-3 pro twins gun... try a little utah action... its a cover 0 scheme fs on slot, ss on te.. little slow on the utah ie zone play, but still only 4 yards...
3rd and 12
4-3 2 drop coverage, protect the sticks.. great idea of dropping one late into the underneath middle, the problem is he should have been spying the qb the dt that is, and not dropped so far, then he could have attacked him when he had to jump up the middle out of the rush.. great rush by the outside forces him into the middle. everyone is in position here. but brown is turned around by the throw, and gets tangled up in his own feet, he should have easily had the pick, if the ball wasn't under thrown badly, he would have... bad luck here... but have to locate the ball...
1st and goal...
our 5-2 bear front press man look again ( bear meaning a nose and two 3 shades)
toss sweep is a great call against this defense, and the way we are playing the power G and down g game. but brown does a great job of fitting up, keeping outside contain, and attacking the ball carrier...
2nd and goal
5-2 bear zero again..... wow what a play call, the safety over the te sees downblock, like he has seen all day, but its not really a down block, he is on a shallow cross... he thinks down g, and losses the te across the field. the playside te blocks which freezes the safety from droping, he is thinking ally fill (brown) and the corner picks up the late back out of the backfield. great example of a great play call, but if the ss reads his key all the way through, there is no play, example of sticking with your game plan power g, and reaping the rewards of the play action, even though we have been stooping the main run off of it. another note here is that everyone of course is blaming Stevie on the Internets, but its obviously man, like we have been running in our 5-2 bear front, and it was a great throw back type, counter pass, not stevies man although he reads it late, and almost gets a finger on the pass, great effort kid...
4th quarter tomorrow
hope this is clearing some things up for ya
Later
G
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