Our Offense

[The Jackal]

I’ve had that same theory, that we have a tell that gives our intentions away. But to me this play disproves that. That mlb appears to honor our OK looking fake and takes off when he sees it’s a bootleg. The problem is that he runs about 15yds in the time it takes the QB to turn and take about 6 steps. QB looks at the open receiver and doesn’t pull the trigger.
But it still couldn’t have been ok. Usually if I’m rooting for the defense in this situation, the QB usually makes any evasive move at all and the defender flies by because he’s completely out of control. But that doesn’t happen much with us.

This play suggests that we are just too slow. I’m sure he has a decent 40 time. I mean slow footwork getting ready to pass. There’s almost always an extra step in there like he needs it to help him throw. Too much hesitation. He had time. That play should never be called until that is fixed. We should just throw bubble screens and quick slants as soon as he catches the snap. But I bet he would take several steps even to do that. Or maybe go under center and throw on the third step period.

I agree with your assessment.

If the QB gets his head and body around quicker, perhaps there is a completion to be made. Abrams was covered, but the TE (Walker, I think) is not.

To be honest, it looks like Sisson's eyes lock on Abrams (likely the first read) for too long. He's covered. By the time he turns his head to Walker, Mercer's linebacker is on him.

On the one hand, I think there needs to be coaching adjustments. Why is Mercer blitzing a linebacker through the one place on the field we will have no one to block? Are we too predictable in that situation? Are we tipping our hand?

On the other hand, what if our offense is just a series of minor adjustments away from more sustained success? What if Sisson gets his head around a beat faster and makes a quicker read off his first target? No one is covering the TE.

It could be that our offense is one that is based heavily on timing and our timing is off.

[The Jackal]

This is a type of play I've seen a bunch, and very reminiscent of the Fowler years' offense.

1st and 10 and UTC's got 8 in the box with 5 on the LOS. Now, Furman is asking for them to do this by bringing most of the offense in tight and overloading to the left. If you want to fight it out in a phone boot, you'd better be ready to fight in a phone booth.

This is a power run to the left. This is high school stuff. RG pulls, fullback doesn't lead up into the hole, but blocks the same man tangling with our RG. That creates a pileup, no one blocks the DE, and certainly no one gets to the LB stepping into the hole.

The maddening thing is that we don't block the backside DE. This was an all-the-time problem during the Fowler years. You cannot not block the DE and then stutter step in the backfield - if you are leaving unblocked arguably the defenses best athlete, you have to hit the hole hard.

The hole is there - but in my view the FB runs to the wrong spot. The hole is one gap to the left. Wynn is left to stutter step, get caught by the DE, and then no one blocks the linebacker stepping into the hole.

But again, is this schematic? Why pull the RG there? He runs right into the fullback. Pulling the RG seems to basically create the pileup that leads to the tackle. In my view, if you send the RG up to the next level, the play would work. Hole is there - fullback wouldn't get tangled up with his own man and the TE can worry about the backside DE.

[Stumpy]

“It felt like we could’ve had 10 sacks, but we kept losing leverage. We come scot-free and just whiff.”

Yep.

[The Jackal]

“It felt like we could’ve had 10 sacks, but we kept losing leverage. We come scot-free and just whiff.”

Yep.

I don't know what the record is for getting your hands on the QB and not sacking him, but we were up there.

[Furmanoid]

On the previous play I swear it looks like both guys are open. They couldn’t get much more open. But he just can’t get turned around. This happens all the time. Maybe it can be fixed, but dang, he’s been running these plays for a really long time. It looks like he needs a little hop skip to get anything on the ball (or thinks he needs it) and that wasted time is throwing things off. You see this in MS and HS but not usually college. We shouldn’t roll left until something changes.

We should forget pulling too. We are too slow. The back has to wait forever for the pull and things fall apart. If they want to run off tackle they should just do inside zone blocking and forget the pull.

[The Jackal]

I mean, just my casual observation is there was no need to pull on that play. There was a hole, the play side OT blocks his man out, and the fullback needs to run up and put a hat on the linebacker.

I then wonder if we are confused. Pulling a veteran RG into the fullback feels like someone screwed up. Either the guard wasn't supposed to pull, or the fullback ran the wrong way. Either way, I'm quite certain Coach Quarles didn't design the play for the fullbacks and offensive lineman to run into each other or block the same man.

I'd feel somewhat differently if this play design was complex, but it really isn't.

[FUBeAR]

I mean, just my casual observation is there was no need to pull on that play. There was a hole, the play side OT blocks his man out, and the fullback needs to run up and put a hat on the linebacker.

I then wonder if we are confused. Pulling a veteran RG into the fullback feels like someone screwed up. Either the guard wasn't supposed to pull, or the fullback ran the wrong way. Either way, I'm quite certain Coach Quarles didn't design the play for the fullbacks and offensive lineman to run into each other or block the same man.

I'd feel somewhat differently if this play design was complex, but it really isn't.

A-Gap Power - pretty good scheme. NDSU has won a few Football games running a near-steady diet of it. No (major) mental errors in that clip.

One variation below...assignments depend on formations /alignments, but you can see the ‘theme’ from this play diagram...

[The Jackal]

I'm not suggesting it's a bad scheme. I'm suggesting that the pulling guard shouldn't be tangled up with the fullback behind the center.

I'm not thrilled with the play design. I'm not sure we are good enough to leave defensive linemen unblocked, which we routinely do. The concept works. It works at every level. But either we aren't executing the scheme or are just getting our fannies whipped at the point of attack. Maybe both.

[FUBeAR]

I'm not suggesting it's a bad scheme. I'm suggesting that the pulling guard shouldn't be tangled up with the fullback behind the center.

I'm not thrilled with the play design. I'm not sure we are good enough to leave defensive linemen unblocked, which we routinely do. The concept works. It works at every level. But either we aren't executing the scheme or are just getting our fannies whipped at the point of attack. Maybe both.

DLman @ POA is not supposed to be unblocked (see diagram) & he is not. He is, initially, being blocked by the correct blocker. Actually, after further review on Twitter, where I can see it - the TE, who is in the OT position in unbalanced (tackle over) alignment is probably wrong. He probably was supposed to scoop to protect inside gap & turn back on DE, not get up on B/S LB. B/S LB should be blocked by P/S OT coming off of combo w/ P/S OG...if he can come off the combo OR drive combo’d DLman into B/S LB’s path to ball.

FUBeAR wouldn’t reverse the QB out on that - too many feet in nearly the same place for too long...but it’s a choice - reversing out does help to hold the LB’s & DB’s for a count.

Based on the above & the diagram, besides the TE not turning back on DE...which may be play design...you can probably ID the issue that really doomed this play.

[FU3]

The problem is that we have no discernible scheme and if there is one hidden somewhere then we obviously don't have have the players to run it. This is in either case a coaching issue that needs to be addressed or we are in for a very long fall season.

[The Jackal]

I'm not suggesting it's a bad scheme. I'm suggesting that the pulling guard shouldn't be tangled up with the fullback behind the center.

I'm not thrilled with the play design. I'm not sure we are good enough to leave defensive linemen unblocked, which we routinely do. The concept works. It works at every level. But either we aren't executing the scheme or are just getting our fannies whipped at the point of attack. Maybe both.

DLman @ POA is not supposed to be unblocked (see diagram) & he is not. He is, initially, being blocked by the correct blocker. Actually, after further review on Twitter, where I can see it - the TE, who is in the OT position in unbalanced (tackle over) alignment is probably wrong. He probably was supposed to scoop to protect inside gap & turn back on DE, not get up on B/S LB. B/S LB should be blocked by P/S OT coming off of combo w/ P/S OG...if he can come off the combo OR drive combo’d DLman into B/S LB’s path to ball.

FUBeAR wouldn’t reverse the QB out on that - too many feet in nearly the same place for too long...but it’s a choice - reversing out does help to hold the LB’s & DB’s for a count.

Based on the above & the diagram, besides the TE not turning back on DE...which may be play design...you can probably ID the issue that really doomed this play.

I was referring to the backside DE as the one being unblocked. There's a good chance he makes the play regardless of the logjam in the middle.

[Furmanoid]

Hard to see but it looks to me like the OT on the play side let’s a guy slide past him. That guy is then hit by the back who is then hit by a lost looking pulling lineman. I think 2 guys were supposed to go through the hole to block the second level but they blocked each other and nobody blocked the lb. The back side guy shouldn’t be an issue if everybody wasn’t stuck in a traffic jam. But he would have been further out of the play with what, FUBeAR? A great big split.

Some of this stuff would work against those teams where the DL’s hang around at the line reading, but these bush league guys try to break through the line and tackle our guy. No fair!

[FUBeAR]

Hard to see but it looks to me like the OT on the play side let’s a guy slide past him. That guy is then hit by the back who is then hit by a lost looking pulling lineman. I think 2 guys were supposed to go through the hole to block the second level but they blocked each other and nobody blocked the lb. The back side guy shouldn’t be an issue if everybody wasn’t stuck in a traffic jam. But he would have been further out of the play with what, FUBeAR? A great big split.

Some of this stuff would work against those teams where the DL’s hang around at the line reading, but these bush league guys try to break through the line and tackle our guy. No fair!

Playside OT is good. He and the p/s OG mashed the 3Tec.
5Tec squeezed the p/s OT’s down block & that moves the play/hole over a gap
Nope...just 1 guy was supposed to ‘go through that hole’ to get that LB.

Big backside splits are alway a good idea...big enough to matter, but not big enough for them to ‘know’ it’s backside.

[Rokawaylifer]

Bear, I’m kinda with the other posters on this cluster f. Tell me I’m wrong but is the backside guard standing up like he’s in pass pro before he pulls? Something is seriously wrong here. Plus, as other posters have said better than me. We are either slow or weak or both. Wtf? We’re getting thrashed here.

[The Jackal]

Here's another I've watched a few times.

What exactly are we doing here?

Ok, there's a little stunt up front that forces our center to make a difficult block and gets Bell off his line.

Outside of that, I have no idea what the plan was here. I guess just hope Dejuan Bell could outrun the defense.

We make the creative decision to leave the defensive left unblocked, then pull two additional blockers to run right by those guys, and then send the ball carrier right at them.

We do get two linemen to the second level, though. Still missed the block on the eventual tackler, but I guess we got there.

The best block on UTC that play was thrown by the ref at the end of the play. He's about the only one that neutralized anybody.