Bad blocking or good avoiding?

A

alpha

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The cut blocks by our guys on the first play against Jax St and on the second play against Clemson were perfect. We know that our guys can cut block but how is it that our blocking goes down hill so fast?

I'm not even talking about when one of our guys completely misses a blocking assignment. It's more when I see a cut block but our guy is on the ground but the defender has avoided the cut block altogether.

Is it solely due to "lack of effort" by our blockers? Or is it due to defenders doing a better job with avoiding the cut blocks? Or something else entirely?

It just seems like I've seen too many plays this year (except for the long runs by Jon and Anthony), where some of the plays we want to get to the edge, the ball carrier gets swarmed because all of our blockers are on the ground and the defenders have mostly been able to avoid the cut blocks. Anyone else see this?

Anyway, can't wait 'til kickoff...
 
I think it's still a "bad blocking" issue that rests in the size of our OL, not their lack of effort.

A lighter OL will be able to stay lower for a longer period of time without falling down than a true "big ugly". He will also be able to get around faster negating some of the "good avoiding" of opposing DL.

Could be wrong...just rambling.
 
This is a good question. I think the better defenses adjust to it. They learn how to time it so they jump back in the nick of time so that only their feet get clipped (which they can usually recover from). Tiredness probably had a factor as well. But I noticed what you said, alpha.
 
TechinItEasy said:
I think it's still a "bad blocking" issue that rests in the size of our OL, not their lack of effort.
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I'm not even looking at the OL cut blocks at this point cause to be honest, I've never been able to figure out what the heck is going in the trenches when the ball is snapped except times when one of our guys goes out to try to block a linebacker.

By the way, this question really came from reading this article here:
http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/story/1235754.html

Specifically:
Miami Herald said:
UM coach Randy Shannon has used several tactics this week to simulate Georgia Tech's triple-option offense -- from having his defense practice on "cut blocks" to putting receiver Kendall Thompkins at quarterback. But despite all of the preparations, Shannon said he expects the Canes to need some time to adjust to the triple option.
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Not like our cut blocks are a secret (and I assume a lot of teams we face prepare for the cut blocks) but just wondering how effective a defense can get at trying to avoid the cut blocks.

Some advantages that we still have are... defenders are looking for where the ball is so may not be paying attention to where/who the block is going to come from so have a hard time avoiding it. Even if the cut block doesn't lay them flat on the ground, it may have caused enough delay for our ball carrier to get past them.
 
I think the issue that occasionally comes up is the fact that some defenders are actually smart enough to stay on the ground and grab the ankle of the first Tech player they see. Occasionally that person is the ball carrier.
 
GTLiebs said:
I think the issue that occasionally comes up is the fact that some defenders are actually smart enough to stay on the ground and grab the ankle of the first Tech player they see. Occasionally that person is the ball carrier.
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HAHA. Yep, I definitely remember seeing those arms from the ground. I also like the attempted on-hands-and-knees lunge tackles from the ground.
 
alpha said:
Is it solely due to "lack of effort" by our blockers? Or is it due to defenders doing a better job with avoiding the cut blocks? Or something else entirely?
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There are slightly different techniques for cut blocks. The first one thrown on a defender may take them off guard. The second time they've seen it once so they are better prepared for what to expect. The third time ... you get the idea.

You have to be patient when throwing a cut block. Go too early and you're on the ground by yourself. Better cut blockers can put most defenders that stand their ground on the ground. Defenders that skate the play out can be hard to put on the ground and may have to be pushed/blocked off the field.
 
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