PJ play calling in the 4th quarter

BuzzLaw

BuzzLaw

StinGTalk destroyer
Joined
Nov 24, 2008
Messages
11,912
I don't understand:

1) Why does he run a qb sneak 2 plays in a row? TW is not JN. I don't know how many times TW has to prove that before PJ believes it.

2) We are down by 8, we've been running the ball very well all game (except for the qb sneaks), there is approx 6 minutes to go, and we start passing. Why?

I love PJ, but I just don't understand this.
 
I honestly think CPJ is a rythym playcaller. He gets in sync with the defense and knows what to call to keep them off balance based on what he thinks they think he will do next. But when the time and score of the game start to weigh on what he wants to do he kind of gets a little erratic like he's not quite sure what to do.

Kind of like a good boxer - he punches based on what he thinks the other guy thinks he's going to do. But when you are getting slobber-knocked, you kind of start throwing random stuff because you have lost your feel for the fight.

I'm probably over-analyzing it but that's what it looks like to me.
 
Play calling is a thankless job. People don't notice until the play you called kills an important drive. I often find myself second-guessing CPJ's calls, especially when he calls a play that hasn't worked all night on a critical down, like the 4th and one last night. On the other hand, nobody knows what would have happened if the play call had been different, or what the course of the game would be with a different play caller. Overall, I'd prefer to have CPJ in charge than to take my chances with somebody else, even if I don't always agree with him. The other aspect is that every play he calls would usually be successful if the execution had been good.
 
jacket67 said:
Play calling is a thankless job. People don't notice until the play you called kills an important drive. I often find myself second-guessing CPJ's calls, especially when he calls a play that hasn't worked all night on a critical down, like the 4th and one last night. On the other hand, nobody knows what would have happened if the play call had been different, or what the course of the game would be with a different play caller. Overall, I'd prefer to have CPJ in charge than to take my chances with somebody else, even if I don't always agree with him. The other aspect is that every play he calls would usually be successful if the execution had been good.
Click to expand...

+1

After that failed 4th down attempt, I was thinking to myself why CPJ didn't call a toss sweep since the defense lined up pretty tight in the middle.

But then again, if CPJ would have called a toss sweep and we whiffed a cut block out in the perimeter, I'm sure I would have thought why he didn't call a QB sneak.

Hindsight is 20/20. CPJ did say maybe he should've called a different play there but also that we messed up the play.
 
Johnson also made the comment that the play was not "executed properly". Now that may be coach-speak, and it may also be a coach just covering his ass. I don't think that is the case. I had no problem with the play call at all. In fact it was the best play given the down-and distance and alignment of the defense. When Tevin went to the LOS, I was thinking sneak it off the right-guard, because there was a natural seam there. Go back and look at VTs alignment. The very strength of the defense was aligned on the left side of GTs-line, yet GT ran the play right into it. Did Tevin have the option of calling that play left or right? If so, it should have been ran to the right....for a 1st down. :wink:
 
Our passing game was awful last night. That made CPJ's play calling look bad on a couple of occasions.
 
I think we should run more tosses on short yardage plays. Everybody knows its a QB sneak and crowds the middle...just run a quick toss to Orwin; it's almost always good for at least 4 yards.

Would've been nice if TW had stuck his arms out to get an extra yard as he was going down on that 4th down play from our 30. It's not like a fumble is any worse than a turnover on downs. Maybe he thought he had it, not like there is a yellow line on the field.
 
WracerX said:
Our passing game was awful last night. That made CPJ's play calling look bad on a couple of occasions.
Click to expand...

A lot of us have been saying for a while that we should be running more shorter crossing routes with the ABs, granted, Orwin dropped one, but that doesn't mean we should just give up on them. That play is almost always open when we run it. Lately, it was a poorly thrown ball that f'd it up, but last night we ran it only once and OS blew it, but the point is he was open! Run it again!
 
On the QB sneak, the gap was to Tevin's right but he ran to the left. I'm assuming that is what CPJ is talking about since I noticed it pre-snap and shook my head when he went to the other side.

Agreed that our catching game wasn't the best plus our pass blocking was almost non-existent at times.
 
jacket67 said:
Play calling is a thankless job. People don't notice until the play you called kills an important drive.
Click to expand...

I agree with this, but why go to passing on first down when running has been so good?
 
we werent blocking that great, and they were keying on stopping that outside toss. so an Orwin sweep could have just as easily ended up -1 yard, like many did last night
 
Sims is working hard, but the fact is that he is not Dwyer or Allen and teams have no need to fear him as a runner. He does not have the "carry the pile" strength or the breakway speed of either Dwyer or Allen. I even felt that Cox was more of a threat than what we have at B-Back now. As a result, teams just aren't going to respect our inside game. Lyons isn't any more of a threat than Sims. Hopefully, Perkins will come through next season, or maybe Snoddy will fill the role. We just need to have a better inside runner.
 
JJacket said:
Sims is working hard, but the fact is that he is not Dwyer or Allen and teams have no need to fear him as a runner. He does not have the "carry the pile" strength or the breakway speed of either Dwyer or Allen. I even felt that Cox was more of a threat than what we have at B-Back now. As a result, teams just aren't going to respect our inside game. Lyons isn't any more of a threat than Sims. Hopefully, Perkins will come through next season, or maybe Snoddy will fill the role. We just need to have a better inside runner.
Click to expand...

I thought about this some last night and realized that the problem isn't Sims, Lyons, or Perkins. The problem is our young O-Line. It became obvious on the short yardage plays when we couldn't get enough push to eek out a single yard. Dwyer and Allen might be more effective behind this line; but this line and our current B-backs have their best days ahead of them. I think we'll see a huge change in our B-backs next year and the year after, and the change will have only little to do with how much better the B-backs get.

By the way, when we didn't get that short yardage in our two attempts, it became obvious we don't really belong in the ACC Championship or the Orange Bowl this year.
 
Maybe our goal should just be to win a bowl first.
 
optionqb said:
Johnson also made the comment that the play was not "executed properly". Now that may be coach-speak, and it may also be a coach just covering his ass. I don't think that is the case. I had no problem with the play call at all. In fact it was the best play given the down-and distance and alignment of the defense. When Tevin went to the LOS, I was thinking sneak it off the right-guard, because there was a natural seam there. Go back and look at VTs alignment. The very strength of the defense was aligned on the left side of GTs-line, yet GT ran the play right into it. Did Tevin have the option of calling that play left or right? If so, it should have been ran to the right....for a 1st down. :wink:
Click to expand...

Does Tevin have a tendency to go left when he can flip flop the play direction? Are we trying to run behind a particular player like Uzzi?

I really liked having McRae at center, especially in the short yardage situations where the initial push determines the outcome of the play.

Also, why not have a short yardage formation with a blocking fullback?
 
yellowjacket said:
it sucked
Click to expand...

Thanks for your contribution! Here at StingTalk we value all of our posters, especially those who take the time to contribute meaningful, insightful perspectives on our many topics of discussion. From all of us at ST, we appreciate your patronage and hope you will continue to be a contributing member of our community. :biggthumpup:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top