Short yardage vs ND

beej67

beej67

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Anybody got stats on how well we did in short yardage vs ND? I seem to recall at least three times where we were stopped on third and 1, but that might just be my memory turning fuzzy.
 
I remember a qb sneak by Ball who made one first down, in the first half.

I also remember 2 that we didn't make.
 
Was it that Choice wasn't hitting the holes, or that there weren't any holes to hit?
 
GEETEELEE said:
Like sunbeam bread - no holes.
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I disagree to a point. On the final 3rd and short, if choice follows his block (ie Cox), he gets the one yard; instead, he veers right, trying to look for a hole, and gets stopped short. I really felt, if he followed Cox he would've gotten 1 - 2 yards; he couldn't have gotten more, but the line was pushed back just enough to get the 1 yard.

O well.
 
Were we running out of the shotgun on 3rd and 1 or under center? Seems like I remember us running out of the shotgun which I don't really understand on 3rd and short, unless we were trying to throw off the defense or something. Wish we woulda stuck w/ QB sneak.
 
We ran out of shotgun on 3rd and 1 once, and from under center at least once, possibly more. The shotgun "QB Choice" runs worked in the first quarter, so I can see why Nix would go back to them. They and the QB draws were our only consistent running plays, throughout the game.

The thing about those plays is it's easier for the back to pick a hole, and they're not predicated on forcing a hole in a particular spot.

One thing I can't remember if we did a lot, which used to be a staple of the Gailey offense, is pulling guards and tackles on counter plays from under center.

I really need to see a replay.
 
On the final 3rd and short, if choice follows his block (ie Cox), he gets the one yard; instead, he veers right, trying to look for a hole, and gets stopped short.
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I couldn't see that from the stands, but I could see our line just getting completely overwhelmed by their D.
 
That's so odd. What changed between the first quarter and the fourth?
 
beej67 said:
Anybody got stats on how well we did in short yardage vs ND? I seem to recall at least three times where we were stopped on third and 1, but that might just be my memory turning fuzzy.
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1st Quarter

3rd & 1 - Rush (Ball) 2 yard gain
2nd & 1 - Rush (Choice) 3 yard loss
2nd & 1 - Rush (Choice) 12 yard gain

2nd Quarter

3rd & 1 - Rush (Grant) 3 yard loss
3rd & 1 - Rush (Choice) 1 yard gain

3rd Quarter

3rd & 1 - Rush (Choice) no gain

4th Quarter

No short yardage plays

50% in 1 yard or less situations sucks.

3rd Down Conversions 2 of 10 = 20% = BAD

We basically converted on 1st or 2nd or did not get the first down.
 
beej67 said:
That's so odd. What changed between the first quarter and the fourth?
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Weis made adjustments in both their O and D at halftime that were very effective and we did nothing that I could tell to adjust to the changes.
 
GEETEELEE said:
Weis made adjustments in both their O and D at halftime that were very effective and we did nothing that I could tell to adjust to the changes.
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Big problem. I too noticed no appreciable changes from halftime. This has been a reoccuring problem, innovation is not exactly the Gaileys regimes calling card and it is hurting us. Just a few new wrinkles and some things to keep them guessing would do a lot for us in the long term.
 
Weis made adjustments in both their O and D at halftime that were very effective and we did nothing that I could tell to adjust to the changes.
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According to Weis, he made those adjustments before halftime. My question is what did he adjust? His guys were getting beaten on the line, and then they weren't. Did his D coordinator just stop calling the "wuss" play or something?

I too noticed no appreciable changes from halftime. This has been a reoccuring problem, innovation is not exactly the Gaileys regimes calling card and it is hurting us.
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We outscored our opponents heavily and regularly in the third quarter last year. I don't see lack of halftime adjustments as a huge problem for Tech.

Inability to reliably run the ball for 1 yard is a huge problem, though. That's got to get fixed somehow.
 
Inability to reliably run the ball for 1 yard is a huge problem, though. That's got to get fixed somehow.
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THAT is line play period. Maybe when these guys get some more playing time together - recall most of the line was injured for much of fall practice which also affects conditioning. And Wrotto is learning the position....
 
What defense was ND in when they stopped us in short yardage? Did they bring 9 to stuff the run, or were they doing it with just their front 7?
 
I don't think ND really made any defensive adjustments. We stopped running outside and throwing short passes outside and the only run plays we ran were QB Choice and QB Draw up the middle. ND just kept bringing pressure up the middle jamming the run and giving Ball no time to get it to our WRs downfield. We don't do a good job of keeping the other team honest.
 
It's going to be a long year if we can't push and gain three yards straight ahead. This is how we looked last year.

It just amazes me that with Wrotto and McManus and say Matthews and Cox leading the way on the right, that we can't develop some movement.
 
We stopped running outside and throwing short passes outside and the only run plays we ran were QB Choice and QB Draw up the middle.
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I seem to recall us running speed option to the outside in the second half, but it failing miserably. I also recall a lot more shotgun in the second half. Perhaps that was because of our line deficiencies? There's not too many options for successful running plays out of shotgun formation. Really all you've got is speed option, QB choice, QB draw, and HB draw, unless you start pulling WRs in motion as pitch men.
 
Run or pass it seems we stopped putting pressure on their LBs to defend sideline to sideline. It would have been nice to see us run a reverse or fake a reverse on the many designed rollouts we ran from shotgun. That would have made them respect the outside. There are many short pass plays that can be run from shotgun.
 
I definitely think we should have gone to that CJ screen more than we did. It worked great, I think twice, in the first half and we never saw it again in the second half. That's the kind of thing we should have tried on one of those 3rd down conversions - maybe even 4th down instead of punting.

But hindsight 20 20 etc etc
 
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