Thinking about the Hoosiers Post Game is kinda painful…. unfortunately it’s more of the same since the game 1 heroics in Blacksburg. We escaped a second possible loss in 4 games to an undermanned team. The stats look ok, but we all know this game was a MESS.
Again the D was outstanding save for a couple of issues in the 2nd half when IU went schoolyard. In a desperate attempt to overcome the Bucks superior talent and the loss of their starting QB and RB, the Hoosiers came inches away from all but ending the Bucks hope to fulfill the promise of this season.
Net net you can’t give an opponent with a credible offense 22 possessions and not expect some bad things to happen. They pretty much stuffed the first down runs when the #1 was in. I think they are all set right now. Knocking out Sudfield and Howard may not help the SoS but that won't matter in the larger picture.
What will matter in the larger picture are the continued problems with the offense. We took an important step forward with the blocking and running game this week, but overall it was UGLY and we really took another step back in the passing game.
When I wrapped up WMU I sorted out some schematic issues that the Bucks are having as they transition into 2015 by evolving into more of a Power Vertical scheme from their historic Zone Power Spread….
I’ll look at the issues one at a time, and probably come back to this post after Ross does his write up.
It’s Hard to Stay Ahead of the Chains when You Go Vertical
OMG The bucks had 13 first downs on 17 possessions… for a startlingly bad 0.76 ratio.
Last year the Bucks averaged about 2 first down to every possession. as they assembled the #1 ranking for offensive drive control.
It’s hard to amplify how bad this is. It’s one thing to struggle but we had 17 tries. It’s like taking unlimited mulligans and still not being able to do anything but shank the ball.
Going into the game I forecast that we would build on the WMU game and ratchet up the Game Plan. Nope.
The only thing that saved our bacon was a halftime adjustment to GAP blocking, and we were able to overpower IU in the B/C gaps. Thank the almighty… FINALLY. Now onto the A Gap!
I know this is hard to shift blocking technique, and the coaches need to get some credit for preparing for this, so they could put it in… although I’m hard pressed to see why they didn’t make the switch going INTO the game after 5 straight games starting with Q2 of VaT... of opposing DL slanting hard on nearly every non-passing down. We can build on this moving forward.
The problem consistently moving the chains is inherent to the scheme and it takes determined careful game planning to overcome it.
The staff starting with Urban’s first play call is determined to run everything into the teeth of the D scheme and wonder why it wont’ work. In the process the QB looks like CRAP, and we become one dimensional. Some ideas to fix this below after a peek at personnel.
Personnel as easy as X, Y, Z ..........and H
I think a critical aspect of the problems with the O are that the move VERTICAL requires special talent at key positions we don’t have or are still developing, and doesn’t naturally use talent we have on hand at key positions that don’t factor into the scheme. Sorting this out has not been easy, and will be the cornerstone to the solution …. or continued frustration.
We HAVE phenomenal multifaceted skill at the Z and H. We don’t have a proven X, or a dynamic playmaker at Y. To make this problem more apparent the staff have continued to try and force the ball to the H with plays that are doomed to fail from the start.
Ross pointed out that the staff used the H effectively in the CFP, and he was spot on as usual. The problem is that that the teams we are playing now have plenty of film from the CFP and have taken the Jet Sweep away and aren’t using the backside DE(now lined up as a OLB) to stuff the inside running game. So when we run it… it gets stuffed and has no impact on constraining how the D are playing the inside run game.
At IU Braxton had a net +3 yards total offense, Curtis had 4 and ‘Tre had 23 all receiving. 5 touches for 30 yards with 21 on one play….I’d say the staff hasn’t cracked the code yet.
The glimmer of hope at IU was the use of Braxton inside on the “Percy Play”.…. this has some SERIOUS promise. He only netted about 12 yards, but there was more there and this play FORCES teams to keep the Safety and Mike backer home.
Mike Thomas would be Fred Biletnikoff if Fred were 6-3, stronger and faster. Mike is reliable, runs great routes, can finesse the sideline and make circus catches like Fred - who was the prototypical Z in this scheme - but he is MUCH stronger and can go deep and get YAC on inside routes. to say Mike is being underutilized right now is an understatement.
Jalin is having to play the X, but he is really a pure Flanker with incredibly smooth gear shifting ability. Between Jalin and Mike we have All American Z’s and only Jalin is close to getting the rock enough and of course he keeps fumbling it.
The staff used Nick well with 2 catches for 33 yards. This has to continue, and was a good sign for things to come.
If we had a pure X receiver in this rotation things would be very interesting indeed, and as it is there is plenty of firepower and it could be super effective with the talent we’ve been playing.
That said there are some other options on the roster. If they are close to being ready in practice, it’s hard to see how giving them a go in showtime could hurt..
Some Thoughts on Fixes
In the name of all that’s holy please put together a Complete Game plan to attack the other team’s defense and not force fit plays to the H Backs… I’ll be they’ll thank you later.
We need to get Cardale in Rhythm and establish Thomas off the Jump
Start with high percentage VERTICAL throws to Mike early and often. I’m talking at least 10 throws per game. These need to come on first down and CJ needs to hit them. Slants, hitches the 8 - 12 yard out… and Mike’s nifty double move from VaT. Thomas will start to occupy 2 DB’s and things will open up deeper downfield…. or they’ll sit in C3 and Mike will be my fantasy hero.
Mix in hitches to Nick and bubbles and skinny posts to Jalin, Braxton and Tre.. with throws out of the backfield to Zeke and Curtis. Once they are rolling the seams will open up and they can go downfield.
Part of the problem in the RZ is a total lack of offensive consistency. The O only had 2 drives all game. Most of the RZ touches were inherited from the D. We couldn’t move in the RZ b/c we couldn’t move period. Fix the rhythm in midfield and things will sort out in the RZ.
CJ needs to run some power early in the game as well. This hasn’t worked very well, but I don’t think he or the staff were committed. Preseason ends this weekend.
Last and certainly not before we get some momentum in the passing game…Gibson needs an audition. We have enough talent to make this scheme work as is, but he is the kind of athlete that fills the true role of the X = Forces the DC to adjust the back end when he’s on the field.
Take Back The A Gap
Teams have effectively removed the base play (inside zone) from the playbook. Whether they line up Odd or Even they are slanting and/or run blitzing on every non-passing down. This has made running inside = 3 yards (or less) and a cloud of dust.
To avoid wasting Zeke on this missionary slog, the staff has avoided the A gap altogether, which is another reason the H back is not effective on the edges...and yet another reason we aren’t converting in the RZ.
The move to Gap and maybe at some point pure Man blocking technique may be required but we have to stick our nose in and commit to pounding the ball inside (if we want to play VERTICAL or Power SPREAD IMO).
Ross recommended a few games ago to move Samuel back to RB..I’ll second that, but let him stay at HBack but use one of his roles as H as an inside RB.
Use Braxton within the Scheme
I’d love to see them run the Percy Plays. The inside counter they ran against IU could have been a home run… and it constrains the DL and inside run blitz if they can get it timed out right.
Net net he has to be used as a downfield receiving threat. The Wildcat and Jet Sweep aren’t working.
Last Thought
One reason Urban has the #1 objective for the offense as “Gain Two First Downs on Every Possession” has as much to do with distributing the ball as it does with field position.
None of the above ideas are possible if the chains don’t move.
Don’t forget that one of the most important players on the great VERTICAL Raider teams of the 70’s and 80’s was Ray Guy!
Again the D was outstanding save for a couple of issues in the 2nd half when IU went schoolyard. In a desperate attempt to overcome the Bucks superior talent and the loss of their starting QB and RB, the Hoosiers came inches away from all but ending the Bucks hope to fulfill the promise of this season.
Net net you can’t give an opponent with a credible offense 22 possessions and not expect some bad things to happen. They pretty much stuffed the first down runs when the #1 was in. I think they are all set right now. Knocking out Sudfield and Howard may not help the SoS but that won't matter in the larger picture.
What will matter in the larger picture are the continued problems with the offense. We took an important step forward with the blocking and running game this week, but overall it was UGLY and we really took another step back in the passing game.
When I wrapped up WMU I sorted out some schematic issues that the Bucks are having as they transition into 2015 by evolving into more of a Power Vertical scheme from their historic Zone Power Spread….
There are a couple of things to consider with the Power/Vertical scheme. 1) It’s very hard to stay ahead of the chains; 2) There is no clear role for the H Back; 3) You have to have a true X receiver, and this is not just a really fast dude but also one who can win 50/50 balls; and 4) You have to have a QB with an absolute cannon who is also accurate with the underneath and intermediate throws; 5) and the further you go down the vertical rabbit hole the QB has to be able to read complex pattern matching zone defenses.
I think Urb really wanted to go with both QB’s since JT can run the SPREAD like a champ, and this solves #1 and #2, and #5 . But it looks like he’s concluding that there is a reason rotating QB’s has never really worked in either college or pro’s. He may not have abandoned the idea altogether, but for now he and Ed/Tim are going to have to sort out #1, #2 and #5 with CJ at the helm.
I’ll look at the issues one at a time, and probably come back to this post after Ross does his write up.
It’s Hard to Stay Ahead of the Chains when You Go Vertical
OMG The bucks had 13 first downs on 17 possessions… for a startlingly bad 0.76 ratio.
Last year the Bucks averaged about 2 first down to every possession. as they assembled the #1 ranking for offensive drive control.
It’s hard to amplify how bad this is. It’s one thing to struggle but we had 17 tries. It’s like taking unlimited mulligans and still not being able to do anything but shank the ball.
Going into the game I forecast that we would build on the WMU game and ratchet up the Game Plan. Nope.
The only thing that saved our bacon was a halftime adjustment to GAP blocking, and we were able to overpower IU in the B/C gaps. Thank the almighty… FINALLY. Now onto the A Gap!
I know this is hard to shift blocking technique, and the coaches need to get some credit for preparing for this, so they could put it in… although I’m hard pressed to see why they didn’t make the switch going INTO the game after 5 straight games starting with Q2 of VaT... of opposing DL slanting hard on nearly every non-passing down. We can build on this moving forward.
The problem consistently moving the chains is inherent to the scheme and it takes determined careful game planning to overcome it.
The staff starting with Urban’s first play call is determined to run everything into the teeth of the D scheme and wonder why it wont’ work. In the process the QB looks like CRAP, and we become one dimensional. Some ideas to fix this below after a peek at personnel.
Personnel as easy as X, Y, Z ..........and H
I think a critical aspect of the problems with the O are that the move VERTICAL requires special talent at key positions we don’t have or are still developing, and doesn’t naturally use talent we have on hand at key positions that don’t factor into the scheme. Sorting this out has not been easy, and will be the cornerstone to the solution …. or continued frustration.
We HAVE phenomenal multifaceted skill at the Z and H. We don’t have a proven X, or a dynamic playmaker at Y. To make this problem more apparent the staff have continued to try and force the ball to the H with plays that are doomed to fail from the start.
Ross pointed out that the staff used the H effectively in the CFP, and he was spot on as usual. The problem is that that the teams we are playing now have plenty of film from the CFP and have taken the Jet Sweep away and aren’t using the backside DE(now lined up as a OLB) to stuff the inside running game. So when we run it… it gets stuffed and has no impact on constraining how the D are playing the inside run game.
At IU Braxton had a net +3 yards total offense, Curtis had 4 and ‘Tre had 23 all receiving. 5 touches for 30 yards with 21 on one play….I’d say the staff hasn’t cracked the code yet.
The glimmer of hope at IU was the use of Braxton inside on the “Percy Play”.…. this has some SERIOUS promise. He only netted about 12 yards, but there was more there and this play FORCES teams to keep the Safety and Mike backer home.
Mike Thomas would be Fred Biletnikoff if Fred were 6-3, stronger and faster. Mike is reliable, runs great routes, can finesse the sideline and make circus catches like Fred - who was the prototypical Z in this scheme - but he is MUCH stronger and can go deep and get YAC on inside routes. to say Mike is being underutilized right now is an understatement.
Jalin is having to play the X, but he is really a pure Flanker with incredibly smooth gear shifting ability. Between Jalin and Mike we have All American Z’s and only Jalin is close to getting the rock enough and of course he keeps fumbling it.
The staff used Nick well with 2 catches for 33 yards. This has to continue, and was a good sign for things to come.
If we had a pure X receiver in this rotation things would be very interesting indeed, and as it is there is plenty of firepower and it could be super effective with the talent we’ve been playing.
That said there are some other options on the roster. If they are close to being ready in practice, it’s hard to see how giving them a go in showtime could hurt..
Some Thoughts on Fixes
In the name of all that’s holy please put together a Complete Game plan to attack the other team’s defense and not force fit plays to the H Backs… I’ll be they’ll thank you later.
We need to get Cardale in Rhythm and establish Thomas off the Jump
Start with high percentage VERTICAL throws to Mike early and often. I’m talking at least 10 throws per game. These need to come on first down and CJ needs to hit them. Slants, hitches the 8 - 12 yard out… and Mike’s nifty double move from VaT. Thomas will start to occupy 2 DB’s and things will open up deeper downfield…. or they’ll sit in C3 and Mike will be my fantasy hero.
Mix in hitches to Nick and bubbles and skinny posts to Jalin, Braxton and Tre.. with throws out of the backfield to Zeke and Curtis. Once they are rolling the seams will open up and they can go downfield.
Part of the problem in the RZ is a total lack of offensive consistency. The O only had 2 drives all game. Most of the RZ touches were inherited from the D. We couldn’t move in the RZ b/c we couldn’t move period. Fix the rhythm in midfield and things will sort out in the RZ.
CJ needs to run some power early in the game as well. This hasn’t worked very well, but I don’t think he or the staff were committed. Preseason ends this weekend.
Last and certainly not before we get some momentum in the passing game…Gibson needs an audition. We have enough talent to make this scheme work as is, but he is the kind of athlete that fills the true role of the X = Forces the DC to adjust the back end when he’s on the field.
Take Back The A Gap
Teams have effectively removed the base play (inside zone) from the playbook. Whether they line up Odd or Even they are slanting and/or run blitzing on every non-passing down. This has made running inside = 3 yards (or less) and a cloud of dust.
To avoid wasting Zeke on this missionary slog, the staff has avoided the A gap altogether, which is another reason the H back is not effective on the edges...and yet another reason we aren’t converting in the RZ.
The move to Gap and maybe at some point pure Man blocking technique may be required but we have to stick our nose in and commit to pounding the ball inside (if we want to play VERTICAL or Power SPREAD IMO).
Ross recommended a few games ago to move Samuel back to RB..I’ll second that, but let him stay at HBack but use one of his roles as H as an inside RB.
Use Braxton within the Scheme
I’d love to see them run the Percy Plays. The inside counter they ran against IU could have been a home run… and it constrains the DL and inside run blitz if they can get it timed out right.
Net net he has to be used as a downfield receiving threat. The Wildcat and Jet Sweep aren’t working.
Last Thought
One reason Urban has the #1 objective for the offense as “Gain Two First Downs on Every Possession” has as much to do with distributing the ball as it does with field position.
None of the above ideas are possible if the chains don’t move.
Don’t forget that one of the most important players on the great VERTICAL Raider teams of the 70’s and 80’s was Ray Guy!
