Ohio State was the underdog coming into the game, but they came out on top 49-28. Let’s NAG It!
Two Plays Affected by Numbers
Numbers – #1
This play ends up coming back to the short side of the field, but Ohio State has trips to the wide side and I would say that Ohio State actually has better numbers to the field at the snap. Clemson looks to be in a 4×4 3 Deep Zone with 5.5 players on each side of the ball, which gives Ohio State the advantage to the field/trips side. But how do the Numbers change during the play to cause the ball to be thrown away from that initial advantage? Take a look…
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The short side outside linebacker #18 thinks that there is nobody who is going to come to his zone, which is the flat area on the short side. He wants to find somebody to defend so he drifts to the center of the field. Did the offensive staff see this earlier in the game or on film, because if #18 stays home this is a dead play. The QB is surely thinking #88 is his main receiver as he really sells the roll-out to the left. The TE #88 does an awesome job selling that he might only be an edge blocker for this roll-out play. Note that the inside linebacker #47 does see the TE release and points where the TE is at 2:52, but it is too late. We typically only see this type of ‘fake-block’ and ‘throw-back’ play down by the goal-line because of man coverage, but it sure works great here! The point here is that we want to make sure the Numbers are typically in favor or at least even at the time of the snap, but we must also recognize that the Numbers can change as the play develops. As this ball is thrown the Numbers on the short side of the field provide a wide open receiver #88 for Ohio State as too many defenders have rolled to the wide side.
Numbers – #2
There are many ways to try to gain a Numbers advantage at the snap. A very common one is motion across the formation and this is what Ohio State gets here…
Clemson’s defensive secondary did not adjust with the motion so now Ohio State has trips to the wide side (Good Grass Also!) with a free safety and two guys to the wide side. On the short side there are three defenders guarding one receiver basically. I think the QB threw this ball late as he was wide open early. This is 4 verticals with the outside receivers allowed to ‘Fly and Die’ on the edges while the two inside receivers are getting to their landmarks which are the hashes to 1 yard outside the hashes. ‘Fly and Die’ means that if you are even or beyond the defender keep going, if not then stop and work back down your route path. The receiver who caught the ball actually worked his way back into the extra coverage on the short side since the ball was thrown late, but there was so much space the ball got in there anyway. At this point Clemson lost their middle linebacker #47 to spearing so there are probably some adjustments with motion that are not going to be made as well for the rest of the game.
Two Plays Affected by Angles
Angles – #1
There are Angles that can help to give a cue to the defensive back as to what routes might be run. This play starts as a roll-out to the right. What routes could the corner rule out as this play starts?
We typically do not see a lot of roll-out plays with the arm strength of the Quarterbacks today. I played in an eye-back, sprint out offense in college and one route that we would not throw out of that was a fade pattern. With the Angle and throwing position it is kind of possible to throw that going right but it is near impossible to throw that across your body going left with accuracy unless you get going downhill. So the corner here ends up looking up thinking the fade ball was coming, but he was tricked, and the comeback led to a touchdown. The fade ball was simply not an option from the very start.
Angles – #2
All offenses and defenses have the same fundamentals that must be taught. The option offenses have to teach their wing backs how to arc and to block a player filling in the alley. Watch what happens when #88 for Clemson tries to block #47 from Ohio State…..
The Angle of this block by #88 is wrong by the TE going to his right. He must stay ‘Wider and Flatter for Longer’. He starts on the 19 yard-line and he should stay on that 19 yard-line until he reaches the outside shoulder of that defender. He has already crossed the 20 yard-line by his 3rd step and that is too early. This is the same exact block that triple-option offense teams like Navy/Army/Air Force teach from day one in camp. This is an arc block and the blocker should not turn up-field until he reaches the outside shoulder of the defender. If the defender comes up-field too fast, and the outside shoulder cannot be reached, then the blocker should run that defender to the sideline and create a lane to cut up into.
Two Plays Affected by Grass
Grass – #1
The is a horizontal way of looking at Grass when we look at running/throwing to the short side or the wide side. But there is also a Vertical element to Grass where we should throw over the top if the defenders are all in the box or we should throw/run underneath if everyone is playing off. This is a scenario where there are simply not enough players in the box…
The is a vertical layer of open grass here. It is 2nd and 4 so the offense has a lot of options. Ohio State has two backs in the backfield and Clemson is lined up in a 4×1 defensive front. So by using the quarterback we are playing 8 on 5 in the box so we need to run the ball. There are two other defensive players rolling down to try to get to a 4×4 type of look but they are late and then the gaps cannot be filled in time. This results in an explosive play.
Grass – #2
This is about the Grass that a corner must protect. A corner on defense is almost always an edge player. This means that nobody can get outside of him when he is trying to help make a tackle. Let’s look at what happens here…
The corner attacks the inside half of the receiver on the hitch route, which gives up the outside. What is a receiver taught to do if he catches a hitch? Spin to the outside and stiff arm the defensive back to get extra yards. A defensive back can never get caught inside and must force plays into the field. He has a safety waiting right there to help him to the inside. On defense you want to know where your help is so you can restrict the amount of Grass that is available to the offensive player. Notice the beautiful ball placement on the outside number of the receiver to make it easy for the receiver to spin outside.
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