Wake @ Duke - 3:30 PM ESPN2/ACCN

[IAppreciateIt]

Dude, you're way overthinking it. We've explained it. The Wildcat sells out to the OL. A jumbo package has an element of uncertainty that helps our OL.

i agree that all else equal, i would rather have a traditional jumbo set than wildcat. but we have the wildcat and we don’t have the jumbo.

so if you don’t like the wildcat based on its results, it is extremely probably you wouldn’t like the jumbo set either, since they are incredibly similar.

next year, it would be cool if we ditch the wildcat and install some other short yardage set. that said, i do think there is more cost / effort to install that than we think, it’s pretty different from everything else we run, have to practice it each week, etc. but we definitely need to do something different.

 

[ChrisL68]

I mean state has an elite Rush defense and we've been effective running the ball in this game

 

[PhDeac]

next year, it would be cool if we ditch the wildcat and install some other short yardage set.

So we're in agreement.

 

[ChrisL68]

And you can always throw out of a short yardage set maybe do something to get the defense off balance roll hartman out and give run pass option.

 

[Rafi]

Yeah, that second statement isn’t what was stated. I said if we decide to run in situations like that - passing by itself isn’t overthinking things which is why the Wildcat was/is always confusing to me. Are we really still talking about the possible efficacy of the Wildcat?

Also, this isn’t just about the Duke game yesterday…this has been an issue for as long as I can remember while being competitive under DC. Our O-Line hasn’t been bad that entire time, so again, that theory doesn’t hold water. So why then have we had such a hard time in critical moments of the game when we need a yard or two to either score or extend a drive? Is our OL really the main issue? Honest question because I don’t know at this point. It’s baffling.

I think our issue is not having Sam as a running threat. He had 11 rushing touchdowns last year compared to 1 this year, and not surprising, we were much better in short yardage situations last year compared to this year.

 

[IAppreciateIt]

So we're in agreement.

i think given our short yardage / OL issues and that weren’t going to go for it on fourth down, the pass on 3rd and 2 was a perfectly reasonable play.

i hope we are better at it next year, and scheme is should be part of the consideration set.

i think we message board geniuses always underestimate the complexity of running a team of college kids, and too often compare it to playing video games.

 

[SkyDivingDeacon]

Which is a big problem with coaching. Clawson needed to expand his four down territory to account for how bad the defense has been. This was especially true yesterday with a 3rd string punter. It wasn’t going to be a field position battle. Mora averaged 42.6 yards all season. Dennis averaged 30 with a long of 36. The offense needed to be way more aggressive.

Bingo. The offense has been considerably better than the defense for a long time now and yet, we always seem to put the game on the line with our defense and not our offense. I really don’t get it any more and it’s pretty damn frustrating to watch happen over and over again.

This also points to a deeper philosophical coaching decision to defer and get the ball to start the 3rd quarter. Why in the world do we defer and have our defense come out first when our offense is our strength? There’s a reason we have lost many games in November where we give up points early and often and find ourselves digging out of a deep hole for the rest of the game.

 

[SkyDivingDeacon]

i think given our short yardage / OL issues and that weren’t going to go for it on fourth down, the pass on 3rd and 2 was a perfectly reasonable play.

i hope we are better at it next year, and scheme is should be part of the consideration set.

The type of pass on 3rd and 2 wasn’t perfectly reasonable, though. We’re dropping back in that situation and running the risk of getting sacked, the clock stopping, throwing an interception, dropping a pass, etc. If we throw there it should be on an underneath route, a slant, a roll out…sheesh, even a designed QB run there is a better option than dropping back and throwing a bomb to AT on the outside in tight coverage.

 

[SkyDivingDeacon]

I think our issue is not having Sam as a running threat. He had 11 rushing touchdowns last year compared to 1 this year, and not surprising, we were much better in short yardage situations last year compared to this year.

There’s a lot of truth to this as well. I’m surprised he didn’t run as much this year as he has in prior years, but I don’t think that was due to play calling. Sam forced a ton of throws this year instead of tucking the ball and picking up decent yardage.

 

[thatguy2016]

We ran a jumbo-ish set on the previous third down, one minute prior, with a TE in the backfield and I believe 6 OL

ETA confirmed we had 6 OL plus 2 TE on the previous third down which Turner converted.

 

[thatguy2016]

Also Clawson said the man was wide open and we missed him. Dave….by the time the man was open, Sam was running for his life.

 

[morrison2951]

Also Clawson said the man was wide open and we missed him. Dave….by the time the man was open, Sam was running for his life.

It was a brain fart of a play call when you have a battering ram RB like Cooley....

Oh, and Clawson now owes me a new TV remote because of it.

 

[SkyDivingDeacon]

Also Clawson said the man was wide open and we missed him. Dave….by the time the man was open, Sam was running for his life.

This, too. Can’t say the OL sucks when they have to hold blocks for a long, long time in our offense. If the defense sells out, we have to have an underneath pass available or some other option than Sam holding onto the ball for as long as possible so his receivers can finally shake loose from coverage 30 yards downfield. There’s a reason why Sam has underthrown his receivers and there’s a reason why we have lost when defenses have consistently attacked the mesh point - we need to have more creativity on offense than just relying on the slow mesh to throw off defenses.

 

[PhDeac]

i think given our short yardage / OL issues and that weren’t going to go for it on fourth down, the pass on 3rd and 2 was a perfectly reasonable play.

i hope we are better at it next year, and scheme is should be part of the consideration set.

i think we message board geniuses always underestimate the complexity of running a team of college kids, and too often compare it to playing video games.

I run a classroom of college kids who barely read the syllabus, so I'm impressed that coaches can get 11 players to execute complex plays correctly. But even accounting for that, is that much more complex for coaches to make the right decisions than not?

Running on 3rd and 2 treats it as four down territory and gives them two shots to get 2 yards, ideally with Cooley. Holding onto the ball even in Wake territory was a smarter move than a short punt to gain 20-30 yards of field position and putting in on the defense to win the game.

 

[morrison2951]

I run a classroom of college kids who barely read the syllabus, so I'm impressed that coaches can get 11 players to execute complex plays correctly. But even accounting for that, is that much more complex for coaches to make the right decisions than not?

Running on 3rd and 2 treats it as four down territory and gives them two shots to get 2 yards, ideally with Cooley. Holding onto the ball even in Wake territory was a smarter move than a short punt to gain 20-30 yards of field position and putting in on the defense to win the game.

This. See my comment above and I'll wait patiently for Clawson to buy me a new TV remote.

 

[deacdixieboy]

There’s a lot of truth to this as well. I’m surprised he didn’t run as much this year as he has in prior years, but I don’t think that was due to play calling. Sam forced a ton of throws this year instead of tucking the ball and picking up decent yardage.

Yep. This was Sam decision making. Not playcalling.

 

[cheeseheads12]

With how bad the defense was it’s hard to understand that decision on 3rd and 2. Had 2 plays to get 2 yards…

Just inexcusable.

 

[IAppreciateIt]

I run a classroom of college kids who barely read the syllabus, so I'm impressed that coaches can get 11 players to execute complex plays correctly. But even accounting for that, is that much more complex for coaches to make the right decisions than not?

Running on 3rd and 2 treats it as four down territory and gives them two shots to get 2 yards, ideally with Cooley. Holding onto the ball even in Wake territory was a smarter move than a short punt to gain 20-30 yards of field position and putting in on the defense to win the game.

i totally agree about the four down territory. i think clawson is pretty good at making data-driven decisions relative to most coaches (unc game was a good example), but obviously still not where i would prefer.

i think treating it as 4 down territory (given our defense and punter) was by far the most questionable coaching decision. and i think going heavy “analytics” is a good inefficiency i wish we would exploit.

re: complexity, i was referring to adding new plays and sets. i don’t know the details, but i know we have limited practice time and players already have a ton to memorize. our scheme and lack of penalties are huge drivers of our success, i think the simplicity and focus is a huge contributor to that.

 

[BacktoBack]

I mentioned this somewhere yesterday. Not treating 3rd and 2 as four down territory sealed the loss. When the offense is clearly the best part of your team and your defense stinks, you don't hope your D can hold a decent /good Offense. The numbers aren't in your favor. As we have seen. I think Dave doesn't know how to coach with such an awful defense. Just can't make the usual conservative calls. They won't work

 

[IAppreciateIt]

Also Clawson said the man was wide open and we missed him. Dave….by the time the man was open, Sam was running for his life.

this isn’t true, i just watched the play. not sure what his read was but both morin (left, quick out) and whiteheart (middle curl) were open. looked like greene was available too on a deeper out. sam panicked and rolled out to the right (towards @perry). the pocket was getting a bit tight but there was no imminent danger.