Red zone woes

O

old65horn

1,000+ Posts
Sparks play calling has been discussed on this board and on BON.

However, I think our red zone failures might also be a breakdown in our OL schemes and/or execution. It appears to me that we are allowing too much penetration by the opponents DL and we are getting zero push from our OL.
 
The screen pass to Brooks where he stepped out of bounds was a great play. Moving the pocket on pass plays is another option. And then run Brooks. Need more mix of plays.
 
Old65horn
Agree I think ol allowing too much penetration is the number one problem. I also think using Murphy as a lead blocker is not working possibly due to the penetration and him getting to hole too slow. We need a good lead blocker to hit the hole fast and blow it up. I would love Catalon type but bigger in that role that will will blow people up. I would also consider using Red as tailback in short yardage. Obviously brooks is a total stud but I think red may be a better inside short yardage runner. I have also always been a believer on first down near the goal line in play action. Many teams sell out on the run. Then if it doesn’t Work you have 3 more downs and now the defense has to respect the pass which sets up the run a little better. More than anything the ol needs some attitude.

Whether you kick a fg or not depends on situation and score in game. I think to kick a fg to go up by 3 scores with a quarter left is the right call. But if you kick the fg and go up by 3 scores and you get down there again you go for the td. If you are in a high scoring game and defense not playing well you would lean towards going for td. It’s really a situational decision.

Obviously we are having problems in short yardage situations. Maybe sark knew kicking fg would give us a 3 score lead and still chose to go for td as it’s an area we need work on and an area our offense needs confidence in and an area that cost us in the ou game. Maybe his thought process was we are up by 15 and defense was playing well and if we don’t make it they take over on their own 1. Obviously the fg is the safer play but this is an area that is hurting us and needs to get resolved.

Same situation with Maalik. He was struggling a little but you have to keep calling his number as he needs experience and confidence to lead us in future games like this weekend against a more difficult opponent. We have to have balance in our offense to be successful against good teams.
 
mmsnake said:
Old65horn
Agree I think ol allowing too much penetration is the number one problem. I also think using Murphy as a lead blocker is not working possibly due to the penetration and him getting to hole too slow. We need a good lead blocker to hit the hole fast and blow it up. I would love Catalon type but bigger in that role that will will blow people up. I would also consider using Red as tailback in short yardage. Obviously brooks is a total stud but I think red may be a better inside short yardage runner. I have also always been a believer on first down near the goal line in play action. Many teams sell out on the run. Then if it doesn’t Work you have 3 more downs and now the defense has to respect the pass which sets up the run a little better. More than anything the ol needs some attitude.

Whether you kick a fg or not depends on situation and score in game. I think to kick a fg to go up by 3 scores with a quarter left is the right call. But if you kick the fg and go up by 3 scores and you get down there again you go for the td. If you are in a high scoring game and defense not playing well you would lean towards going for td. It’s really a situational decision.

Obviously we are having problems in short yardage situations. Maybe sark knew kicking fg would give us a 3 score lead and still chose to go for td as it’s an area we need work on and an area our offense needs confidence in and an area that cost us in the ou game. Maybe his thought process was we are up by 15 and defense was playing well and if we don’t make it they take over on their own 1. Obviously the fg is the safer play but this is an area that is hurting us and needs to get resolved.

Same situation with Maalik. He was struggling a little but you have to keep calling his number as he needs experience and confidence to lead us in future games like this weekend against a more difficult opponent. We have to have balance in our offense to be successful against good teams.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your analysis and addressing my question which was not should we have kicked a FG.
 
I addressed your subject matter, you didn’t have a question. I addressed the red zone failures and also whether you kick a fg or go for the touchdown which is related to the red zone subject matter. I gave my opinion related to that subject and expanded on it.
 
I recall hoping that either UT scored on third and short or loosing 5 yards, thus encouraging Steven to kick a FG.
 
Maybe if the team renamed it the “Orange Zone” and came up with some clever slogan about it to put on t shirts. Now that would Shirley solve our problems.

:bevo::bevo::bevo:
 
mmsnake said:
I addressed your subject matter, you didn’t have a question. I addressed the red zone failures and also whether you kick a fg or go for the touchdown which is related to the red zone subject matter. I gave my opinion related to that subject and expanded on it.
Click to expand...
Yes you did. The FG part was meant for previous comments on the thread. Sorry if my reply was poorly worded.
 
Red actually has done really well on the 4th and shorts. Hasn't been stopped once that I can remember. Scored the TD from the 1 last week. He got 2 carries from the 5 down to the 2, and if we were going to run on 4th and goal from the 2, just leave him in the game. Really think with 2 more attempts he puts it in the end zone. Dude just has a knack to me.
 
wadster said:
Red actually has done really well on the 4th and shorts. Hasn't been stopped once that I can remember. Scored the TD from the 1 last week. He got 2 carries from the 5 down to the 2, and if we were going to run on 4th and goal from the 2, just leave him in the game. Really think with 2 more attempts he puts it in the end zone. Dude just has a knack to me.
Click to expand...
On his last wildcat play, he bobbled the ball which cut the play short. They went with the pass to Sanders after that.
 
Brian Robison of LHN said after the game that it’s a matter of attitude. You have to want it more than they do. Robison: We did, against Bama. We didn’t yesterday or against OU.

I would also contend that with the possible exception of DJ Campbell, we don’t have the size and strength in the middle of the line. Not over-powering run blockers. So perhaps run off tackle.

Also, consider this: If we have the entire offense bunched together, the defense is also tightly compressed. That’s quite a few humans in a very small space. Even tougher given our relative weakness (to move people) at center and guard.

I would consider three approaches, in no particular order.

Split at least one WR out each side. This will force the D to pull at least two players from the tight bunch.

Consider sneaking Murphy. The dude is simply huge. But, Jake Majors is not really a people mover.

On first down, fake a dive to the back, and either keep it, or throw it to a WR or TE. Later, if they’re not sure that a power run is coming, they won’t be selling out as much.
 
Murphy is a very strong armed QB. He can throw the quick slants effectively. We have some really quick receivers. Colt didn't have much of a problem in the red zone. Add more quick slants. We did a few against BYU, and they were mostly effective.
 
Sweat and Byron Murphy are DEFENSIVE linemen. For a reason. Byron is also an accomplished receiver! With five OL and five DL, closely spaced, and one or both lead blocking, thats two and a half tons of people jammed into about a five yard space. There simply isnt anywhere left open. Other teams (notably Bama) runs slightly wider spacing with the big DL converts pushing instead of leading. It would seem worth a try.
 
If you have the chance to go up three scores late in the third quarter or early in the fourth, you kick the damn field goal.
 
I also don't think they have a ton of trust in Auburn. Apparently, FGs are only for outside the 15 yl and on 4th-and-9+ or something like that on the laminated card. Analytics are driving some interesting decisions in college football lately.

All it really comes down to in the RZ are matchups. The 1st-and-goal from the 1 that Whitt created for us against Oklahoma mentally effed up the staff's process. Should we create those matchups, or just push? Let's push. With big defensive players. Or not. Or try to roll out with Sanders but only behind the LoS so he'll have to go forward for a TD. But not play action just a designed roll out. Let's ignore Helm and Davis even though they'll be wide open. Or Brooks can just carry it. He can push through 2400 pounds of humans, right?

All the aforementioned scenario does is ignore every matchup. That goes back to film and taking advantage of an opponent's weakness.
 
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