Offensive Line Spread vs Defensive Stunts

[NWADawg]

I was thinking about the wider gaps we will be taking on our offensive line. I haven't studied how Leach has handled people shooting the gaps but I assume he has an answer or all of his past quarterbacks would be crippled.

I do see a couple advantages too spreading the gaps other than space to move without stepping on each other:

* If a down d-lineman wants to shuffle around to try to confuse or disrupt the o-line, he is gonna have to shift a mighty long ways to change assignments for o-line blocking.

* Wrap around blitzes (what I call them) such as a outside linebacker going all the way around to the other side of the nose guard will take a lot longer. He may only have to travel 8-10 feet down the line before turning up against tight gaps but could be 12-15 feet with the gaps we'll be taking.

For the coach's or former college players, does the wide gaps not simplify knowing what your job is on a given play? I assume that most on here played high school football but it is a different beast than college level.

 

[WutheringDawg]

I have no actual knowledge to back this up but it seems like the answer is to get the ball out of the QBs hands asap.

 

[NWADawg]

Well I was hoping to get some insightful input about actual sports stuff. I would have gotten plenty of feedback if I asked if the line gaps were wide enough to count for social distancing.

 

[horshack.sixpack]

They are not, in most cases.***

 

[messageboardsuperhero]

The OL splits thing is interesting to me. I think Leach is going to make that work pretty well.

I’ve seen a lot of “the wide splits aren’t going to work against elite DL” talk. That may be true, but when have we NOT struggled to block elite defensive lines? Everyone and every scheme struggles, that’s why elite defensive linemen are at such a premium.

The same people saying Leach’s offense won’t work against the great Bama and LSU defenses conveniently leave out the fact that the best offensive coach in school history didn’t score against them either. Mullen went 2-16 against Bama and LSU. Mullen still can’t score on Georgia now, when he has Florida talent.

Leach’s tenure will be judged on how his offenses perform against OM, Kentucky, Auburn, A&M, etc. Not on how they perform against LSU and Bama.

 

[horshack.sixpack]

I sure hope we get better results against LSU/Bama. I'm expecting his willingness to take risks to give us something to cheer about against elites. I'm certain that we will groan at times, as well. I'm looking forward to the potential of having an aggressive offensive game plan and not just showing up, trying to keep it close and not make mistakes and hope it works out.

 

[Not Really a Doc]

Sir, please post your sports talk somewhere else. Don't you know this is a political board now?

 

[NWADawg]

I sure hope we get better results against LSU/Bama. I'm expecting his willingness to take risks to give us something to cheer about against elites. I'm certain that we will groan at times, as well. I'm looking forward to the potential of having an aggressive offensive game plan and not just showing up, trying to keep it close and not make mistakes and hope it works out.

The "not make mistakes" approach will never work for us against LSU/Bama. We will get called for mistakes whether we make them or not.

I think it will be interesting to see Leach's reaction after a blatant blue blood call. I think it is a fine to publicly insult the refs so I hope our athletic department has money in the budget for pirate tirades.

 

[Walter White.sixpack]

[FONT="]Great chat between @RadioWyatt and @HailStateFB offensive line coach @CoachMiller_ today.Watch: https://t.co/69lrkmnQXi— Brandon Langlois (@bmlanglois) May 21, 2020 [/FONT]​

 

[Pilgrimdawg]

The "not make mistakes" approach will never work for us against LSU/Bama. We will get called for mistakes whether we make them or not.

I think it will be interesting to see Leach's reaction after a blatant blue blood call. I think it is a fine to publicly insult the refs so I hope our athletic department has money in the budget for pirate tirades.

Bingo. This is the winner.

 

[msstate7]

The "not make mistakes" approach will never work for us against LSU/Bama. We will get called for mistakes whether we make them or not.

I think it will be interesting to see Leach's reaction after a blatant blue blood call. I think it is a fine to publicly insult the refs so I hope our athletic department has money in the budget for pirate tirades.

I agree risk taking gives us our only shot
Vs bama. Risk taking will give underdogs a better vs us at times too though.

Vs LSU though, I thought we played them well Mullen's last 4 years. We were 2-2, and the losses by 3 and 2.

 

[Megiddo]

Leach always emphasizes the crucial role of the offensive line in the Air Raid. He will have a much larger number o-linemen on the team than normal.

That said, Washington State was routinely one of the least sacked in terms of percentage in the country. Last year the Wazzu QB was sacked 2.91% of the time, #4 in the nation, the year before was 1.77% of the time, #1. For comparison last year MSU was #115 in the country with 9.52% of the time the QB getting sacked.

https://www.teamrankings.com/college-football/stat/qb-sacked-pct

 

[NWADawg]

Leach always emphasizes the crucial role of the offensive line in the Air Raid. He will have a much larger number o-linemen on the team than normal.

That said, Washington State was routinely one of the least sacked in terms of percentage in the country. Last year the Wazzu QB was sacked 2.91% of the time, #4 in the nation, the year before was 1.77% of the time, #1. For comparison last year MSU was #115 in the country with 9.52% of the time the QB getting sacked.

https://www.teamrankings.com/college-football/stat/qb-sacked-pct

If a QB gets tackled for loss on a designed QB run, are they counting that as a sack?

 

[Megiddo]

If a QB gets tackled for loss on a designed QB run, are they counting that as a sack?

I do believe that the QB must have the intent to throw in order for a sack to be awarded, but I'll admit to not knowing the specifics involved.

It's also the offensive line's job to block for a QB run play, so that doesn't really change anything.

 

[WrapItDog]

Leach always emphasizes the crucial role of the offensive line in the Air Raid. He will have a much larger number o-linemen on the team than normal.

Leach's offensive line on his 2008 Texas Tech team was Kang Sized and one of the best in the country.

Texas Tech's gigantic offensive line as follows:
LT: 6'7” 314 Reed Sr.
LG: 6'6” 335 Vasquez Sr.
C: 6'4” 306 Byrnes Jr.
RG: 6'7” 360 Carter Jr.
RT: 6'7” 358 Johnson Sr. (or) 6'6” 329 Winn Jr.

OFFENSE LINE: The Red Raiders will challenge Oklahoma this season for the best offensive line in college football. Don't worry, you read that statement correctly, and remember I'm not an overzealous fan.
I'll give you some facts to back up my reasoning: Tech returns all five offensive linemen from a unit that gave up only 16 sacks on 713 passing attempts. As much as the Red Raiders air out the football this is a very impressive statistic, even for a professional line. Since these are not professionals, this position group is coached very well.
Texas Tech's offensive line has been deemed by the press as the largest offensive line in the nation. The line averages a gigantic 6'6" and 334 pounds.

 

[garddog]

Wide splits, that was the system we learned back 30 years ago. Athletic guys that can move excel because of several reasons. First, it gives the OT's better angles against speed rushers. Second, it makes interior DL commit to a lane. It also allows for better x blocks. As coach said in the video, space to operate without tripping on each other.

It is a form of zone blocking on rush plays. If you come up to the line, and the OLB and DE are lined up outside of the LOT and your running right, they are basically out of the play already. All the LOT has to do is get between them and the runner and he effectively blocks 2 guys, which brings the other side into 1 on 1 blocking.

I have never understood why any coach would run no splits or tight splits in a spread offense. The whole point is to spread everything out.

Without a chalkboard these are some basics.