Red Zone Offense

Mertz has the highest completion rate in the SEC (over 77% 84-108) . He has over 950 yards passing... This is with having the 3rd and 12th leading rusher in the SEC in his backfield (4th leading team rushing attack). Receivers are getting open and they are catching the ball. I'm of the opinion that the scheme is OK, however OK means a little tweaking.

I think the red-zone issues which showed against Charlotte have to do with play selection. Rushing and passes behind the line don't always work. I believe 5 wide occasionally on 1st and other downs with quick passes, when in the red-zone, would show a different element and may open up the opposing D so some of his other standard plays can be successful. i know we have 5 wide in the scheme.

Looking at some of our first down red zone plays, we very rarely throw the ball in the end zone.. We should.

 

Here's another proposal. Stop being stuck in 1995.

For those that can't seem to get the basics straight we do have an OC. What some seem to want is a different OC, one that would call the plays instead of Napier. I think there's an argument to be made for that, but nobody here is making it. Going to need more than vague references to "analytics" or "feel." What specifically do you think is not being done well right now, what would a different guy change, and who is that different guy that runs the concepts for which you advocate?

 

Agree with this. I'm guessing most who have concerns have them because this has been an ongoing thing and we haven't seen changes yet like throwing in the endzone or spread the field. We seem to go away from what gets us into scoring position.

 

I think it was Gator breakdown yesterday who was discussing that Mertz’ numbers without 200 yards rushing are meaningless. I.e., the O is designed around the run, and if that is stopped we aren’t going to be effective. No explosive plays or stretching the field.

 

Scared money don’t make money is gone. Analytics have taken over. You either follow analytics or you don’t. Napes said it himself in the press conference after the game that the last 4th and 1 at the Charlotte 6 yard line was all analytics and he wanted to go for it. Analytics said 15 point lead is better than 12 at that point in the game. Some perspective, here are 4 of our 4th down distance and location where analytics said kick the FG: 4th & 1 (2nd drive) at the Charlotte 8, 4th and 3 from the Charlotte 5, 4th and 3 from the Charlotte 17 and the final one 4th and 1 from the Charlotte 6. Napes went with analytics. If we go for both 4th and 1’s and score td’s nobody is really second guessing the red zone offense. Not sure where I fall with the world of analytics because I haven’t studied the pros and cons. Maybe we should analyze the analytics . The first & last 4th and 1’s he should have gone for it. Our D was handling Charlotte, we were at home and the game was never in question. I wonder if Napes will ever override analytics.

Also, can we not just throw Douglas 50/50 balls inside the 15 till it doesn’t work??? He and Mertz proved against Utah they can make that play!!!

 

We seem to fail a lot on 4th and 1, so maybe analytics were correct? For the next 10 minutes at least.

 

We definitely don’t throw it into the end zone much, hardly at all in fact. Most of the TD catches are caught outside and then run in. It’s a product of the red zone deficiencies or one of the reasons for the red zone deficiencies? Maybe both, chicken or the egg.. Hope we get out of this funk and start throwing some strikes in the end zone, Sat would be nice.

 

I’ve not watched film, but my guess is we were not winning our one on ones at the line of scrimmage. No scheme can operate efficiently when that happens on a consistent basis. We’re not where we need to be on OL as far as depth so best we can hope for is a couple of quarters a game of good OL play. Just my opinion.

You’d like to think our backup guys could get some movement on Charlotte but nowadays these teams can bring in some talent via portal. They have quite a few guys that were originally recruited to some major fbs schools. It also doesn’t help when we seem to always have to drive the length of the field.

 

I think that Billy is too conservative, wants to insure there is no TO. So he initially intends to run the ball inside the 20 but when he dials up a pass, it is designed to be in a corner or behind LOS to insure there is no pick. It originates in his system. Few possessions means each one is of high value, thus he is accepting of FGs. SOS was 180 degrees different in his quote, we dont kick FGs.

 

To answer a questioned posed
I’ll give a good example of feel for the flow of the game.
In the Utah game we ran the ball successfully two plays in a row.. then on second down and fairly short we roll
Out in naked boot leg and try to throw across the field praying a WR is open .
Why? Play action pass would have been fine.. why the trickery dazzle dazzle when we are in a dog fight.
Against UTenn, we ran the ball, ran the bal, short simple pass, ran the ball. The offense worked but left no margin for mistakes ( think about how many 3rd down conversions we had, how many amazing catches on the sideline we had in that first half.)
I want an OC that has a good passing scheme that will complement the run. Yes, our WR have been open .. against poor competition .Yes, Mertz has a high completion percentage.. with almost no long balls to stretch the field.
I’d love ( and think most around here would also live) Tulsa’s OC. I’d also take the Washington OC, NC OC, etc…
I like Billy. I just don’t like the fact that our offense has zero room for mistakes or off days. Very similar to the offense run by another short term coach that was here for a cup of coffee before being fired..

 

Analytics is just %'s across situations. Going with analytics could be choosing a 50.1% chance of success option. It's even possible by failing you have now changed the analytics to suggest choosing the other decision after the fact. Coin flip analytics IDGAF, but if you are in a situation where it starts getting towards 2 out of 3, go with it.

 

It's nice to see others have noticed what I brought up in the post game thread that we don't throw into the endzone. 1 for 1 for a TD on throws into the endzone. BN's quote of "scared money don't make money" has taken a comical turn because his offense looks like it is terrified when it gets into the redzone. Terrified of failure. Good thing our D coordinator seems to not be scared of anything otherwise we would be in trouble.

 

Another film breakdown and goes through the steps on where the redzone plays broke down.

 

This is BS. You have no data to even verify the decisions he is making is or isn't what the analytics call for so there for you can't possibly say he doesn't know how to use them. You're just saying shit just to say shit

 

Me too, didn't he at the time set clemson's season points record as their OC , I think in what '09? The dude knows football let's see what he can cook up.

 

mertz on finebaum in a few minutes

 

“Dabo would change the play calls on the field and undermine Napiers plan….it got heated after a game, Dabo got in his face and Napier dropped him . I’ve heard 3 different people from Chatsworth tell me that. His mother has even told people the story lol”