General ?'s about our offense

R

Ronco

Well-Known Member
Do we run play action on 3rd and short?
Do we ever do a toss sweep? Robinson has demonstrated decent hands and patience.
We'll do an occasional pass to the FB, why not a few carries a game?
Why not more passes to WRs in the center of the field?
Is Stanzi a capable runner? Designed QB runs only seem to be sneaks.
Are we equipped to run the read option out of the gun?
Hayden used to do a full house backfield in short yardage situations. Would this offer us anything?

I see little or none of the above and can't help but to think they wouldn't bring diversity to our offense without adding risk or complexity.
 
Ronco said:
1. Do we run play action on 3rd and short?
2. Do we ever do a toss sweep? Robinson has demonstrated decent hands and patience.
3. We'll do an occasional pass to the FB, why not a few carries a game?
4. Why not more passes to WRs in the center of the field?
5. Is Stanzi a capable runner? Designed QB runs only seem to be sneaks.
6. Are we equipped to run the read option out of the gun?
7. Hayden used to do a full house backfield in short yardage situations. Would this offer us anything?
Click to expand...

I numbered them to make it easier...

1. We don't do it much on 3rd and short, but I think we've gone play-action on 3rd and goal a few times. My memory could be crap though...

2. Last toss sweep I remember was touchdown #4 for Shonn Greene against Wisconsin in 2008. Again, my memory could be terrible here, but even that play was gameplanned and only put in because the offensive staff saw something on tape.

3. Not sure, but if Rogers maintains the starting FB job after Morse graduates, I see no reason why it wouldn't at least be an option.

4. This is an area where I don't think Stanzi is very strong. His best work is done to the sidelines, both short and deep. Prior to this year, I really think he struggled on full-field read concepts, and I think some of the playcalling prevented exacerbation of those struggles. It is easier to get the ball to the TE in the middle of the field, which is why a TE can be a QB's best friend.

5. Capable, eh. Mobile within the pocket and moving the pocket? Definitely...I don't think we want to see Rick out there running the ball too often. I think he can flash it when he has to (see 2010 Orange Bowl), but we should leave the running to Robinson and Coker for now. :)

6. IMO, not really. I think we ran zone out of the gun against PSU last year, and Ricky really surprised the defense by keeping the ball and gained about 11 yards. However, making a habit out of that play allows defenses to plan for it, and the surprise element probably wouldn't last long. See answer #5...running the zone read isn't the strength of Rick's game.

7. The only problem I have with a full house (and similarly, the personnel grouping that Iowa uses on 3rd and short, which is usually 2-3 TE's, a FB, a RB, and 1 WR) is that it really condenses the box and brings a lot of bodies (defenders and otherwise) into a very compact area. I'd rather see us run our regular stuff, or keep a normal personnel grouping in the game, but motion into something similar to a full house, or true "Big" formation.
 
What is with all of the threads questioning things about the offense? I must have watched four different games than everyone else.

The games i watched, our offense put up 35,35,27,45?

:confused:
 
I'm no expert, but...
yes I believe we do run a little play action 3rd and short.
Not sure about a sweep.
Why give it to the FB when ARob runs downhill anyway? Just losing a blocker.
Passes in the center of the field get picked off.
Stanzi is capable of keeping a play alive or running in open field, he is not a shifty runner. For that reason there will be no option with him either.
Full house backfield, where do you want to use that? On the goal line when we can throw the fade to McNutt?
 
Nice explanation 2679. I appreciate the thoughtful and concise explanation of each point.
 
Id say no running for Stanzi. Lets let the other running QBs in the big ten do their thing and see how long they can stay healthy.
 
hawkfan2679 said:
I numbered them to make it easier...

1. We don't do it much on 3rd and short, but I think we've gone play-action on 3rd and goal a few times. My memory could be crap though...

2. Last toss sweep I remember was touchdown #4 for Shonn Greene against Wisconsin in 2008. Again, my memory could be terrible here, but even that play was gameplanned and only put in because the offensive staff saw something on tape.

3. Not sure, but if Rogers maintains the starting FB job after Morse graduates, I see no reason why it wouldn't at least be an option.

4. This is an area where I don't think Stanzi is very strong. His best work is done to the sidelines, both short and deep. Prior to this year, I really think he struggled on full-field read concepts, and I think some of the playcalling prevented exacerbation of those struggles. It is easier to get the ball to the TE in the middle of the field, which is why a TE can be a QB's best friend.

5. Capable, eh. Mobile within the pocket and moving the pocket? Definitely...I don't think we want to see Rick out there running the ball too often. I think he can flash it when he has to (see 2010 Orange Bowl), but we should leave the running to Robinson and Coker for now. :)

6. IMO, not really. I think we ran zone out of the gun against PSU last year, and Ricky really surprised the defense by keeping the ball and gained about 11 yards. However, making a habit out of that play allows defenses to plan for it, and the surprise element probably wouldn't last long. See answer #5...running the zone read isn't the strength of Rick's game.

7. The only problem I have with a full house (and similarly, the personnel grouping that Iowa uses on 3rd and short, which is usually 2-3 TE's, a FB, a RB, and 1 WR) is that it really condenses the box and brings a lot of bodies (defenders and otherwise) into a very compact area. I'd rather see us run our regular stuff, or keep a normal personnel grouping in the game, but motion into something similar to a full house, or true "Big" formation.
Click to expand...

That "zone read" you referred to was just improvisation on Rick's part. A-Rob fully expected to get that ball, and Rick just yanked it out of A-Rob's gut.
 
tm3308 said:
That "zone read" you referred to was just improvisation on Rick's part. A-Rob fully expected to get that ball, and Rick just yanked it out of A-Rob's gut.
Click to expand...

Right. It may not have been a called zone read, but that's ultimately what it ended up being. Not one person in the stadium (not PSU's defense, especially) thought Rick would keep the ball. That's why it worked. But that surprise element wanes the more you use the play, which is why I don't think we're equipped to run zone read.
 
Ronco said:
Do we run play action on 3rd and short?
Do we ever do a toss sweep? Robinson has demonstrated decent hands and patience.
We'll do an occasional pass to the FB, why not a few carries a game?
Why not more passes to WRs in the center of the field?
Is Stanzi a capable runner? Designed QB runs only seem to be sneaks.
Are we equipped to run the read option out of the gun?
Hayden used to do a full house backfield in short yardage situations. Would this offer us anything?

I see little or none of the above and can't help but to think they wouldn't bring diversity to our offense without adding risk or complexity.
Click to expand...

This sounds like BASIC IOWA FOOTBALL Questions and would have been a good sub-thread in the Coker redshirt thread.
 
Ronco said:
Do we run play action on 3rd and short?
Do we ever do a toss sweep? Robinson has demonstrated decent hands and patience.
We'll do an occasional pass to the FB, why not a few carries a game?
Why not more passes to WRs in the center of the field?
Is Stanzi a capable runner? Designed QB runs only seem to be sneaks.
Are we equipped to run the read option out of the gun?
Hayden used to do a full house backfield in short yardage situations. Would this offer us anything?

I see little or none of the above and can't help but to think they wouldn't bring diversity to our offense without adding risk or complexity.
Click to expand...

Are you a Penn St. defensive coordinator?

Why don't you just WATCH and answer them for yourself.
 
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