I'm not a coach but....(playcalling)

[bozclone]

I looked at our offensive possessions in the second half. The first possession we scored on first down with the long bomb to Jones.

Then, we had the lead for the next 4 possessions. During those possessions, we ran the ball 9 of 25 plays (not including punts). All four possessions started with a run play. The first two possessions started with Hall running the ball twice to open the possession. The third possession started with Lang running the ball. The fourth possession started with Hall running the ball.

Once we gave up the lead 21-20, the next possession included 4 passes, a penalty and a punt. The last possession was a mix of passes and runs.

It doesn't seem that the staff stopped feeding Hall the rock in the second half as the OP suggests.

 

[CoachHines3]

Texas passing defense is abysmal. That is why we passed.

 

[ISUMojoMan]

I think intelligent fans should separate play calling from execution. If Texas has fewer people in the box and we call a run play that’s usually the right play call. If our offensive tackle misses a block and the run gets stopped for a 2 yard loss that’s execution. On defense if we call a blitz on 4th and long but one player hesitates in coverage on a running back, leaving that back wide open, that’s execution. We cover the back and the result is an incomplete pass or a sack.

This staff usually makes the correct calls at the right time but we don’t always execute. As we progress as a program we will get better and better at execution. When CMC started the idea was new to everyone. Now it’s part of the process and program and the players are able to perpetually improve the knowledge base. This year was better than last and hopefully next year is better than this. With slightly better execution we could be undefeated but with less execution we could be a 3 or 4 win team. CMC and staff are building a Mt. Union type program. The processs takes time, be patient and enjoy the journey.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

Line is too inconsistent. Plus **** this thread. Pathetic people that have never played at any kind of level over 2-A Iowa HS sports.

Woah your elitism is showing. Some of the best coaches in the NFL never played a down.

 

[Gunnerclone]

Woah your elitism is showing. Some of the best coaches in the NFL never played a down.

Wow it’s pretty cool that we have those coaches weighing in in this thread.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

Wow it’s pretty cool that we have those coaches weighing in in this thread.

Why would we need those losers? We've got you to keep us all in awe of anonymous exceptionalism.

 

[trevn]

Maybe it's just me getting older, but I'm just enjoying the ride. It's not always going to be perfect, but damn the last 3 years has been a lot of fun. For the life of me I can't figure out why some people are so negative though. I had someone a row or two behind me at the game that "called" every negative play we had before it happened. When you predict a negative play 100% of the time you're going to be right sometimes. What's the point of it though? And he was mysteriously quiet after the kick went through the uprights.

I'm a glass half full kind of guy I guess. You know, rainbows, unicorns, world peace, that kind of stuff.

In related news, I hate you all.

 

[PSYclone22]

Texas passing defense is abysmal. That is why we passed.

Texas secondary is hot garbage.

Purdy: 7.4 yds per attempt
Hall: 4.2 yds per rush

I still think we should have passed more.

 

[CoachHines3]

Texas secondary is hot garbage.

Purdy: 7.4 yds per attempt
Hall: 4.2 yds per rush

I still think we should have passed more.

purdy shoulda put up 500 on them

 

[VeloClone]

So the last 2+ mins to run out the clock he had 3 carries in obvious run plays that got shut down...and other than that had 7 carries for 21 yards. One of which was a busted play for -5. So 6 carries for 26 is still averaging 4+ per carry. The reason us "fools complain" is because we are at the top of the league in offense and defense and are just over .500 due to questionable coaching calls at critical points in the game. If texas didnt bail us out with an offside, narveson misses and we are 5-5.

I'm not sure why people assume Narveson would have still missed if the whistle hadn't blown. Kicking is all about concentration and when a whistle blows before a kick you are coached to follow through to avoid injury but your concentration is definitely blown. We heard the same thing about a missed kick against Iowa a few years ago when Kirk called a time out right before the snap. But the play is dead and there is a whistle blown right in the middle of the procedure so, yeah a kicker is often going to miss those.

 

[besserheimerphat]

Most of the reason that Hall was getting stuffed was that Texas was blitzing their linebackers on almost every play and ISU kept running right into it, instead of going wide with a quick pitch. No matter what, Texas adjusted to what ISU was doing in the run game, so passing was a good solution. I am more concerned about the pass plays in short yardage situations. Just go heavy and run.

In general I agree that we seem to run only inside the tackles for some reason, with very few pitches or jet sweeps that try to quickly get the edge. That said, there are still scenarios where a pitch during a blitz aren't necessarily better. You could end up pitching to the blitz side, resulting in the defense coming hard at the RB while the ball is hanging in the air. My preferred blitz beater is screens (though that's not perfect either). Bottom line is penetration always makes it difficult to run, and if they're going to send 5+ penetration is much more likely.

Specifically in 4th and short situations, I like our big TEs and receivers in man coverage.

 

[VeloClone]

I also wasn't a huge fan of that playcalling sequence, but I'd characterize it a bit differently. On third down, Purdy rolled out and the plan was that either he could pass it to Soehner or run for the first down. Once Purdy was getting chased down, he should have either tried to get it to Soehner with a catchable ball or just chucked it at his feet. There was no reason for him to take the sack there. The staff obviously knew they were going to go for it on fourth down if it got there, and I'm guessing they were planning on a run if it had still been 4th and 1.

Soehner didn't help Purdy on that play any. He stuck close to the line keeping an extra defender there. If he drifts down field his defender has to make a choice to either stay with him or help corral Purdy. When Soehner stayed that close to the line Purdy didn't have a chance to make either play.

 

[Cloneon]

The only complaint I had (not really a complaint) was giving up a TD right before half. It took Texas 3 plays to get inside our 30. Secondary coverage was the obvious issue here as Texas receivers should never be as open as they were when the defense drops 8 into coverage.

I was a little concerned during a stretch in the 4th Qtr when Texas was bringing pressure every play and we struggled to sustain a drives (subsequently when Texas' offense regained momentum and took the lead). Ended the game strong with the defense forcing a 3-and-out and the offense converting on a 9 play drive.

In looking at the replay, those were outstanding throws to a deep sideout with an under route to the same side, thus freezing the corner. When trying to avoid the homerun the safety sits center deep. Credit goes to TX QB.

 

[jcyclonee]

Why do we do this after every win?

We're perfectionists?

 

[Jerms]

What? I see people calmly discussing and asking questions about playcalling and closing people out. Why can’t we do that, even after a win?

Anyone that watched that game knows we should have won by 10+. Instead it took a come from behind last second FG. Mostly because of a lot of the sequences people are discussing here.

Most people on here (MOST) are smart enough to be able to enjoy the win AND talk about where we could and should improve.

The annoying part of is the seemingly large number of people who apparently aren't smart enough. Had a random fan tell me in the parking lot after the game to not get too excited because that was an ugly game. They then walked away shaking their head.

Yeah, how dare I, as a fan, enjoy a win over Texas, which hasn't happened very often historically, just because the entire game didn't go how we wanted it to. I mean don't the coaches know that they should only call plays that get 10+ yards on offense and stuff every single play that Texas runs! What is wrong with these coaches???!?!

 

[jdcyclone19]

So the last 2+ mins to run out the clock he had 3 carries in obvious run plays that got shut down...and other than that had 7 carries for 21 yards. One of which was a busted play for -5. So 6 carries for 26 is still averaging 4+ per carry. The reason us "fools complain" is because we are at the top of the league in offense and defense and are just over .500 due to questionable coaching calls at critical points in the game. If texas didnt bail us out with an offside, narveson misses and we are 5-5.

Narveson did miss but Wirtel did snap it early (or late?) to get the penalty. So we will never know if he would have actually made it with a normal timed snap.

 

[RonBurgundy]

That was a screw up by Lewis, he let the running back go right by him, when Rose blitzed. I don't think that Lewis even blitzed, just kind of got caught in no mans land.

Yea, we had both Rose and Lewis coming free. The RB made a great decision (or the OC called a perfect play) to not stay in to block, but ran right past Lewis into the open middle. Had he stayed in, he would have only been able to get one.

 

[besserheimerphat]

The annoying part of is the seemingly large number of people who apparently aren't smart enough. Had a random fan tell me in the parking lot after the game to not get too excited because that was an ugly game. They then walked away shaking their head.

Yeah, how dare I, as a fan, enjoy a win over Texas, which hasn't happened very often historically, just because the entire game didn't go how we wanted it to. I mean don't the coaches know that they should only call plays that get 10+ yards on offense and stuff every single play that Texas runs! What is wrong with these coaches???!?!

What I demand to know is why the coaches continually refuse to call the touchdown play? Just run the touchdown play every play on offense, and the turnover play every play on defense! I mean I'm not even a coach!

 

[RonBurgundy]

I'd love it if everyone in the stadium knew that ISU was going to run it with 3 TEs on a 3rd and short, and they picked it up.

Yep. Can be very demoralizing to the opposition to be overly physical. Similar to when Snyder had Collin Klein, and you just knew they were going to run wildcat/pistol almost every damn play, but it couldn't be stopped.

I hope Re'al Mitchell has kept his spirits up. I am surprised we do not see him occasionally.

 

[MeowingCows]

Texas passing defense is abysmal. That is why we passed.

And -- unfortunately for us -- this was not Purdy's most accurate game of the season by any means. It was enough to get by, but he's had better days. His passer rating, completion percentage and yards per pass attempt were all down compared to his season averages.