When you toss it into the endzone for the game winner.

[BigRedPowerWagon]

Theres really only one guy with the magic hands you throw to.

 

[HeyBurke]

I mean, I'm all for passing to Westy in clutch time, but if Hovey doesn't run into the defender, we at least get a first down and possibly a touchdown on that play.

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

I mean, I'm all for passing to Westy in clutch time, but if Hovey doesn't run into the defender, we at least get a first down and possibly a touchdown on that play.

This. And I have to think the DBs were keying in on Westy pretty heavily during that final series.

[lo country]

Great call had it worked. Again with Westy and KB it probably goes. How much work did Hovey and DPE (IIRC) get in this play prior to this game? Goes back to play calling or lack there of. Was that the best play? Did we not have anyone else healthy who practiced more who could go? Just throwing it out there.

[ZRod]

 

I mean, I'm all for passing to Westy in clutch time, but if Hovey doesn't run into the defender, we at least get a first down and possibly a touchdown on that play.

 

This. And I have to think the DBs were keying in on Westy pretty heavily during that final series.

But I don't think Tommy ever looked his way on the last 2 or 3 plays. Could have been play calling, but why would you totally ignore the one guy you can trust to bring in the impossible. Not to mention Jordan was talking Tommy up like mad on the timeout.

[NebraskaHarry]

Here's what I would have done on that last play (If I was the OC). Four wide receivers. Trips to the left. Pierson El to the right. Middle receiver (Westy) to the left runs an out and up. Outside receiver crosses over the top of Westy and runs route toward middle of end zone (Need to pull any safety help over the top away from Westy with this route). Inside receiver runs comeback/out (7-10 yards). Pierson El to right, runs same route as Westy except on right side, of course. This is where Armstrong needs to bring any NFL QB in him out. He needs to pump fake the out part of Westy's route (Peyton Manning style). Westy is the first progression and go from there. Armstrong throws a better deepish ball. So those are the routes we're gonna run.

 

Probably wouldn't have worked, but that's probably what my play would have been.

[Warrior10]

Anyone happen to have a shot of the the field on that last play? Like one that shows the full coverage/routes and if we would have caught it.

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

 

 

I mean, I'm all for passing to Westy in clutch time, but if Hovey doesn't run into the defender, we at least get a first down and possibly a touchdown on that play.

This. And I have to think the DBs were keying in on Westy pretty heavily during that final series.

But I don't think Tommy ever looked his way on the last 2 or 3 plays. Could have been play calling, but why would you totally ignore the one guy you can trust to bring in the impossible. Not to mention Jordan was talking Tommy up like mad on the timeout.

 

Can't argue with that. Tommy not going thru his progressions is one of the biggest flaws he has.

[zoogs]

Anyone happen to have a shot of the the field on that last play? Like one that shows the full coverage/routes and if we would have caught it.

Game replay on ESPN3 (no cable subscription required, anyone can watch this)

 

1. Michigan State has quarters? cover 3, with 2 zones vs 2 receivers on each side of the field. Pierson-El (inside top) is going to peel off the sidelines and take the shallow DB with him, giving Hovey (outside top) the clear to run a post well inside of the deep DB.

 

2. Tommy sees the progression and takes it. Unfortunately, with the benefit of stills we can see the developing collision between Hovey and Pierson-El. Hovey appears to cross in rather than run a post into the open area. Looks like a poor read of the coverage by him.

 

3. Tommy releases the ball and we can see the defenders reacting. Note that he's about to get crunched on either side by Michigan State linemen. There wasn't time to scan the field.

 

Takeaways

I don't think anybody would have been able to diagnose the impending collision as the play was unfolding. Even if one could have, based on the symmetrical development of the play, there was no way of knowing they had something on the other side of the field. It's not a case of "Oh, OK, the defense is taking this away, so I've got an open guy *here*, automatic throw."

 

Westerkamp is going to get some room on his out route here, similar to what Hovey should have had. To make the connection, Tommy would have had to turn his body and really zip it in there to the far sideline. Not sure there was time for that. If that had happened, that would have been big time, as in Gruden QB Camp 2016 material big time.

 

I think it's fair to wonder why Coach Fisher didn't have Alonzo Moore in on this play. His absence, with the benefit of hindsight, proved to be crucial.

[NUinID]

Moore wasn't in the game because he had just run two routes of 50+ yards each while hustling back to the line in between.

[Atbone95]

Hindsight is 20/20, but he could have hit Tariq Allen for 10 yards too.

[BigRedBuster]

 

Anyone happen to have a shot of the the field on that last play? Like one that shows the full coverage/routes and if we would have caught it.

Game replay on ESPN3 (no cable subscription required, anyone can watch this)

 

1. Michigan State has (quarters?) coverage with an extra safety deep, with 2 guys in zones vs 2 receivers on each side of the field. Pierson-El (inside top) is going to peel off the sidelines and take the shallow DB with him, giving Hovey (outside top) the clear to run a post well inside of the deep DB.

 

2. Tommy sees the progression and takes it. Unfortunately, with the benefit of stills we can see the developing collision between Hovey and Pierson-El. Hovey appears to cross in rather than run a post into the open area. Looks like a poor read of the coverage by him.

 

3. Tommy releases the ball and we can see the defenders reacting. Note that he's about to get crunched on either side by Michigan State linemen. There wasn't time to scan the field.

 

Takeaways

I don't think anybody would have been able to diagnose the impending collision as the play was unfolding. Even if one could have, based on the symmetrical development of the play, there was no way of knowing they had something on the other side of the field. It's not a case of "Oh, OK, the defense is taking this away, so I've got an open guy *here*, automatic throw."

 

Westerkamp is going to get some room on his out route here, similar to what Hovey should have had. To make the connection, Tommy would have had to turn his body and really zip it in there to the far sideline. Not sure there was time for that. If that had happened, that would have been big time, as in Gruden QB Camp 2016 material big time.

 

I think it's fair to wonder why Coach Fisher didn't have Alonzo Moore in on this play. His absence, with the benefit of hindsight, proved to be crucial.

 

Great illustration. It's pretty dang hard for a QB to anticipate that his receivers are going to run into each other. Even the announcers said the ball was probably thrown on the money if the receivers do their job.

[Bigred_inSD]

Damn you Monte Harrison. Stupid baseball

[Scratchtown]

Damn you Monte Harrison. Stupid baseball

Why? He would have probably redshirted anyway.

[cg_8]

Tommy made a great read on the play.

 

Here's what I see on this.

 

The "quarters" is their complicated version of Cover 4.

 

But they aren't in quarters on this play. They are blitzing with 6 guys. In this case, they play a Cover 3. They don't like m2m on their blitz'.

 

Honestly, a perfect play to call, because the safety is deep, and since it's a zone, all Tommy has to do is make a coverage read. The other safety is too far back to make a play (despite the fact that he made the pick) so if the corner moves with DPE, the throw goes to Hovey, which is exactly what happened, but one or the other, or both guys broke their route way too early or too late. Hard to tell which, but Tommy had it. It was there.

 

Hovey and DPE have some talent and would probably catch anything coming their way as well as making a play after the catch. But their timing was WAY off. Bell would have nailed it. Bell has the awareness and timing down. Timing wasn't there, and that just comes down to plain old inexperience. I mentioned on a previous post that the play was very "west coast offense-ish" of us, considering the play was dependent and Tommy's throw was dependent on guys running their routes at the right moments for it to work. They just didn't, it's a shame too. I honestly thought that we were going to do it (win).