Second-half drives:
#1
Ameer run 3 yards (penalty, holding, 7 yards)
Ameer run 2 yards
Tommy run 1 yard
Tommy pass 6 yards
#2
Ameer run 3 yards
Ameer run loss of 2 yards
Tommy pass incomplete
#3
Tommy run 34 yards
Ameer run 1 yard
Ameer run 8 yards
Tommy run 4 yards & TD (penalty, tripping, 15 yards)
Tommy run 5 yards
#4
Ameer run loss of -2 yards
Tommy pass 7 yards
Tommy pass incomplete
I find nothing wrong with any of this playcalling and can understand why we started to go to the run less. Ameer carried for 7 out of 15 plays and gained 13 yards (6 carries for 10 yards not counting the penalty). Still think we could've stuck to the ground game maybe but McNeese was stuffing it, and that's honestly completely embarrassing.
Our next drive was my least favorite of the game:
#5 (11 minutes left in 4th)
Tommy pass incomplete
Newby run 4 yards
Tommy pass incomplete
To me, it seemed there was no need to throw on 1st & 10 yet, but I can see why we might have thought this was a better way to test McNeese than trying to run against their loaded box again. Wish we'd have tried a zone read or something, some other way to get to 3rd & short and keep the clock burning. The 3rd & 6 play must have broken down pretty quickly, as Tommy launched one deep. Maybe there was an underneath option he should've taken but didn't.
The next two Nebraska drives occurred at the 4-minute and 1-minute marks in the 4th quarter. No problems there. On the first, Tommy had a 41 yard pass to Jordan Westerkamp negated and we punted, and on the second, we scored the winning TD.
The real reason Ameer didn't get enough touches in that second half? We ran 24 flippin' plays compared to McNeese St's 44.
Credit the defense for making a stop after the illegal formation penalty took off a TD at the end, but McNeese had two drives that went 12-83 and 14-88 and combined to take over 11 minutes off the clock. And they held all Nebraska RBs to 8 carries for 17 yards (2.12 ypc). Thank goodness we had a QB that managed to do something in spite of all that.
Great post Zoogies. +1.
As for your beef with the last drive-- I get it.
But I guess, looking back now, what more could we expect? Beck's entire resume before us was from KU as the passing game coordinator. It makes total sense that he leans pass when he really starts to feel the pressure in a tight game. But that doesn't mean it doesn't p#ss me off any less.
It's his friggin job for crying out loud. He's making $700,000 this year. His job is making our offense go. But given that we have a legit Hypesman candidate at RB and how off Tommy was passing the ball, he can't come up with one or two new ways, new looks to run the ball with Ameer or Tommy? No misdirection, counter, QB powers with a lead blocker, even our staple zone read with Tommy keeping?
Someone email this webpage to Tim Beck:
http://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2014/06/36173/tom-herman-coaching-clinic-part-3-quarterback-run-game
You're telling me he makes $700K a year and he can't figure out how to implement some of that with Tommy? Sure he's not the runner Braxton Miller is. Very few are. But he's certainly no slouch-- he's only a notch or two below.
Someone nailed it this morning on the radio-- Tommy was off in his decision making Saturday. He'd get loose on some zone read for huge gains, but made poor reads on others (and in the passing game). So, don't ask so damn much from the kid. He's 20 years old for crying out loud. If he's having that rough of a day, take the confusion out of things! Stop asking him to make reads and decisions every play and give him one of those plays about with Cross or (gasp) a fullback lead blocking for him. Turn him from a decision maker into an athlete-- let him just go focus on making a play and not thinking so damn much.
Overcomplication of the playbook is now a serious trend on BOTH sides of the ball. And it has been for a while.
Are counters, fullback dives, sweeps, or SOMETHING other than what we showed Saturday really THAT hard to install into our playbook have another option to utilize in the running game?
What does this all mean? Tim Beck is pretty mediocre at his job. He's a pass first guy, he'll always be a pass first guy. He just doesn't seem to be the type of guy who will be happy running all over an opponent even if it is working beautifully. He's always thinking ahead to how he can use this or that to set up big plays in the passing game. And there's just so much wrong with that.
