Tommy Armstrong's Passing Game Breakdown vs. Fresno

[ColoradoHusk]

By the way, nice job breaking it down CH.

No problem. It's pretty easy to do with only 10-11 pass plays called.

[Count 'Bility]

 

 

With only 10 official passing attempts by Armstrong vs. Fresno State, there seems to be a lot of concern about Langsdorf being afraid to use Tommy in the passing game, and Tommy continuing to be poor in the passing game. I am not saying either of those opinions are wrong, but I did want to go back through the game and look at all the passing attempts by Tommy and put in my point of view. Now, I am not a QB coach or offensive coordinator, and I am not using the All-22 view which gives coaches the best view on seeing the game. But, I think this breakdown is helpful.

 

Excellent analysis. I pretty much agree with you.

 

But I would point out that the concern over Langsdorf being afraid of Tommy isn't really an opinion. It's pretty much what Langsdorf said himself. So perhaps Langsdorf is looking into things a little deeper as to what else could or should have been going on on some of those plays.

 

 

Eh, Tommy can win you games and lose you games. As said by many.

 

His footwork and quick decision to leave the pocket quite often is probably why he (Langsdorf) his handcuffed.

 

The second one happens when it's not always necessary (light pressure from outside, just step up into the pocket), but either way it eliminates the routes and then it becomes backyard ball.

 

As for his footwork....How often does he square up and stride forward into his throws? It's kind of hit or miss, right?. I mean, when he does stride properly he throws it pretty well. When he doesn't, he's taking little steps left, backwards, even forwards - during his throwing motion. :/ He's off balanced and that affects accuracy.

 

But he's our guy and it's his 4th year as a starter, so all we can do is hope it all works out this season and doesn't bite the team.

 

This is where I'm at. i think. If we lost 4,5,6 games with the gameplan we had Saturday, I could live with that. i really could. Doesnt mean I'd be happy with it. But id feel like the coaches did things that appeared to be to our strengths, or away from our lack of strength.

[GBRFAN]

 

 

 

I saw 3 bad passes:

Deep one to Westy wasn't single coverage, there was safety help that met the ball there. Sure he was under pressure but that doesn't mean you lob it up. In close games, those hurt.

Pass to Newby over middle. Gotta hit that one. Had middle of field completely cleared out and our RB one vs one with an overmatched LB. That's a 10 yard+ easy one.Pass to Ozigbo. Sure was a nice 5 yard gain, but he waited till Ozigbo was about to out of bounds to throw it. He had clear space if he gets it to him sooner we get 10 yards. Not a huge mistake but a little play your 5th year Sr QB has to make.

Thought both deep balls to Moore we're thrown exceptional, DB just made a heckuva play on 1st. Both sideline routes to Moore and Morgan were perfect. Agree on Carter route, TA did the right thing. Screen was done from beginning.

Only watched the game live, haven't had a chance to watch tape, but the bold is the pass where Tommy threw a bullet into Ozigbo's facemask, yes? That was such a wasted opportunity.

 

Now that I think about it, wasn't the pass to Newby also rifled in there too hard? A little more touch on those passes and we have much bigger gains.

The Newby pass was rifled, but it's hard to fault that one. He had defenders closing in on both sides. Maybe it could have been a bit softer, but too much air and it's probably getting picked.

 

It's something most NFL guys would have caught, but a low percentage ball in college.

 

I know I made this point in my original post, but that pass play to Newby on the angle route was doomed to fail from the very start. Riley should have called timeout to make sure the o-line was settled and the team was 100% ready for a key 3rd and 2.

 

If we used a timeout in situations like this we would be out of timeout midway thru the 1st and 4th quarters. Would love to hear the fanbase reaction if we got down to the 10 yard line needing a field goal to win and the clock ran out because we used them because a player was rushed onto the field with 15 to go on the play clock.

[RedDenver]

I saw 3 bad passes:

 

Deep one to Westy wasn't single coverage, there was safety help that met the ball there. Sure he was under pressure but that doesn't mean you lob it up. In close games, those hurt.

 

Pass to Newby over middle. Gotta hit that one. Had middle of field completely cleared out and our RB one vs one with an overmatched LB. That's a 10 yard+ easy one.

 

Pass to Ozigbo. Sure was a nice 5 yard gain, but he waited till Ozigbo was about to out of bounds to throw it. He had clear space if he gets it to him sooner we get 10 yards. Not a huge mistake but a little play your 5th year Sr QB has to make.

 

 

Thought both deep balls to Moore we're thrown exceptional, DB just made a heckuva play on 1st. Both sideline routes to Moore and Morgan were perfect. Agree on Carter route, TA did the right thing. Screen was done from beginning.

No way that safety can get to the ball, he's still running to the spot when the ball arrives. He can make a tackle if Westy catches that ball but that's about it.

[BigRedBuster]

Is the complete game up on line somewhere yet?

[ColoradoHusk]

 

 

 

 

I saw 3 bad passes:

Deep one to Westy wasn't single coverage, there was safety help that met the ball there. Sure he was under pressure but that doesn't mean you lob it up. In close games, those hurt.

Pass to Newby over middle. Gotta hit that one. Had middle of field completely cleared out and our RB one vs one with an overmatched LB. That's a 10 yard+ easy one.Pass to Ozigbo. Sure was a nice 5 yard gain, but he waited till Ozigbo was about to out of bounds to throw it. He had clear space if he gets it to him sooner we get 10 yards. Not a huge mistake but a little play your 5th year Sr QB has to make.

Thought both deep balls to Moore we're thrown exceptional, DB just made a heckuva play on 1st. Both sideline routes to Moore and Morgan were perfect. Agree on Carter route, TA did the right thing. Screen was done from beginning.

Only watched the game live, haven't had a chance to watch tape, but the bold is the pass where Tommy threw a bullet into Ozigbo's facemask, yes? That was such a wasted opportunity.

 

Now that I think about it, wasn't the pass to Newby also rifled in there too hard? A little more touch on those passes and we have much bigger gains.

The Newby pass was rifled, but it's hard to fault that one. He had defenders closing in on both sides. Maybe it could have been a bit softer, but too much air and it's probably getting picked.

 

It's something most NFL guys would have caught, but a low percentage ball in college.

 

I know I made this point in my original post, but that pass play to Newby on the angle route was doomed to fail from the very start. Riley should have called timeout to make sure the o-line was settled and the team was 100% ready for a key 3rd and 2.

 

If we used a timeout in situations like this we would be out of timeout midway thru the 1st and 4th quarters. Would love to hear the fanbase reaction if we got down to the 10 yard line needing a field goal to win and the clock ran out because we used them because a player was rushed onto the field with 15 to go on the play clock.

 

It's ok to use a timeout in key situations during the game, and not save them for the end of each half.

[Mavric]

 

 

 

I saw 3 bad passes:

Deep one to Westy wasn't single coverage, there was safety help that met the ball there. Sure he was under pressure but that doesn't mean you lob it up. In close games, those hurt.

Pass to Newby over middle. Gotta hit that one. Had middle of field completely cleared out and our RB one vs one with an overmatched LB. That's a 10 yard+ easy one.Pass to Ozigbo. Sure was a nice 5 yard gain, but he waited till Ozigbo was about to out of bounds to throw it. He had clear space if he gets it to him sooner we get 10 yards. Not a huge mistake but a little play your 5th year Sr QB has to make.

Thought both deep balls to Moore we're thrown exceptional, DB just made a heckuva play on 1st. Both sideline routes to Moore and Morgan were perfect. Agree on Carter route, TA did the right thing. Screen was done from beginning.

Only watched the game live, haven't had a chance to watch tape, but the bold is the pass where Tommy threw a bullet into Ozigbo's facemask, yes? That was such a wasted opportunity.

 

Now that I think about it, wasn't the pass to Newby also rifled in there too hard? A little more touch on those passes and we have much bigger gains.

The Newby pass was rifled, but it's hard to fault that one. He had defenders closing in on both sides. Maybe it could have been a bit softer, but too much air and it's probably getting picked.

 

It's something most NFL guys would have caught, but a low percentage ball in college.

 

I know I made this point in my original post, but that pass play to Newby on the angle route was doomed to fail from the very start. Riley should have called timeout to make sure the o-line was settled and the team was 100% ready for a key 3rd and 2.

 

No it wasn't. The play was there to be had with a decent throw.

 

It was a mess getting going and we probably should have called a timeout but there was nothing about the play itself that was doomed to failure. TA's footwork doomed it to failure but that had nothing to do with the circus going on before the snap.

[ColoradoHusk]

 

 

 

 

I saw 3 bad passes:

Deep one to Westy wasn't single coverage, there was safety help that met the ball there. Sure he was under pressure but that doesn't mean you lob it up. In close games, those hurt.

Pass to Newby over middle. Gotta hit that one. Had middle of field completely cleared out and our RB one vs one with an overmatched LB. That's a 10 yard+ easy one.Pass to Ozigbo. Sure was a nice 5 yard gain, but he waited till Ozigbo was about to out of bounds to throw it. He had clear space if he gets it to him sooner we get 10 yards. Not a huge mistake but a little play your 5th year Sr QB has to make.

Thought both deep balls to Moore we're thrown exceptional, DB just made a heckuva play on 1st. Both sideline routes to Moore and Morgan were perfect. Agree on Carter route, TA did the right thing. Screen was done from beginning.

Only watched the game live, haven't had a chance to watch tape, but the bold is the pass where Tommy threw a bullet into Ozigbo's facemask, yes? That was such a wasted opportunity.

 

Now that I think about it, wasn't the pass to Newby also rifled in there too hard? A little more touch on those passes and we have much bigger gains.

The Newby pass was rifled, but it's hard to fault that one. He had defenders closing in on both sides. Maybe it could have been a bit softer, but too much air and it's probably getting picked.

 

It's something most NFL guys would have caught, but a low percentage ball in college.

 

I know I made this point in my original post, but that pass play to Newby on the angle route was doomed to fail from the very start. Riley should have called timeout to make sure the o-line was settled and the team was 100% ready for a key 3rd and 2.

 

No it wasn't. The play was there to be had with a decent throw.

 

It was a mess getting going and we probably should have called a timeout but there was nothing about the play itself that was doomed to failure. TA's footwork doomed it to failure but that had nothing to do with the circus going on before the snap.

 

Yes, Tommy had poor footwork and a bad throw, and was ultimately what caused the play to fail. I am just trying to bring up the fact that all the confusion and chaos going on had a big impact on it. Before the snap, I was thinking "oh man, WTF is going on". Yes, the play could have worked as it was run, but it was a poorly executed play all around.

[Warrior10]

 

 

 

 

 

 

I saw 3 bad passes:

Deep one to Westy wasn't single coverage, there was safety help that met the ball there. Sure he was under pressure but that doesn't mean you lob it up. In close games, those hurt.

Pass to Newby over middle. Gotta hit that one. Had middle of field completely cleared out and our RB one vs one with an overmatched LB. That's a 10 yard+ easy one.Pass to Ozigbo. Sure was a nice 5 yard gain, but he waited till Ozigbo was about to out of bounds to throw it. He had clear space if he gets it to him sooner we get 10 yards. Not a huge mistake but a little play your 5th year Sr QB has to make.

Thought both deep balls to Moore we're thrown exceptional, DB just made a heckuva play on 1st. Both sideline routes to Moore and Morgan were perfect. Agree on Carter route, TA did the right thing. Screen was done from beginning.

Only watched the game live, haven't had a chance to watch tape, but the bold is the pass where Tommy threw a bullet into Ozigbo's facemask, yes? That was such a wasted opportunity.

 

Now that I think about it, wasn't the pass to Newby also rifled in there too hard? A little more touch on those passes and we have much bigger gains.

The Newby pass was rifled, but it's hard to fault that one. He had defenders closing in on both sides. Maybe it could have been a bit softer, but too much air and it's probably getting picked.

 

It's something most NFL guys would have caught, but a low percentage ball in college.

I know I made this point in my original post, but that pass play to Newby on the angle route was doomed to fail from the very start. Riley should have called timeout to make sure the o-line was settled and the team was 100% ready for a key 3rd and 2.

No it wasn't. The play was there to be had with a decent throw.

 

It was a mess getting going and we probably should have called a timeout but there was nothing about the play itself that was doomed to failure. TA's footwork doomed it to failure but that had nothing to do with the circus going on before the snap.

Yup, a play your 4 year starter should make in his sleep.

[Warrior10]

 

I saw 3 bad passes:

 

Deep one to Westy wasn't single coverage, there was safety help that met the ball there. Sure he was under pressure but that doesn't mean you lob it up. In close games, those hurt.

 

Pass to Newby over middle. Gotta hit that one. Had middle of field completely cleared out and our RB one vs one with an overmatched LB. That's a 10 yard+ easy one.

 

Pass to Ozigbo. Sure was a nice 5 yard gain, but he waited till Ozigbo was about to out of bounds to throw it. He had clear space if he gets it to him sooner we get 10 yards. Not a huge mistake but a little play your 5th year Sr QB has to make.

 

 

Thought both deep balls to Moore we're thrown exceptional, DB just made a heckuva play on 1st. Both sideline routes to Moore and Morgan were perfect. Agree on Carter route, TA did the right thing. Screen was done from beginning.

No way that safety can get to the ball, he's still running to the spot when the ball arrives. He can make a tackle if Westy catches that ball but that's about it.

Disagree, from what I remember. But without a clip of it there is really no way for us to know. Maybe you're right, but I remember double coverage.

[cm husker]

I honestly didn't realize people were criticizing Tommy's game.

 

This was a gameplan for an offense still finding its strengths and limiting its liabilities.

 

Tommy played perfectly well within that gameplan. Two touchdowns rushing, a pocket passing TD bomb and no turnovers.

 

And a whole lot to practice on this week.

I would agree with you, except Langs said he was not happy with the play and almost felt like he shouldn't call any passing plays.

 

That said, he may have been critiquing WR and OL play too. But it sure seemed like his (and Riley's) focus was on Armstrong.

[marko polo]

 

Im more worried about Wyomings ability to stop the run than Oregons. That's a struggling defense up there in Eugene. Lots of work need done on that. Wyoming on the other hand was in pure shut down mode.

 

I'm kind of hoping to see some screen passes to Moore, and possibly a bubble screen to Newby this weekend.

 

I'm not worried about showing Oregon or Ohio State or Wisconsin our playbook. I think the game this weekend needs to be about creating a template to be used against those three teams above.

 

We are horrible in the screen game

[Mavric]

 

 

Im more worried about Wyomings ability to stop the run than Oregons. That's a struggling defense up there in Eugene. Lots of work need done on that. Wyoming on the other hand was in pure shut down mode.

 

I'm kind of hoping to see some screen passes to Moore, and possibly a bubble screen to Newby this weekend.

 

I'm not worried about showing Oregon or Ohio State or Wisconsin our playbook. I think the game this weekend needs to be about creating a template to be used against those three teams above.

 

We are horrible in the screen game

 

I'm not really putting this on TA but it is baffling how absolutely terrible we are at running screens for a team that apparently works on them quite a bit.

[zoogs]

Great work in the breakdown, ColoradoHusk.

I didn't get to watch this game -- I can only say that from the statline, it seems like the kind of game where the forward pass *is* almost a trick play. At the least, it's a changeup. 80% of the plays were runs!

That type of gameplan isn't about targeting a 70% completion rate. Just like not every play is a bust if a first down isn't obtained. At this point they're passing to keep the defense honest -- to help the ground game, and to enable a couple of shots downfield. Of which I notice they tried (and completed) at least one.

Last year, at the beginning of the season they were clearly doing everything they could to avoid TA getting hurt. Avoiding the pass unless we need it is quite the reversal. We'll see if it continues, but it doesn't seem entirely unwise.

[drfish]

Middle screens kind of tend to be boom or bust anyway.