Belly G

[dutch91701]

Yep, it's called that because of the Guard pulling. The announcers(esp. Meyer) actually went over it pretty well during the game. He actually mentioned there are probably only 3-4 teams in FBS that run it. Spielman said GTech, and Meyer said no and corrected him that GTech runs the Dive option.

I was glad we had Meyer doing our game. At least someone in the booth knew football.

 

[JJ Husker]

It seems there are some people in this thread that understand the option game so I have a question. Has anyone else noticed that more often than not Martinez runs in an arc towards the backfield rather than going straight down the line? Is this because he is being taught different than our great option qb's or is it an allowance due to our O linemen not getting any line surge? I like Taylor and think he's the guy for the job but if you go back and look at Frazier, Crouch, Gill, Frost, etc they seem to go straight down the line and be in a better position to make the defender commit to them or the pitch man. It seems as though our option game would improve if Taylor tweeked his mechanics and made the D actually make a decision between him or Burkhead or whoever. I think his line path is what leads to all those pitches that make us gasp for air. Surely our coaches notice this if I am. Or am I just an idiot?

 

[papersun87]

I was glad we had Meyer doing our game. At least someone in the booth knew football.

This. Meyer knows the crap out of this game.

It's either him or Matt Millen.

 

[bshirt]

I was glad we had Meyer doing our game. At least someone in the booth knew football.

This. Meyer knows the crap out of this game.

It's either him or Matt Millen.

Lol!

 

[hack]

'belly g' sounds like the name of a bad rapper.

or a really, out-of-shape stripper.

 

[PuegotDaddy]

Didnt Frost used to run this quite a bit , only with a fullback first followed by the tailback ?

The belly G is just one part of the option play in the book.

Basically it's a read off the DE, if the DE comes upfield hard the guard pulls and takes him out and the QB hands to the fullback and the back goes through the C gap (tackle's outside leg hole) if the DE doesn't do that the QB keeps it and it becomes a typical G-Option.

Nebraska ran this play for YEARS before the Callahan era. Eric Crouch was a G-Option Wizard.

 

[HuskerBCS]

It seems there are some people in this thread that understand the option game so I have a question. Has anyone else noticed that more often than not Martinez runs in an arc towards the backfield rather than going straight down the line? Is this because he is being taught different than our great option qb's or is it an allowance due to our O linemen not getting any line surge? I like Taylor and think he's the guy for the job but if you go back and look at Frazier, Crouch, Gill, Frost, etc they seem to go straight down the line and be in a better position to make the defender commit to them or the pitch man. It seems as though our option game would improve if Taylor tweeked his mechanics and made the D actually make a decision between him or Burkhead or whoever. I think his line path is what leads to all those pitches that make us gasp for air. Surely our coaches notice this if I am. Or am I just an idiot?

IMO Martinez's biggest flaw in the option game is not making the defender commit to him. When he is running at that DE and the DE looks like he's going to commit to Martinez, he always backs off before he pitches the ball instead of running right into the DE. Im not sure if the coaches are teaching him to do this so he doesn't take as many hits or what but eventually the DE is gonna fake Martinez out and then he will be able to get up field to Burkhead for a 5 yard loss. I really wish Martinez would stay the course and really make that DE commit to him so that sometimes he can fake the pitch to Burkhead (ala Crouch) and then take it on the keep.

 

[sd'sker]

It seems there are some people in this thread that understand the option game so I have a question. Has anyone else noticed that more often than not Martinez runs in an arc towards the backfield rather than going straight down the line? Is this because he is being taught different than our great option qb's or is it an allowance due to our O linemen not getting any line surge? I like Taylor and think he's the guy for the job but if you go back and look at Frazier, Crouch, Gill, Frost, etc they seem to go straight down the line and be in a better position to make the defender commit to them or the pitch man. It seems as though our option game would improve if Taylor tweeked his mechanics and made the D actually make a decision between him or Burkhead or whoever. I think his line path is what leads to all those pitches that make us gasp for air. Surely our coaches notice this if I am. Or am I just an idiot?

IMO Martinez's biggest flaw in the option game is not making the defender commit to him. When he is running at that DE and the DE looks like he's going to commit to Martinez, he always backs off before he pitches the ball instead of running right into the DE. Im not sure if the coaches are teaching him to do this so he doesn't take as many hits or what but eventually the DE is gonna fake Martinez out and then he will be able to get up field to Burkhead for a 5 yard loss. I really wish Martinez would stay the course and really make that DE commit to him so that sometimes he can fake the pitch to Burkhead (ala Crouch) and then take it on the keep.

also, he forces burkhead too far to the outside, limiting burkhead's space to cut up field. he needs to make a decision faster and cut or pitch rather than stretch the play for so long east and west.

 

[JTrain]

Does Martinez get a true read on the fullback? I was under the impression we didn't run a true triple-option under Osborne... it was determined pre-snap whether or not the fullback would get it.

 

[JJ Husker]

Does Martinez get a true read on the fullback? I was under the impression we didn't run a true triple-option under Osborne... it was determined pre-snap whether or not the fullback would get it.

I remember numerous times under Osborne where the qb would make a read before deciding to hand to the FB or keep and then do it again with the I back. It was true triple option. There were also FB dives or traps but you could tell there was no option on those. However it took exceptional qb's to do it well. Frazier, Gill, etc did it well but I think Tom dumbed it down a bit for more average personnel.

 

[Enhance]

also, he forces burkhead too far to the outside, limiting burkhead's space to cut up field. he needs to make a decision faster and cut or pitch rather than stretch the play for so long east and west.

He did that early in the game on our first drive against MSU - he took an option keeper right up the C gap for a six yard gain, giving us first and goal.

His problem is consistency and knowledge. The option play is difficult, and it's even more difficult to master like former Husker quarterbacks were able to. You really have to commit to it if you want to run it effectively. I still also question Martinez' vision in general, as well as agility. As I've said before, when the holes are obvious and Martinez is given time to accelerate - he's great. But when the holes aren't so obvious, he has to make a couple of moves or a defender is closing in, it really doesn't look good and he usually takes or a loss or only gets a yard or two.

 

[sd'sker]

also, he forces burkhead too far to the outside, limiting burkhead's space to cut up field. he needs to make a decision faster and cut or pitch rather than stretch the play for so long east and west.

He did that early in the game on our first drive against MSU - he took an option keeper right up the C gap for a six yard gain, giving us first and goal.

His problem is consistency and knowledge. The option play is difficult, and it's even more difficult to master like former Husker quarterbacks were able to. You really have to commit to it if you want to run it effectively. I still also question Martinez' vision in general, as well as agility. As I've said before, when the holes are obvious and Martinez is given time to accelerate - he's great. But when the holes aren't so obvious, he has to make a couple of moves or a defender is closing in, it really doesn't look good and he usually takes or a loss or only gets a yard or two.

i know it is complicated, but he misses the simple concept of cut or pitch. or my favorite, cut, get the defender behind the qb and rb, and then pitch. the down field pitch is always exciting.

 

[Hercules]

Does Martinez get a true read on the fullback? I was under the impression we didn't run a true triple-option under Osborne... it was determined pre-snap whether or not the fullback would get it.

The only true triple option I've seen us run this year is where Martinez will run the zone-read, and if he decides to keep then he still has a pitchman as an option... We've run that once or twice out of the diamond formation, and once or twice out of the pistol where a receiver motions into the backfield and becomes the pitch option after the zone read. I don't think we've run a true triple-option with the fullback all year, I think those are designed handoffs.

 

[Enhance]

also, he forces burkhead too far to the outside, limiting burkhead's space to cut up field. he needs to make a decision faster and cut or pitch rather than stretch the play for so long east and west.

He did that early in the game on our first drive against MSU - he took an option keeper right up the C gap for a six yard gain, giving us first and goal.

His problem is consistency and knowledge. The option play is difficult, and it's even more difficult to master like former Husker quarterbacks were able to. You really have to commit to it if you want to run it effectively. I still also question Martinez' vision in general, as well as agility. As I've said before, when the holes are obvious and Martinez is given time to accelerate - he's great. But when the holes aren't so obvious, he has to make a couple of moves or a defender is closing in, it really doesn't look good and he usually takes or a loss or only gets a yard or two.

i know it is complicated, but he misses the simple concept of cut or pitch. or my favorite, cut, get the defender behind the qb and rb, and then pitch. the down field pitch is always exciting.

I agree.

I think he's just developing and it will get easier / look better with time. The option play out of the I-formation is a bit more difficult than the out of the shotgun. At least, I thought so when I played a some quarterback.

Actually, the one thing that irked me the most Saturday was Martinez' missed block on the end around to Bell. Bell had the speed to get a touchdown, instead Martinez took the inside defender and we only got a couple of yards.

 

[Hercules]

also, he forces burkhead too far to the outside, limiting burkhead's space to cut up field. he needs to make a decision faster and cut or pitch rather than stretch the play for so long east and west.

He did that early in the game on our first drive against MSU - he took an option keeper right up the C gap for a six yard gain, giving us first and goal.

His problem is consistency and knowledge. The option play is difficult, and it's even more difficult to master like former Husker quarterbacks were able to. You really have to commit to it if you want to run it effectively. I still also question Martinez' vision in general, as well as agility. As I've said before, when the holes are obvious and Martinez is given time to accelerate - he's great. But when the holes aren't so obvious, he has to make a couple of moves or a defender is closing in, it really doesn't look good and he usually takes or a loss or only gets a yard or two.

i know it is complicated, but he misses the simple concept of cut or pitch. or my favorite, cut, get the defender behind the qb and rb, and then pitch. the down field pitch is always exciting.

Sometimes Martinez's execution isn't great, but he's not the only one. Sometimes we're simply allowing too much penetration from the end, or our WRs aren't making their blocks. Often (unless it's Rex), the pitchmen (Ameer, Aaron Green, Jamal Turner...) have been really inconsistent with keeping their spacing correctly. Martinez has made mistakes but he's far from the only one - he's just the one most people are watching.