Re-watched the WI game and wanted to throw out a few observations:
O-line play was obviously the hot topic after the game, particularly the two 3rd and 1 plays. On the first 3rd and 1 (1st series after WI's opening fumble), NU had Dickerson and Prather lined up next to each other on the same side of the formation with Dickerson on the inside closest to the tackle. A WI LB was lined up between Dickerson and Prather, and just before the snap Dickerson points to the LB appearing to signal to Prather that Prather is responsible for the assignment. At the snap, Dickerson moves inside to block a different player and Prather attempts to block the LB. The problem is that Prather has no shot at all of getting there in time because the LB was already lined up inside him with a direct path to the backfield absent Dickerson making the block. The LB immediately shoots through the gap and gets the TFL killing the drive.
I don't know Xs and Os well enough to determine why this play failed. Easy to blame the TEs, but they could just as easily have been following their assignments exactly as the play was designed. So perhaps it was just a poor play design or perhaps the QB/McCall should have recognized WI's alignment and changed the call. Interestingly enough, a similar alignment/blocking problem occurred during NU's 1st TD drive. We started that drive with 3 straight Larkin runs. On the 3rd of these runs (a stretch play), the WI LB was aligned directly in front of the RT with Dickerson lined up outside the tackle. The RT pulled on the play (as I believe he is supposed to) leaving Dickerson attempting to block the LB. But because the LB was lined up so far inside of Dickerson he had no chance at all to get in position to make the block. Larkin then made a great move simply to get back to the LOS. Again, don't know if this is a failure of design, execution, or recognition, and would be interested to hear anyone with greater knowledge of Xs and Os chime in.
The second 3rd and 1: Fitz's comment about getting our lips knocked off is dead on.
Other tidbits: Despite the horrible net rushing yards in this game, NU's ground attack wasn't as bad as it seemed. Once it was 21-10, NU passed 6 straight times for two quick 3 and outs and then was in no position to try to run the ball. But prior to then, NU was pretty consistently gaining decent yardage, particularly when Larkin was running the ball (we have an excellent replacement for JJ next year). Last week I commented on our LB play and blitzing. We didn't blitz much against WI, but I thought Hall and Fisher both played really well against the run and Long got pressure a couple of times. Finally, WI only had 300 yards of offense and no sustained drives. But for the deep play action pass on 3rd and 3, this was an excellent performance on that side of the ball.
O-line play was obviously the hot topic after the game, particularly the two 3rd and 1 plays. On the first 3rd and 1 (1st series after WI's opening fumble), NU had Dickerson and Prather lined up next to each other on the same side of the formation with Dickerson on the inside closest to the tackle. A WI LB was lined up between Dickerson and Prather, and just before the snap Dickerson points to the LB appearing to signal to Prather that Prather is responsible for the assignment. At the snap, Dickerson moves inside to block a different player and Prather attempts to block the LB. The problem is that Prather has no shot at all of getting there in time because the LB was already lined up inside him with a direct path to the backfield absent Dickerson making the block. The LB immediately shoots through the gap and gets the TFL killing the drive.
I don't know Xs and Os well enough to determine why this play failed. Easy to blame the TEs, but they could just as easily have been following their assignments exactly as the play was designed. So perhaps it was just a poor play design or perhaps the QB/McCall should have recognized WI's alignment and changed the call. Interestingly enough, a similar alignment/blocking problem occurred during NU's 1st TD drive. We started that drive with 3 straight Larkin runs. On the 3rd of these runs (a stretch play), the WI LB was aligned directly in front of the RT with Dickerson lined up outside the tackle. The RT pulled on the play (as I believe he is supposed to) leaving Dickerson attempting to block the LB. But because the LB was lined up so far inside of Dickerson he had no chance at all to get in position to make the block. Larkin then made a great move simply to get back to the LOS. Again, don't know if this is a failure of design, execution, or recognition, and would be interested to hear anyone with greater knowledge of Xs and Os chime in.
The second 3rd and 1: Fitz's comment about getting our lips knocked off is dead on.
Other tidbits: Despite the horrible net rushing yards in this game, NU's ground attack wasn't as bad as it seemed. Once it was 21-10, NU passed 6 straight times for two quick 3 and outs and then was in no position to try to run the ball. But prior to then, NU was pretty consistently gaining decent yardage, particularly when Larkin was running the ball (we have an excellent replacement for JJ next year). Last week I commented on our LB play and blitzing. We didn't blitz much against WI, but I thought Hall and Fisher both played really well against the run and Long got pressure a couple of times. Finally, WI only had 300 yards of offense and no sustained drives. But for the deep play action pass on 3rd and 3, this was an excellent performance on that side of the ball.
