Pioneer Press: How much did option reads hamper shutdown running game?

BleedGopher

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 11, 2008
Messages
60,571
Reaction score
15,642
Points
113
per Greder:

Gophers quarterback Conor Rhoda had one carry on a read-option play with running backs Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks in the 31-24 loss to Maryland on Saturday. And Rhoda’s rush went for six yards and came with six minutes left in the loss.

The staple play in the Gophers’ offense has Rhoda decipher whether a certain defender on the edge of the line of scrimmage is favoring the running back or the QB before the handoff is or isn’t given. On Saturday, it was given to the running backs all but that one time.

“I think there were two or three other opportunities where he possibly could have pulled it, but there wasn’t a lot,” Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said. “The way they play it. It might seem like it by the naked eye that, oh, we should pull that.”

In the end, Maryland held the Gophers to a season-low 80 rushing yards. That was 89 rushing yards fewer than their next lowest: 169 yards in the 17-7 season-opening win over Buffalo on Aug. 31. It also was Minnesota’s lowest rushing total in 17 games, dating back to the 31-21 loss to Wisconsin in November 2015.

http://www.twincities.com/2017/09/3...id-option-reads-hamper-shutdown-running-game/

Go Gophers!!
 

per Greder:

Gophers quarterback Conor Rhoda had one carry on a read-option play with running backs Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks in the 31-24 loss to Maryland on Saturday. And Rhoda’s rush went for six yards and came with six minutes left in the loss.

The staple play in the Gophers’ offense has Rhoda decipher whether a certain defender on the edge of the line of scrimmage is favoring the running back or the QB before the handoff is or isn’t given. On Saturday, it was given to the running backs all but that one time.

“I think there were two or three other opportunities where he possibly could have pulled it, but there wasn’t a lot,” Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said. “The way they play it. It might seem like it by the naked eye that, oh, we should pull that.”

In the end, Maryland held the Gophers to a season-low 80 rushing yards. That was 89 rushing yards fewer than their next lowest: 169 yards in the 17-7 season-opening win over Buffalo on Aug. 31. It also was Minnesota’s lowest rushing total in 17 games, dating back to the 31-21 loss to Wisconsin in November 2015.

http://www.twincities.com/2017/09/3...id-option-reads-hamper-shutdown-running-game/

Go Gophers!

“I think there were two or three other opportunities where he possibly could have pulled it, but there wasn’t a lot,” Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said. “The way they play it. It might seem like it by the naked eye that, oh, we should pull that.”

----From my cheap view in section 215, Rhoda could have run for 5-8 years per crack all day had he held it on the read.....
 

2-3 opportunities per drive maybe. Dude could have run for a mile on multiple occasions. If the QB isn't going to keep the ball sometimes to keep the defense honest then stop running the freakin play! It's that simple.
 

Ryan Shaver kind of took a shot at Rhoda refusing to keep the ball on the news tonight.
 

Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said. “The way they play it. It might seem like it by the naked eye that, oh, we should pull that.”

Yep. PJ's right. It looked that way to my naked eye a lot today.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 


Yes he could have kept it a handful of times, but people need to realize that the defense can see the ball and quickly react to the play. A number of time there was an unblocked player who had Rhoda and could have reacted quickly. Even the one run he made the guy was there and Rhoda was able to fake him out.
 

Fleck better go watch the film as my grandma could have walked for 20 yards 10-12 times
 

I'm not convinced that Rhoda runs as free without the ball as he does if he keeps it.
 

Seems pretty obvious to me, Rhoda has been told not to run...we have one healthy QB. The one he did run had to be pre-determined because there was a defender waiting that he eluded.

I agree with bottle...stop runnin' the freakin' play if that's how you are going to execute it.
 



The thing is - let's say Rhoda keeps the ball 5-6 times a game. That has an impact on the defense. every keeper doesn't have to go for big yardage. the simple fact that he kept the ball more than once will have a cumulative impact.

There has to be more to the running game than RUTM 35-40 times a game. Let's face it - if Limegrover had been calling plays on Saturday, people on this board would be hanging him in effigy.

I will keep asking the question - are the Gophers running the offense this way because they want to - or because they think they have to? (meaning the coaches believe the team is incapable of doing anything else)
 

The thing is - let's say Rhoda keeps the ball 5-6 times a game. That has an impact on the defense. every keeper doesn't have to go for big yardage. the simple fact that he kept the ball more than once will have a cumulative impact.

There has to be more to the running game than RUTM 35-40 times a game. Let's face it - if Limegrover had been calling plays on Saturday, people on this board would be hanging him in effigy.

I will keep asking the question - are the Gophers running the offense this way because they want to - or because they think they have to? (meaning the coaches believe the team is incapable of doing anything else)
Through 4 games last year, the Gophers had 28 runs of 10 or more yards.
12 runs this year have resulted in 10+ yard gains.
Struggling line plus no FB is a recipe for trouble in the BIG.
 

Just because its a handoff from the gun or the pistol it DOESNT mean the play called was a read option. The last few games at least they weren't actually reading the end, they were blocking him. I didn't actually see much of this game so who knows but people think everything is a read option nowdays
 

The QB looked like he was wide open to do much better than Smith's 2 yards a carry - all day long. Situations similar to the one Croft seized to run for a long TD. Today's offense will not win more than one or two conference games, if that. No variety, no imagination, no risks, no yards running despite 80 tries. And this wasn't the first game with that pattern.
 




The amount of times Rhoda is not taking the ball tells me he either is instructed by coaches to not keep it or most of these plays that appear to be “read-option” plays are actually just inside zone running plays with no option for him to keep it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 


Last year we had pretty average quarterback play. This year we have its backup.
 


Just because its a handoff from the gun or the pistol it DOESNT mean the play called was a read option. The last few games at least they weren't actually reading the end, they were blocking him. I didn't actually see much of this game so who knows but people think everything is a read option nowdays

We clearly ran it a number of times yesterday. Both Rhoda and Fleck are on record stating so. I'm not sure what %, but enough to talk about it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 



The amount of times Rhoda is not taking the ball tells me he either is instructed by coaches to not keep it or most of these plays that appear to be “read-option” plays are actually just inside zone running plays with no option for him to keep it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
This.

Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
 

The amount of times Rhoda is not taking the ball tells me he either is instructed by coaches to not keep it or most of these plays that appear to be “read-option” plays are actually just inside zone running plays with no option for him to keep it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

On several of those run plays that got blown up, it looked Rhoda might have audibled into the run play, or at least had a chance to change the play and didn't. I was wondering during the game if he simply wasn't reading the defense correctly. Maryland was selling out on the middle run and could have been exposed big-time with the correct audible. After all, an advantage of going no-huddle is supposed to be about taking what the defense gives you.
 

The play really isn't an option play. If there isn't an option in who carries the ball - as in QB keeping the ball. Otherwise, it just imitates an option play. But then the Maryland defense didn't know that. Next couple games, the opponents will know. They will play it as a called give-just imitating an option play. Even less yardage. Maybe we can play-action off this series. Would seem to be the next step in the sequence. Especially since Rhoda seems to be "coached" not to run the ball. Lots of available patterns for our receivers-especially if the wide out to that side is reading the secondary.
 

The play really isn't an option play. If there isn't an option in who carries the ball - as in QB keeping the ball. Otherwise, it just imitates an option play. But then the Maryland defense didn't know that. Next couple games, the opponents will know. They will play it as a called give-just imitating an option play. Even less yardage. Maybe we can play-action off this series. Would seem to be the next step in the sequence. Especially since Rhoda seems to be "coached" not to run the ball. Lots of available patterns for our receivers-especially if the wide out to that side is reading the secondary.

Well Fleck said in his presser that, while it may have looked like it to the naked eye, the option for Rhoda to run was only there a handful of times, two of which he took the option. This morning he added that they are also cautious in having him run as they dont want to lose him.

What you do hit on is the fact that they didn't seem to game plan other plays off that look like short passes over the middle, screens, runs other than up the middle, play-actions, etc. That's what really miffed me. Not in the game plan and no adjustments to the game plan.
The stacked line 8 in the box left the short middle and edges open to exploit. I'm sure they realize it now watching game film, but very surprised they did not during the game.
 

Staff has no confidence in backup QB, so they don't want Rhoda hurt. But what's the difference if we lose with Rhoda or Green?
 

Answer to the OP: A lot. :p
 

Something has to change or you're going to see lots of 80 yard rushing efforts in B1G play. Staff aren't dummies, but I seriously don't get why they've been banging their heads against the wall with zone read these first 4 games. Maybe Rhoda makes the correct reads in practice but is spooked about pulling it in games? I really believe they've gotta do one or more of these things:

1) Instruct Rhoda to keep at least 1 time per quarter. If he's not gonna read it, just guess and call a keep
2) More outside zone/stretch runs or jet sweeps. I especially like the look with Brooks on the jet sweet and Smith taking the inside zone look
3) Short play action passes off inside zone, especially with the TE attacking space vacated by inside LB's
4) Get Croft back and rotate him in. He'll keep a tleast 3x as often as Rhoda, even if it's not always the correct read
 

Fleck on Sports Huddle said (paraphrasing), they don't want Rhoda running a lot because they don't want him to get hurt. Fleck added "that's how Maryland wound up playing the 3rd-string QB" - meaning the first 2 QB's got hurt running the ball.

If that's the case, fine. If the coaches don't want the QB running, then I humbly suggest that you adjust the system to suit what the QB does best. Rhoda - as others have pointed out - is not a running QB. He's an I-formation or pro-set type, drop-back QB. That is why Claeys & co didn't want him back, because he didn't fit the system they were planning to run. Fleck asked Rhoda to come back, but he has him playing in a system that he really isn't suited for.
 

Something has to change or you're going to see lots of 80 yard rushing efforts in B1G play. Staff aren't dummies, but I seriously don't get why they've been banging their heads against the wall with zone read these first 4 games. Maybe Rhoda makes the correct reads in practice but is spooked about pulling it in games? I really believe they've gotta do one or more of these things:

1) Instruct Rhoda to keep at least 1 time per quarter. If he's not gonna read it, just guess and call a keep
2) More outside zone/stretch runs or jet sweeps. I especially like the look with Brooks on the jet sweet and Smith taking the inside zone look
3) Short play action passes off inside zone, especially with the TE attacking space vacated by inside LB's
4) Get Croft back and rotate him in. He'll keep a tleast 3x as often as Rhoda, even if it's not always the correct read

Fleck essentially said in his presser Rhoda did read it correctly...it wasn't there to pull and run but a few times. Rhoda pulled it twice on those occasions. Also added this morning they really don't want him running much.

I agree on #2/3 and do not understand why they were not in the original game plan or adjusted into it. Both were open all day.
 




Top Bottom