Thoughts on College Football's Week 8 and NFL Week 7

 

Thoughts on College Football's Week 8 and NFL Week 7

1. Best of the Week

Best Game: Browns vs Colts

Who would've thought that a game that featured a top 5 defense and 2 backup quarterbacks would end 39-38? And who would've thought all this could happen as the Colts were uniforms supporting never-nude and known Blue Man Groupie Tobias Funke?


This game was pure chaos, with controversial refereeing, big special team's plays, and chunk plays through the air. Something for everyone's flavor of football.

Best Player: Myles Garrett (EDGE) - Browns

Garrett is a player that could get this award every week, he is a top-tier pass rusher and maybe the best. The way he fights through double teams seemingly every snap and gets his while letting the rest of the team eat is impressive. But in a game when the defense didn't have it, he had two sacks, a blocked field goal, a passed defense, and 10 total tackles from the defensive line. What a stud.

Best Uniform: Western Kentucky & New York Giants (TIE)

This weekend had so many great candidates that we have to feature one from Saturday and Sunday. First off, sorry to Oregon and the Eagles, but I have to go with Western Kentucky using a red version of the Evil Grimace on the blackout helmets and the Giants wearing those oh-so crisp throwbacks that look so beautiful up against the Commander's uniforms.


 

2. Gap Blocking vs Zone Blocking

As linemen have gotten bigger, zone blocking became the dominant run scheme in football. They work in concert to move in the same direction and the running back picks the open lane. It is hard to get 6'6" 330 lb individuals to get out and pull was the common reaction. The outside zone became the backbone for high-powered offenses everywhere and left gap blocking and pulling linemen to the small high schools who couldn't throw 40 times a game. Now? I'm seeing pulling linemen everywhere on Saturday and Sunday (and every other day since football is now played seemingly every day of the week). Why?

I think a couple things. First, defenses have increasingly fewer down linemen and smaller players in the box. If there is a 2-or-3 man front, there is a big "gap" to target. The other idea is I think it actually helps in the RPO game. Linemen can only be 3 yards downfield at the time of pass in college or 1 yard downfield in the NFL. If you pull a lineman, their first step is back and then they often go sideways. This could give offenses more time to have the pass option of the RPO to happen further downfield. I'm not sure, but it's something I'm curious about and would welcome any feedback.

3. The AFC North is the Best Division

The Ravens just stomped the hot Lions to become 5-2, but the Steelers and Browns are 4-2 and the Bengals are in last place at 3-3. Could all four teams make the playoffs? There are several divisions within the NFL with only one team above .500. I think a couple things help these teams: they have had their head coaches for several years, they draft well and they prioritize line play. I'm not saying every coach deserves a long runway, but I think something is to be said about weathering the storms and having an organizational philosophy instead of switching course every time they run into problems.

4. This College Football Stretch Run Will Be Awesome

Is this going to be the best stretch run of a college football season since 2007? Can we implement the 12-team playoff this season? Here are the currently ranked vs ranked matchups we have left in the regular season:
  • #8 Oregon at #13 Utah
  • #20 Duke at #18 Louisville
  • #15 LSU at #9 Alabama
  • #5 Washington at #24 USC
  • #12 Ole Miss at #1 Georgia
  • #13 Utah at #5 Washington
  • #24 USC at #8 Oregon
  • #21 Tennessee at #16 Missouri
  • #20 Duke at #17 North Carolina
  • #2 Michigan at #10 Penn State
  • #1 Georgia at #21 Tennessee
  • #5 Washington at #11 Oregon State
  • #23 UCLA at #24 USC
  • #11 Oregon State at #8 Oregon
  • #3 Ohio State at #2 Michigan
Get your popcorn ready. Obviously not all these games will be ranked vs ranked, but it shows the depth this late in the season.

5. Play of the Week

Utah just has USC's number, and I think they expose a lot of questions about Lincoln Riley-led teams that I may dive into later. But here is a classic play, which USC seems to be in perfect position to stop, but then it busts for a big gain. It's a simple play, nothing ground breaking, but I want to call out how you have to execute every play.


  • Utah has two tight ends and brought a receiver (dot 1) in motion to one side of the field. This is a zone run play setup (yes, they still call those despite point 2 in the blog), and he will be running an arrow route off of a fake comeback block.
  • USC has 6 players on the line of scrimmage. This became a common way to fight the outside zone and subsequent play action after the Patriots used 6 players to stop the Rams in the Super Bowl. The end man (dot 2) is often responsible for taking on the cutback block in the run game, and he can hit the player in a pass play and stop him from heading out on his route.
  • The receiver (dot 1) comes across the formation. The end man (dot 2) sees him coming, but does not hit him and he has a free pass. It may not have been his responsibility, but by my estimation on his setup, I think it was.
  • The receiver (dot 1) is getting the ball thrown to him with plenty of open space and the edge player (dot 2) is heading into pursuit.
  • Here's why I think the assignment should've been to blow up the receiver. The quarterback (dot 3) barely gets the ball off. If the receiver would've been stopped, there is no play. Everyone has to work together in football, that's why it is such a fun game.
  • A benefit of having all of the crossing routes deeper down the field on a play action bootleg is they are now downfield blockers (dot 1) while the receiver has a ton of running room.
  • The receiver isn't even touched until 20 yards down the field and he steps out of bounds. Just an easy chunk play and showcases how bad USC's defense is and how having a great ground game sets up easy pass plays.


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