Since we won't be seeing you guys again next season, I leave you with the ways to improve upon your defensive tactics. May next season be a succesful one for you guys, and thanks for making us look so good in the playoffs!
-mcgovern10, DC/assistant OC for the Las Vegas Stunners
Originally posted on the Las Vegas Stunners' private team forum as, "How to Score 42 Points Against Dallas".
Originally posted by mcgovern10
I figured I'd put in a few hours helping scout out the Dallas defense. Watching their most recent games against the Chicago Pterydactyls and the Spicewood Longhorns (whom they beat in OT in the playoffs) here's what I think will work.
Chicago Offense
* 38/46 passing, 309 yards, 4 TDs
* 25 carries
Spicewood Longhorns
* 53 passes
* 26 carries
So both teams came out and threw against Dallas. This leads me to believe that we should have some success throwing the ball against them, and this is confirmed in part by our inability to grind it out on the ground against them earlier in the season--we averaged only 2.4 ypc in that game.
Both Chicago and Spicewood's issue wasn't putting points on the board, as they both scored 42 against Dallas. Their issue was stopping Dallas' passing attack. Our pass defense has improved GREATLY as of late, and I'm confident in our ability to stop them.
1st Down Playcalling: Chicago
Short WR Pass: 4
HB Off Tackle: 2
Short TE Pass: 2
HB Run Middle: 4
Med TE Pass: 1
Long Pass WR: 3 (all unsuccesful, more on that later)
Med WR Pass: 1
Chicago was very effective on 1st down. Their runs all gained them at least 3.5 yards, and all of their short passes worked. Dallas seems to play a LOT of medium coverage, so when the WR stops and cuts at 4-5 yards for the short route, the Dallas CB is still moving backward. This creates enough cushion for those short passes, and plenty of YAC.
1st Down Playcalling: Spicewood
Medium Pass WR: 0/1
HB Run Middle: 2/2
Short WR Pass: 3/3
HB Pitch: 1/4
Medium Pass HB: 1/1 (this was an obvious checkdown)
Spicewood confirmed something that I suspected watching Chicago--you can pitch the ball outside for big plays against Dallas, but more often than not they're going to tackle you for a loss or a 1 or 2 yard gain. I would stick to off-tackle running in this game and going up the gut. Spicewood wasn't nearly as effective on 1st down as Chicago, largely due to their favoring medium passes in that situation.
A Note on Long Passes vs. Dallas
I watched Dallas sack Chicago 3x in a row when Dallas decided to try to throw long on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd down. It turned into a downward spiral. They must have had their long WR pass at 5-10% on 1st & 10. They got sacked and turned to 2nd & 17, so they tried a long pass again, got sacked, etc. Watching both games I have yet to see a long pass work.
This is not to say that there weren't large gains made in receiving and that both Chicago and Spicewood dinked and dunked their way down the field. In actuality, their biggest gains happened against this bizarre 4-3 Cover 0 that Dallas insists on playing against the other team's I Formation which leaves them susceptible to that short WR pass. I witnessed 3 5-yard passes turn into 11.5, 16.5, and 22.5 yard gains against this Cover 0 because that cushion created with the WR's short route turned into big YAC. With a little more WR speed those turn into HUGE gains. I looked to see in the Spicewood game if Dallas had gotten rid of that 4-3 Cover 0 and they haven't.
2nd & 3 or less: To Run or Throw, That is The Question
Chicago seemed content to run the ball up the middle or throw short WR passes in this situation, and were largely succesful converting to 1st down with this play selection.
Spicewood on the other hand may have a more innovative OC. Their OC decided that because Dallas favors the 4-3 Cover 1 in this situation (which is a run defense that double covers the TE) that they would throw short passes to their HB here. I watched them convert succesfully 4 times in a row with this gameplan.
Ideal Strategy for 2nd & Short? A combination of HB runs up the middle/off-tackle and short HB passes.
Both teams were succesful with their 3rd & short conversions, relying largely on HB and FB runs up the middle. I think these situations would be good to use our FBs. It will take less stamina from our HBs whom we'll be counting on quite a bit in what should be an easy conversion situation. Dallas does not put in a Goalline defense until they're inside their own 10. Which leads me to my redzone analysis...
The way to beat these guys in the red zone is the same as it is in the middle of the field--short passes to the WRs and HBs, and pounding the ball in between the tackles. They will be expecting us to run more given our reputation, so I suggest we switch our redzone strategy to favor short TE, WR, and HB passes. Their defensive coordinator has yet to swtich their coverage distance to short for this obvious shorter passing situation, and this is easily exploited inside the redzone.
Other Key Notes and Thoughts:
* an agile TE will get open and have some success, but throwing to him is not necessary to beat Dallas
* I did not see a single succesful long pass against these guys by either Spicewood or Chicago, and all of Dallas' sacks came on long passes
* they will play that 4-3 Cover 0 against the I-Formation even in the middle of the field. this is extremely risky and can/will lead to huge gains. If we're patient enough with those shorts passes, we will catch them in that defense and turn it into a big gain. If we don't, we'll just keep slowling moving the ball down the field.
Ideas For Cheeks Vargas That Contradict Conventional Wisdom
I would set Cheeks' favorite target to WR#1 and his 2nd favorite target to our starting HB. I know, I know...BLASPHEMY!! SETTING A FAVORITE TARGET WILL DECREASE YOUR COMPLETION PERCENTAGE BY 12.375%!! Nonsense, it's just what I would do. WR#1 is open all day long in both games, and Cheeks will need to get the ball off in a hurry against this stellar pass-rush defense.
I would set his throwing style to rifle the ball in as hard as he can. The sooner we get that ball into the WR's hands, the sooner he can turn upfield and shake 'n bake.
I would set his "Favor the Long Pass?" to HELL MOTHERFUCKIN' NO!!!
Anyways, these are just observations I've found might be useful in planning our offensive strategy for this game. Take it with a grain of salt, spread it out over your smoked Oregon salmon, and wash it down with some good old-fashioned Pimp Juice. Aaaahhhhh...now THAT hit the spot!
*This thread is a personal message by Shante "Pimp Juice" Kelley, and in no way reflects the opinions of the staff or management of the Las Vegas Stunners organization.
-mcgovern10, DC/assistant OC for the Las Vegas Stunners
Originally posted on the Las Vegas Stunners' private team forum as, "How to Score 42 Points Against Dallas".
Originally posted by mcgovern10
I figured I'd put in a few hours helping scout out the Dallas defense. Watching their most recent games against the Chicago Pterydactyls and the Spicewood Longhorns (whom they beat in OT in the playoffs) here's what I think will work.
Chicago Offense
* 38/46 passing, 309 yards, 4 TDs
* 25 carries
Spicewood Longhorns
* 53 passes
* 26 carries
So both teams came out and threw against Dallas. This leads me to believe that we should have some success throwing the ball against them, and this is confirmed in part by our inability to grind it out on the ground against them earlier in the season--we averaged only 2.4 ypc in that game.
Both Chicago and Spicewood's issue wasn't putting points on the board, as they both scored 42 against Dallas. Their issue was stopping Dallas' passing attack. Our pass defense has improved GREATLY as of late, and I'm confident in our ability to stop them.
1st Down Playcalling: Chicago
Short WR Pass: 4
HB Off Tackle: 2
Short TE Pass: 2
HB Run Middle: 4
Med TE Pass: 1
Long Pass WR: 3 (all unsuccesful, more on that later)
Med WR Pass: 1
Chicago was very effective on 1st down. Their runs all gained them at least 3.5 yards, and all of their short passes worked. Dallas seems to play a LOT of medium coverage, so when the WR stops and cuts at 4-5 yards for the short route, the Dallas CB is still moving backward. This creates enough cushion for those short passes, and plenty of YAC.
1st Down Playcalling: Spicewood
Medium Pass WR: 0/1
HB Run Middle: 2/2
Short WR Pass: 3/3
HB Pitch: 1/4
Medium Pass HB: 1/1 (this was an obvious checkdown)
Spicewood confirmed something that I suspected watching Chicago--you can pitch the ball outside for big plays against Dallas, but more often than not they're going to tackle you for a loss or a 1 or 2 yard gain. I would stick to off-tackle running in this game and going up the gut. Spicewood wasn't nearly as effective on 1st down as Chicago, largely due to their favoring medium passes in that situation.
A Note on Long Passes vs. Dallas
I watched Dallas sack Chicago 3x in a row when Dallas decided to try to throw long on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd down. It turned into a downward spiral. They must have had their long WR pass at 5-10% on 1st & 10. They got sacked and turned to 2nd & 17, so they tried a long pass again, got sacked, etc. Watching both games I have yet to see a long pass work.
This is not to say that there weren't large gains made in receiving and that both Chicago and Spicewood dinked and dunked their way down the field. In actuality, their biggest gains happened against this bizarre 4-3 Cover 0 that Dallas insists on playing against the other team's I Formation which leaves them susceptible to that short WR pass. I witnessed 3 5-yard passes turn into 11.5, 16.5, and 22.5 yard gains against this Cover 0 because that cushion created with the WR's short route turned into big YAC. With a little more WR speed those turn into HUGE gains. I looked to see in the Spicewood game if Dallas had gotten rid of that 4-3 Cover 0 and they haven't.
2nd & 3 or less: To Run or Throw, That is The Question
Chicago seemed content to run the ball up the middle or throw short WR passes in this situation, and were largely succesful converting to 1st down with this play selection.
Spicewood on the other hand may have a more innovative OC. Their OC decided that because Dallas favors the 4-3 Cover 1 in this situation (which is a run defense that double covers the TE) that they would throw short passes to their HB here. I watched them convert succesfully 4 times in a row with this gameplan.
Ideal Strategy for 2nd & Short? A combination of HB runs up the middle/off-tackle and short HB passes.
Both teams were succesful with their 3rd & short conversions, relying largely on HB and FB runs up the middle. I think these situations would be good to use our FBs. It will take less stamina from our HBs whom we'll be counting on quite a bit in what should be an easy conversion situation. Dallas does not put in a Goalline defense until they're inside their own 10. Which leads me to my redzone analysis...
The way to beat these guys in the red zone is the same as it is in the middle of the field--short passes to the WRs and HBs, and pounding the ball in between the tackles. They will be expecting us to run more given our reputation, so I suggest we switch our redzone strategy to favor short TE, WR, and HB passes. Their defensive coordinator has yet to swtich their coverage distance to short for this obvious shorter passing situation, and this is easily exploited inside the redzone.
Other Key Notes and Thoughts:
* an agile TE will get open and have some success, but throwing to him is not necessary to beat Dallas
* I did not see a single succesful long pass against these guys by either Spicewood or Chicago, and all of Dallas' sacks came on long passes
* they will play that 4-3 Cover 0 against the I-Formation even in the middle of the field. this is extremely risky and can/will lead to huge gains. If we're patient enough with those shorts passes, we will catch them in that defense and turn it into a big gain. If we don't, we'll just keep slowling moving the ball down the field.
Ideas For Cheeks Vargas That Contradict Conventional Wisdom
I would set Cheeks' favorite target to WR#1 and his 2nd favorite target to our starting HB. I know, I know...BLASPHEMY!! SETTING A FAVORITE TARGET WILL DECREASE YOUR COMPLETION PERCENTAGE BY 12.375%!! Nonsense, it's just what I would do. WR#1 is open all day long in both games, and Cheeks will need to get the ball off in a hurry against this stellar pass-rush defense.
I would set his throwing style to rifle the ball in as hard as he can. The sooner we get that ball into the WR's hands, the sooner he can turn upfield and shake 'n bake.
I would set his "Favor the Long Pass?" to HELL MOTHERFUCKIN' NO!!!
Anyways, these are just observations I've found might be useful in planning our offensive strategy for this game. Take it with a grain of salt, spread it out over your smoked Oregon salmon, and wash it down with some good old-fashioned Pimp Juice. Aaaahhhhh...now THAT hit the spot!
*This thread is a personal message by Shante "Pimp Juice" Kelley, and in no way reflects the opinions of the staff or management of the Las Vegas Stunners organization.
Last edited Sep 9, 2008 13:21:39
