I noticed this in the OSU game and again at Auburn, and I think this is the biggest problem with our woeful third down percentage. We do NOT take what the defense gives us. Almost every time we were in a 3rd and 3-6, the DB was playing 10 yards off of our slot guy (generally Lewis). This should be a near automatic check to the quick throw to the slot. We are also very adept at not checking out of a run up the middle when the defense walks 9 guys up into the box. This was our biggest issue lat at Auburn. They decided they were going to sell out on the run. Now, I'm not claiming that we didn't run pass plays late in the game, but this is another situation of not taking what the defense gives you. When a defense crowds the box, you should be able to kill them with the tight end (Slant with the slot clears the safety, go with the wide to clear the corner, and then you have an athletic tight end one on one in the flat with a linebacker who is keying run first). We never tried to exploit this in either game when the defense stacked the run. In fact, in going back and watching both games, I never saw us check out of a run when the defense was clearly crowding the box.
Maybe this is coaching, maybe it is on the Qbs, but we do a terrible job of taking what the defense gives us.
Maybe this is coaching, maybe it is on the Qbs, but we do a terrible job of taking what the defense gives us.