Speculations on play-calling on first, second, and third and ten

From Advanced NFL Stats:All the numbers that follow are from all 10-yards-to-go scrimmage plays in the first 3 quarters of regular season games from 2000-2007. The only other limitation was that the game score was within 10 points. I wanted to exclude situations when teams exercised an abundance of either risk or caution.Note the percentage of play types called on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd downs (with 10 yards to go). There is a fairly even split between...

Speculations on play-calling on first, second, and third and ten

From Advanced NFL Stats:All the numbers that follow are from all 10-yards-to-go scrimmage plays in the first 3 quarters of regular season games from 2000-2007. The only other limitation was that the game score was within 10 points. I wanted to exclude situations when teams exercised an abundance of either risk or caution.Note the percentage of play types called on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd downs (with 10 yards to go). There is a fairly even split between...

Tasty

Nice whoppers by Johanna Bluebird aga...

Red Hoot Dutch

Mark Har...

More on the Run & Shoot "Choice" Concept

Mike Drake of Longmont High School (CO) sent me the below video of the "choice route." Note that I have updated my original article on the choice with these clips. But here are the clips below with brief descriptions. See the full article for more of an explanation.First, here is how Drake has his kids run the "choice." It is the same concept I described, though he has added a "safety divide" or climb type route by the tight-end to help stretch the...

More on the Run & Shoot "Choice" Concept

Mike Drake of Longmont High School (CO) sent me the below video of the "choice route." Note that I have updated my original article on the choice with these clips. But here are the clips below with brief descriptions. See the full article for more of an explanation.First, here is how Drake has his kids run the "choice." It is the same concept I described, though he has added a "safety divide" or climb type route by the tight-end to help stretch the...

Nice Pair

Hart & Huntington's Robert Jarrett did this leggy pa...

I want you to hoot me as hard as you can

Timmy...

Should college athletes be paid?

The New York Times had a recent roundtable on the topic. A few interesting points worth highlighting and responding to. Mostly professors chime in, and the specific topic is March Madness, but the debate highlights the tension between old University ideals and the realities of college athletics.First, Murray Sperber, Indiana University professor:One of the great myths about March Madness is that it earns huge sums of money for participating schools....

Should college athletes be paid?

The New York Times had a recent roundtable on the topic. A few interesting points worth highlighting and responding to. Mostly professors chime in, and the specific topic is March Madness, but the debate highlights the tension between old University ideals and the realities of college athletics.First, Murray Sperber, Indiana University professor:One of the great myths about March Madness is that it earns huge sums of money for participating schools....

Reason #4080 to love Mike Leach

Bye bye Easy Ed?Edward Britton, Texas Tech’s most experienced split end, was demoted before spring practice and further raised the ire of Tech coach Mike Leach this week. After Friday’s practice in 30-degree weather and a few snow flurries, Britton was sent to study classwork [at midfield on Texas Tech's practice field]. . . .“Ed didn’t like showing up and studying at places I felt like he needed to and like the academic people asked him to, so he can go study out there on the 50-yard line,” Leach said. “We’ll take baby steps, and if he does good...

Reason #4080 to love Mike Leach

Bye bye Easy Ed?Edward Britton, Texas Tech’s most experienced split end, was demoted before spring practice and further raised the ire of Tech coach Mike Leach this week. After Friday’s practice in 30-degree weather and a few snow flurries, Britton was sent to study classwork [at midfield on Texas Tech's practice field]. . . .“Ed didn’t like showing up and studying at places I felt like he needed to and like the academic people asked him to, so he can go study out there on the 50-yard line,” Leach said. “We’ll take baby steps, and if he does good...

Assorted links

1. How would Malcolm Gladwell describe the 2008 Texas Longhorns' season?2. How much is Jay Cutler, the commodity, worth? (I like Cutler more than Cassel, but it's too early to tell.)3. I want to gradulate corch urban meyers and percy harvey.4. Travis Henry: "A near perfect example of an infinite discount rate."5. Is Jim Schwartz thinking lineman or quarterback for the Lions' pick? (Based on what I've written previously about picking quarterbacks and on Jim Schwartz, I'd be surprised if he went with a quarterback, but who knows. More on this topic...

Assorted links

1. How would Malcolm Gladwell describe the 2008 Texas Longhorns' season?2. How much is Jay Cutler, the commodity, worth? (I like Cutler more than Cassel, but it's too early to tell.)3. I want to gradulate corch urban meyers and percy harvey.4. Travis Henry: "A near perfect example of an infinite discount rate."5. Is Jim Schwartz thinking lineman or quarterback for the Lions' pick? (Based on what I've written previously about picking quarterbacks and on Jim Schwartz, I'd be surprised if he went with a quarterback, but who knows. More on this topic...

Texas Tech - First-Year QB Comparisons

From Double-T Nation:For the first time in two seasons, Texas Tech has a brand quarterback and although we're accustomed and grateful for what Graham Harrell did, it's time to look a bit forward and wonder what Taylor Potts might bring to the Red Raiders as a first year starter under Mike Leach's system.Going into Graham's second year, I asked how much he could improve from one year to the other, but this time I thought that it might be a good idea...

Texas Tech - First-Year QB Comparisons

From Double-T Nation:For the first time in two seasons, Texas Tech has a brand quarterback and although we're accustomed and grateful for what Graham Harrell did, it's time to look a bit forward and wonder what Taylor Potts might bring to the Red Raiders as a first year starter under Mike Leach's system.Going into Graham's second year, I asked how much he could improve from one year to the other, but this time I thought that it might be a good idea...

Texas Tech run game cutups

For a team that throws it as much as Texas Tech does with Mike Leach, I get a surprising number of questions about the Airraid run game. The reason, I suppose, is that if you throw the ball a lot you need a good complementary run game that will take advantage of the defense when it overreacts to your passing game but also doesn't require too much practice time.This topic deserves a fuller discussion later, but I was sparked when I saw these clips...

Texas Tech run game cutups

For a team that throws it as much as Texas Tech does with Mike Leach, I get a surprising number of questions about the Airraid run game. The reason, I suppose, is that if you throw the ball a lot you need a good complementary run game that will take advantage of the defense when it overreacts to your passing game but also doesn't require too much practice time.This topic deserves a fuller discussion later, but I was sparked when I saw these clips...

Run and Shoot Series Part 3 - The "Choice" Concept

[This is Part 3 of a multi-part series on a "Simple Approach to the Run and Shoot." In one sense I mean "simplified," but the series is, more than anything else, intended to both diagnose and explicate some of the fundamental concepts behind the shoot as well as discuss how I might marry them with some passing modern ideas, all in an effort to just understand passing offense generally. You can see the full series here. Also check out Parts 1 and...