Duck Tape: Film Review of Oregon at Rutgers

Oregon’s opening possession ended with a fumble, but their following five drives all were long enough (40+ yards) to be considered full-field and ended in touchdowns. By contrast, Rutgers’ first five possessions

resulted in four three-and-outs and an interception. The Scarlet Knights’ only points until the fourth quarter came on a field goal after the fumble when they started in scoring position.

At the start of Rutgers’ sixth possession with the score 35-3, their offensive play calling underwent a noticeable change and they started giving touches to seldom used WR #2 Black and RB #20 Benjamin. Essentially, even with over eight minutes left in the second quarter Coach Schiano’s staff was already treating the rest of the game as a glorified joint practice.

Oregon’s staff kept their starters on the field until late in the third quarter. Most interestingly on the Ducks’ sixth and seventh offensive possessions (the last two drives of the second quarter) there was a shake up on the offensive line. Starting RG #74 Dave Iuli as replaced by starting RT #71 Alex Harkey moving inside, who was in turn replaced at right tackle by reserve #78 Genorris Wilson. My impression watching the film is that Wilson definitely looked like he was seeing his first action (outside of special 6-OL run packages) of the season and Harkey seemed over eager to check if he needed help. With such a small sample size I hesitate to draw any conclusions. The original line up was back in place in the third quarter and remained until the starters were pulled. I’ll be keeping a close eye out next week to see if the Ducks run another trial of this line up.

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Offense

The game plan this week was a stark departure from what I was so critical of from the previous game. OC Will Stein seemed determined to manufacture explosive plays, even if he had to use unusual formations and deception to do it. There weren’t enough plays run before garbage time for a run pass split, but the total metrics of 72.00% efficiency, 40.00% explosiveness, and 11.96 adjusted yards per play indicate what a truly dominating performance this was.

Against a defense that has struggled as badly as the Scarlet Knights this season, all the creativity was probably not strictly necessary. How much of this was the staff sending a message about their previous loss and how much was an effort to keep the team concentrated on an overmatched opponent I cannot say. I am curious to see which wrinkles we see again going forward and which end up being one-off variations.

The Ducks finally saw some explosiveness on the ground. Before garbage time most of it came from attacking the edge of Rutgers defense and often involved unusual alignments and misdirection. There was a single explosive run that went between the tackles, beginning as an outside zone stretch before cutting downfield. Below is a representative sample of successful rushing plays.

(Reminder – You can use the controls in the bottom right of the embedded player to alter the playback speed and/or enter full screen mode).

1. :00 – This play came on a drive that consisted of four plays, each of which involved unusual formations or were gadgets. In this case RB #0 Davison is lined up behind center in a wildcat alignment, while QB #5 Dante Moore comes around in an orbit motion. Rutgers’ left DE needs to guard against a pitch to Moore as a runner, and the corner has to stay home in case it’s a toss back pass and a receiver comes in his area. The advantage comes when Rutgers LB #8 Djabome hesitates in pursuit, giving numbers to the play side. The outside zone blocks are well executed and Davison has a lane running off the left shoulder of LT #76 World. Watch TE #9 Ja. Johnson escorting the linebacker fifteen yards downfield.
2. :14 – No fancy formation, but this play also uses deception to get to the edge. The right side of the line pulls to the offense’s left, but Moore pitches to RB #23 Hill going the other way. Johnson makes just enough contact for Hill to get outside and the receivers do well enough to keep the defenders off of him until he is ten yards downfield. (The Ducks went hurry-up on the next snap so the replay cuts off suddenly.)
3. :29 – Oregon brought out several unbalanced formations before the score got out of hand. On this play World is lined up on the offense’s right between RT #71 Harkey and RG #74 Iuli. With Hill off set to the right with three receivers, there is only a corner, a linebacker, and a deep safety to guard against a run to the left. Iuli and center #72 Laloulu don’t properly execute the double team to the linebacker, but Hill still finds five yards on 1st and 10.
4. :35 – We’ve seen this counter toward the tight end side of the formation before. It’s a perimeter run, but no tricks. World and LG Pregnon lead RB #6 Whittington around the D-gap outside of TE #18 Sadiq. All blockers make contact with their defenders and ensure a first down. If Sadiq can maintain his block a moment longer it might be a touchdown.

The overall run blocking grades for the line were much improved from previous games, just a touch under 15%. Whether a similar performance can be mounted against a more talented defense and without so much eye-candy in the backfield is still an open question. When Oregon was stopped on the ground, they were typically trying to go right up the middle. Some examples:

1. :00 – Slightly different from the GT counter, this outside power run pulls both guards to the offense’s left. Sadiq lunges out of his stance and is tossed to the ground. Not just one, but both pulling guards stop short to compensate, and Sadiq also turns around to try and salvage the situation. This leaves two unblocked defenders and Whittington cannot turn the corner.
2. :08 – This is a staple outside zone run away from the run strength of the formation. The safety blitz coming from the offense’s right is probably going to blow this up no matter what because the offense no longer has enough blockers to the play side. Iuli mixing up his count turns it into a loss. He needs to kick step to his right and take the DE while Harkey climbs to the backer. Whittington barely has time to secure the hand off before the unblocked end is all over him.
3. :14 –  The Ducks are in 12-pers and Rutgers has kept their nickel package, so the offense should have the advantage going right up the middle. On the offense’s left, World and Pregnon exchange responsibilities against the T/E stunt but Pregnon gets beaten inside. On the right RU #94 Weaver gets his hands outside Harkey’s frame and tosses him aside on his way to the ball carrier.
4. :21 – More 12-pers with Sadiq lined up as an H-back. Iuli is supposed to pull to the offense’s left and kick out the RU #99 O’Neill so Sadiq can lead Whittington through the hole off of World’s left shoulder. Iuli whiffs on the DE then Sadiq bounces off him. The now unblocked linebacker is free to assist in wrapping up the back.

There were only eight true drop back pass plays outside of garbage time, but QB Dante Moore wasn’t facing nearly as much pressure as he had seen in recent games. He seemed far more in command of the offense than he was against the Hoosiers. While some of his throws weren’t perfectly placed, Rutgers’ secondary (as predicted) allowed the Ducks’ receivers enough room to make plays. Here is a sample of successful passing plays.

1. :00 – There is more deception at work here, as Johnson is covered by WR #11 McClellan and is ineligible to go downfield for a pass. The linebackers and safety rush the seven-man protection on the roll out, leaving McClellan one on-on-one against the nickel defender. The ball is thrown a little high by Moore on the run, but McClellan makes an impressive effort to reel it in in bounds.
2. :15 – This is an unbalanced formation with four eligible receivers lined up to the field side, a stark departure from last week. Rutgers is running a simulated pressure where the linebackers and boundary end drop in coverage while the nickel blitzes from the field side. Davison picks up the blitz and interior protection holds so Moore has room to step up in the pocket. Sadiq finds a hole in the zone, but given that this is Rutgers’ secondary I don’t know if that was a product of the coverage or a miscommunication.
3. :25 – Four receivers to the field again, this time to the offense’s right. The Scarlet Knights are in Cover-3, as the Hoosiers often were last week. Stein counters this by running three vertical routes to the field. The nickel is in the worst position trying to press Sadiq rather than backpedaling. The quarterback’s first look is to WR #1 Dak. Moore to his left, but seeing the safety over the top of him he quickly moves on. The pass is angled high to get over the DB, and an athlete like Sadiq can lay out for it and land in the end zone.
4. :46 – We are now in the second quarter and the Ducks have enough of a lead they have kicked Harkey in to RG and let reserve OT #78 Wilson try his hand at RT. It doesn’t go well on this rep but the end plays the run action on the RPO. Moore has seen that the coverage has left a gap between the corner in press and the safety on the hash. He puts the ball in Dak’s hands in stride. Notice at the end how Coach Lanning offers some “helpful hints” on ball security after the catch.

The Ducks ran two perimeter screens in 25 non-garbage time snaps and neither succeeded. A third interior screen gained enough to count as a success, though with slightly better timing it had the potential to be a big play. Beyond this the Scarlet Knights simply had no answer for Moore and his receiving corps. I had to dip into garbage time to find enough failed passing plays for a full clip compilation.

1. :00 – This play is a perfect example of why we at ATQ criticize calling perimeter screens like this on 3rd and long. The Scarlet Knights are showing blitz, but with 11 yards to go there is still time for the safety come over and hit WR #2 Bryant before he can get to the line to gain. It’s asking a lot to have the receivers maintain their blocks long enough so Bryant only has one defender to beat and for him to shake that defender. The fumble turns failure into disaster. Were this play executed similarly on 2nd and long it would have set up a 3rd and medium that would have opened up the playbook.
2. :25 – Moore has WR #1 running an out one-on-one against a corner who has to give plenty of cushion to guard against the receiver’s deep speed. This should be an easy conversion, but he simply misses. The QB looks like he over rotates his upper body. Possibly his mechanics are thrown off as he feels pressure coming from his back side.
3. :32 – This is an RPO based on the GT-counter and Moore correctly reads the DE and throws a bubble screen to WR #17 Cooper. It appears the Scarlet Knights are running a scrape exchange to defend the backside, which leaves RU #9 Elad in position to run Cooper down. Even if the LB had stepped down on the run the receivers miss their blocks so this would have been stopped short in any case.
4. :40 – There were so few failed passing plays I took this one from late in the second half after the outcome of the game was already clear. The starters are still in for both teams but Wilson is at RT with Harkey at RG. Wilson doesn’t keep his feet moving after contact so he is beaten around the edge. Harkey tries to assist his padawan, but he’d be better off helping with the interior stunt so Moore can step up in the pocket. The quarterback does well to escape as the protection collapses. The safety has had time to cover up WR #4 Benson so there is nowhere to go with the ball. 

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Defense

Rutgers only managed to run 22 plays total before the game entered garbage time. Oregon’s defense succeeded at 68.18% efficiency while allowing only 9.09% explosive plays for a mere 3.89 adjusted yards per play. Aside from a single drive where they got a few efficiency rushes (which ended with a tipped and intercepted pass before it could go 40 yards) the Scarlet Knights could barely move the ball at all.

Oregon’s defenders on the line of scrimmage had the advantage on Rutgers run blockers the entire game. While QB run reads and RPOs were present in the game plan, they didn’t stress the defense in the same way they did last week. Here is a sample of successful rush defense.

1. :00 – The game is still competitive here on Rutgers’ second possession, and Oregon is showing pressure with LB #28 Boettcher in a pass rush stance on the offense’s left. As the play clock winds down the field safety #31 Thieneman spins to take the back if he goes out for a pass. This puts seven defenders in the box and if the read is live Rutgers quarterback #15 Kaliakmanis should pull the ball from the mesh. Lined up at nose tackle #1 Alexander discards the center and DE #10 Uiagalelei sheds the right tackle to inflict a loss of yardage.
2. :06 – The Scarlet Knights have six blockers against six defenders in the box so they at least have a chance this time. The blitz from #54 Jerry Mixon is fortuitously right into the play and the D-line all gain leverage on the attempted blocks. The unblocked defender, OLB #44 Tuioti, stays home against a possible QB keep and is in position when the runner has to redirect. 
3. :13 – Due to a shortage of clips we are now in garbage time, but both teams still have players from their primary rotations on the field. Like the last play this is an outside zone read, but to the offense’s left in this case. Uiagalelei keeps backside contain while front side penetration from #52 Washington forces the back to cut upfield where Boettcher, #9 Purchase, and #2 Lopa all shed their blocks and meet at the ball carrier.
4. :20 – Later in the same drive Rutgers tries an inside zone read to go right up the middle. Mixon is blitzing from the offense’s right and is in position to take either the QB or the RB until the tight end recovers and hits him in the side (he takes the QB down regardless). There is no escape for the back because #99 Green throws the center on the ground. Even though he is prone on the ground DE #29 Porter grabs the runners legs for good measure.

What success came on the ground happened when Rutgers’ backs could cleanly reach the second level of the defense. There were no gaping holes, but the Scarlet Knights could push forward for successful gains if they were able to build up momentum first. Below are clips of failed rush defense plays.

1. :00 – The game hasn’t gotten out of hand yet and Oregon’s priority is the pass on second and medium (close to short). Rutgers has spread the defense out with four receivers so Mixon has man coverage responsibilities on the offense’s left, leaving only five defenders against the run. The defensive line gets washed down, but doesn’t allow anyone to climb to Boettcher. The running back falls forward for the first down … barely. 
2. :08 – Thieneman has come down into the box to the offense’s right against 11-pers on 3rd and short. He plays his gap responsibility properly as a quasi-linebacker, staying neutral in the middle of the field until the running back commits. The true inside linebacker, #26 Jackson, misplays this by heading outside to guard the edge, which is Boettcher’s responsibility. He should be reading the LT’s block on Uiagalelei (who needs to prevent the blockers turning him perpendicular to the LOS) and meeting the runner in the hole. 
3. :24 – Jackson needs to follow the running back as his assignment in pass coverage, so the play design has already left an undefended gap on the offense’s right. Jackson is too hesitant, and waits for the blocker to come to him. Washington makes a great effort to get a hand on the runner but with #7 Obidegwu locked up by the wide receiver RU #3 Raymond can churn his legs through contact for a big gain.
4. :36 – I don’t want to seem like I am picking on Jackson, but there were only four failed rush defense reps before garbage time and he had negative reps on three of them. Washington and Alexander are occupying the A-gaps, but have gotten high out of their stance and are being pushed back. Tuioti has to set the edge so Jackson needs to charge the B-gap on the offense’s left to have a chance to stop this short yardage run.

Oregon’s pass defense went back to basics this week, generally playing variations of man coverage with some variation between having 1 high safety and a 2 deep shell. On most plays the secondary looked confident and were rarely caught off guard or stressed by the play design. Rutgers QB #15 Kaliakmanis also faced significant pressure throughout the night. A sample of successful pass defense is shown below.

1. :00 – Indiana had success in high leverage situations throwing at Obidegwu last week, so Kaliakmanis tries his luck after the fumble. No dice. Obidegwu maintains downfield position so the contact is all legal and gets his head turned for the PBU. The quarterback should see #21 Flowers in position against this throw as well and move on to his next read.
2. :07 – Jackson is in a stance where he might blitz, but it’s just four rushers with man coverage and two deep safeties on third and long. Kaliakmanis makes a good choice to throw the crosser with nobody playing zone underneath. The nickel defender has a tough assignment, but #22 Canady avoids the rub and keeps stride with the slot receiver. He can’t quite break up the pass but makes the tackle short of the sticks.
3. :15 – The linebackers and boundary safety all get sucked up by the play action. They shouldn’t be as this isn’t a true RPO, the offensive line never releases downfield. There are only three receivers in the pattern and none can shake man coverage so Uiagalelei has time to get free and force Kaliakmanis to scramble. Mixon then closes in to force a throwaway.
4. :40 – The routes haven’t even fully developed by the time Uiagalelei gets around the right tackle and the QB starts running for his life. Washington has looped around to cut off the escape route to the offense’s right. Uiagalelei even gets back up in time to stop the QB but he needn’t bother, Alexander has run him down from behind.

Our film study of Rutgers showed that when the quarterback has time and makes the right read their receivers are extremely capable. That rarely happened in this game. When Kaliakmanis could find a man who was isolated one-on-one without safety help a few plays were made. Here are some examples.

1. :00 – Canady is a bit too eager and gives away the blitz before the snap. When Mixon comes off the edge the QB knows that leaves Boettcher in man coverage against the tight end and he is likely to be rubbed by the boundary receiver. That is exactly what happens and a more accurate throw might lead to more than a 5 yard gain.
2. :08 – Boettcher blitzes to make this a five man pressure, but nobody breaks through. As in the previous clip compilation Canady has to defend an in-route from the slot receiver and cannot break up the pass. He still makes the tackle, but this time it’s second down and Rutgers is happy to get to third and short.
3. :15 – Thieneman is playing as a robber ten yards off the line of scrimmage in the middle of the field. Boundary safety Flowers is the single deep defender who Kaliakmanis looks off at the snap. Veteran corner #5 Th. Johnson thus has no help against the in-route on the field side. He turns his hips a moment too soon and the bigger bodied receiver cuts in front of him for a 15-yard gain.
4. :30 – Oregon brings six rushers and true freshman #14 Offord (who was seeing the field even before the blowout was on) has no help behind him. His priority has to be not letting his man loose deep so he bails at the snap. This leaves the comeback route wide open.