Football Outsiders

[Whiskeyjack]

Since today is a particularly slow news day, I'm going to plug Football Outsiders. IMHO, it's the definitive source for reliable statistical information on college football. Advancing an argument about CFB is so much easier when you have objective figures to back you up; so use this site!

However, I'm mainly bringing this to the board's attention now because the Strategy Minicamp posts do an excellent job of describing some critical strategic elements of this game that we all love deeply but understand poorly.

The following should be of particular interest to us:

The 4-3 v. the 3-4

Defensive Line Basics: Mind the Gap

There are many many more. If you're bored today, spend some time educating yourself on your favorite game. It can only help the quality of discussion around here.

 

[GreatGolson]

is it bad that i read everyting you write in the voice of John Goodman?

 

[Whiskeyjack]

is it bad that i read everyting you write in the voice of John Goodman?

You're entering a world of pain, Dayne...

Actually, reps for awesome. You're probably not the only one, so I'll have to keep that in mind going forward. He's got a great voice.

 

[ACamp1900]

I always pictured Whiskey sounding like Jessica Tandy.....

 

[RyCo1983]

I always pictured Whiskey sounding like Jessica Tandy.....

Hot...
seriously a good actress before her passing.

Thanks for posting that site...I have been wanting to study DLine stuff for awhile...
good read and accessible to nearly anyone with an interest.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Looks like another slow news day, so here a couple of articles about the difference between Man and Zone coverage in the seconday:

Man Coverage: You Can't Beat it

Zone Coverage: Not As Simple As It Seams

 

[Whiskeyjack]

VN: Is Notre Dame... Underrated? Required reading for all Irish fans.

For S&P+'s purposes, they gave away eight touchdowns' worth of points in two games and lost by a combined seven points. Michigan and South Florida, by the way, are quite good: they currently rank 11th and 31st, respectively, in F/+.

This is a damn good, well-rounded team.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

bcfremeau via Twitter:

Working on new graphic. ND is +68 in points on the season. Here is what that looks like broken down by Off/Def/ST:

 

[clashmore_mike]

I think they also had ND ranked 6th in their adjusted rankings. Makes me sad.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Bill Connelly just published early 2013 projections based on F/+. ND is 4th.

I'll take that.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Bill Connelly just published a good article on the No-Back Formation. ND uses it more effectively than anyone:

Really, the team that combined no-back frequency with effectiveness the best might have been Notre Dame. The Irish were known mostly for their defense, but even against the strong defenses listed in the above sample (Michigan State, Stanford and Alabama), they were tremendously effective from the no-back set. Quarterback Everett Golson was just 14-for-32 passing for 178 yards overall versus Michigan State, but from the no-back he was 9-for-14 for 122. (That means he was 5-for-18 for 56 otherwise.) In the first half versus USC, Golson was 7-for-13 for 115 yards from this look. Hell, even against Alabama, he was more successful in the no-back (5-for-8 for 71) than he was in other formations (16-for-28 for 199).

 

[Old Man Mike]

Interesting article. One is tempted to say that when Everett doesn't have to think about as much, he is better. Also, it could be felt that the data for ND suggest that Kelly is going for this when he needs a first down of a little length, as our passes out of this thing may be a bit longer than most. This could also be because, with no back, when Everett doesn't see the fast strike he is freely scrambling and his athleticism is causing big trouble for the DB coverage.

I'll bet Kelly has the entire season brokendown with such variables in mind.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

SBN's Nickel Rover just posted an article to Football Study Hall about the schematic advantages of soft CB coverage. Diaco uses it liberally, so give it a read. It might reduce your frustration as we're surrendering cheap yards to the horizontal passing game this season.

 

[Black Irish]

I particularly like the articles "Corner Blitzes and Nacho Toppings; Quality vs. Quantity" and "Zone Coverage and Single Grain Whiskey; A Gentleman's Primer."