Goal Line Short Yardage!!

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Blitz
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GOAL LINE SHORT YARDAGE

THROWING THE FOOTBALL DOWN NEAR THE GOAL LINE

Dave Dickenson lined up behind center on the opposition two yard line. It?s second down and two yards to go for a touchdown. Dickenson fakes the ball to Joe Smith and Brent Johnson, playing tight end in the ?jumbo? formation, slips into the end zone and Dickenson hits him for a touchdown. The crowd goes crazy!!

The next trip down the field and the Leos find themselves second and one on the opposition one yard line. Dickenson takes three steps back, Joe Smith steps up to block any inside blitz, and Geroy Simon runs a post corner. Dickenson hangs the ball up there and lets Simon run under it deep in the corner of the end zone. Geroy poses as the crowd goes wild again.

The Leos offence can?t be denied. The unit begins a long drive but this time it?s second and three yard to go to the end zone. The Leos go three receivers to the wide side of the field and they all run their patterns deep into the end zone. Joe Smith steps outside, looking to block the outside linebacker blitz, and then slips by the linebacker. Dickenson hits him in the flat for the Leos third offensive touchdown.

The Leos offence is having one of those ?impact? games. Murphy is ?pancaking? guys, Jiminez is kicking some ?serious butt? and Angus Reid is having a heck of a game with his blitz calls. They get down inside the five yard line again but Smith is stuffed on first down for only a one yard gain. Second and four. Time to throw the football! Dickenson steps back, Thelwell and Simon run double posts at different depths, and Clermont runs underneath them, breaking to the sideline just inside the end zone. Dickenson feathers it in for the Leos fourth touchdown of the game. The crowd loves those passing touchdowns...especially when they appear to fool the defence!!

RUNNING VS THROWING THE FOOTBALL

The above scenario was ficticious but the Leos liked to throw the football on short yardage. Makes one wonder why the Leos don?t just throw the football every time they are inside the five yard line. Chapdelaine loved throwing the football down there a lot of his time with the Leos. Dickenson loves the call, getting the opportunity to throw for a touchdown. The receivers are pumped, jumping off the line of scrimmage like electricity into their pass pattern, already mentally preparing their touchdown dance.

A two yard touchdown run just doesn't look as impressive as a 25 yard touchdown pass to the back of the end zone, even if it only counts as a two yard passing touchdown. Only problem is that passing inside the 5 yard line is not the best way to go most of the time. Inside the 5-yard line, running the football on second down has a 69% success rate. Passing the football only has a 47% success rate. Inside the two yard line the touchdown rate for running the football goes up to 83% while passing the football goes down to 33%. The facts are that running the football inside the five yard line on second down are much better than passing the football. The rate of success increases more inside the two yard line while surprisingly the rate of success passing the football inside the two-yard line goes down.

YOU GOTTA DO BOTH...THE QUESTION IS HOW MUCH?

Obviously it?s important that offences be able to both run and pass the football inside the five yard line and need to do both over the course of a game or a season to keep defenses guessing. What is surprising is how often offensive coordinators pass the football inside the five yard line?even inside the two yard line on second down?even though the stats show that running the football, rather than passing the football has a better chance of success. In fact, the only time that passing has a better chance of scoring a touchdown inside the five yard line is on first down, not second down. However running the football twice inside the five yard line has a much better percentage of success than two passes or one pass and one run.

A RANDOMIZED STRATEGY

A randomized strategy down inside the five yard line is the most effective, creating problems for defenses because the offence does not show any tendancy. However, within that randomization, it?s important over the course of a season, that the offence runs more on second down inside the goal line than attempts to score by passing the football.

YOU GOTTA BE ABLE TO RUN IT DOWN THEIR THROATS!!

To be a very successful offence?it?s critical that offences be able to execute short yardage running plays inside the five yard line. Offences can go with ?jumbo? offensive sets, using two tight ends and an extra big fullbacks or they can spread the defense out with extra receivers and run inside or off-tackle. Offensive formation is less important than blocking execution, timing, and the ability to audible down near the goal line.

ZONE OFFENSIVE BLOCKING HAS CHANGED TECHNIQUES

Over the past 10 years pro football has become more of game of horizontal movement on the offensive line. Instead of displacing players vertically, plays and players are taught to get movement horizontally. Simply put, offensive lineman are not knocking back defensive players as much as they are moving their opponents side to side. When the? inside zone? run became a big part of most of most pro teams offenses in the mid ninety's, lead stepping offensive lineman went out the way of dinosaurs. Now, it became drop and crossover steps that were being taught to pro offensive linemen.

THE INSIDE ZONE RUN

The inside zone play is a play that counts on two big offensive lineman getting a push at the point of attack and then one man coming off late for a linebacker who most of the time will flow over the top of the rolling double team. The lineman who releases then simply screens the linebacker as he tries to come back on the cutback. The running back starts as if he is going to hit the tackle area and then, if he sees flow over the top, he will cut it back behind the two big offensive linemen. If he sees a hole in the tackle area he simply takes to the hole and takes what he can get. But why was the drop cross over steps taught in the first place?

WHY DID BLOCKING TECHNIQUE CHANGE?

There were a couple of obvious reasons. First players were having a hard time moving defensive players vertically. It take a physical mismatch for an offensive lineman to move somebody back. The day of the 255 pound defensive tackle or nose tackle were over. Defensive tackles started to get into the 270-290 pound range. Ty Williams of our Leos weighs 296 pounds. Guys like Williams and other CFL tackles are built to stand their ground? it takes a hell of a offensive lineman to push these guys around.

HORIZONTAL BLOCKING

Reason number two is when you take a drop and crossover.. it reduces the chance of a defensive lineman skimming the combo block when two offensive lineman are working together. When an offensive lineman lead steps into a combo block there is a small area known as ?no man'sland? where? because the offensive lineman is firing out and stepping forward and the offensive lineman who is playing alongside is taking a short lateral step? if the defensive line plays the angle right there is a chance that he may split the combo block. The drop crossover all but eliminates that threat. But what is gained in security is lost in vertical movement and power.

GOAL LINE BLOCKING TECHNIQUE

The offensive lineman have their feet slightly wider than his hips at the goal line. The hips will be up and his shoulders extended forward and lower than the level of his hips. His body must be aligned to allow him to explode straight ahead. Once the lineman is set in a good stance the next most important thing for him to do is to concentrate on getting off on the snap count. Knowing the exact instant the play is to begin is a tremendous advantage for the offensive blockers, and utilizing this advantage to its fullest is even more important on short yardage and goal-line plays. In order to be successful at the goal line offences need to be able to attack the centre-guard seam.

FULLBACKS WERE MOSTLY USED FOR SHORT YATDAGE IN 'DAYS OF OLD'

In the 'good ol' days' fullbacks were mostly used on short yardage. Fullbacks were big, strong, built close to the ground, and were skilled at running low and vertically. They were used to being lined up closer to the offensive line than a tailback or a 'ace' back lines up today. Unfortunately, today's fullbacks are not used to carrying the football. They are used only as blockers so, when brought into short yardage situations, most pro teams won't give them the football. Goal line short yardage often needs a running back to hit the hole quickly..plays at the goalline can't be run the same way as at midfield.

SPECIALISTS ARE NOW A KEY TO SHORT YARDAGE

Today, short yardage goal line situations not only involve specialist tight ends (extra offensive lineman or defensive ends like Brent Johnson coming into the game) and short yardage specialist fullbacks (as in Bwenge and Green) who serve as blockers. We've also moved to the specialist short yardage quarterback. Usually the teams third string quarterback in the CFL the short yardage specialist quarterback does not only come into the football game to save the starting quarterback from injury. He also comes into the game because he is bigger, stronger, faster, or a better short yardage runner than the starting quarterback. Often he is better at all four of the above. Jarious Jackson was an excellent example of a very effective short yardage or goal line short yardage quarterback. Without the fullback position the specialist short yardage quarterback gives the offence the ability to hit a hole quickly.

SHORT YARDAGE GOAL LINE OFFENCE HAS CHANGED

Short yardage goalline offence has changed. Teams will spread out and run the football or throw it or they will line up in 'jumbo sets' with short yardage 'specialists and 'power run' the football or slip a tight end off the line of scrimmage and hit him on play action. The fullback is rarely used to carry the football if at all.

SUCCESS AT SHORT YARDAGE

However, one thing is certain! Offences need to run the football effectively inside the five yard line if they want to be a championship offence. They need to have offensive lineman who can adjust from zone blocking schemes to being able to vertically man block, using different techniques than the zone blocking game they are more used to. Offences need to dedicate time and effort, practicing short yardage goal line offence, in order to be successful. Finally, offences, would be wise to be able to incorporate the fullback as a ball carrying weapon, in the 'jumbo set' once in a while to diversify their goal-line running offence and take away the defence always 'keying' the tailback. Doing that makes short yardage much more difficult for defensive linebackers.

WRAP

Success at short yardage is critical to an offence!! The difference between getting a touchdown or a field goal, when a team gets inside the oppostion five yard line, often means more than the critical four points. It can also be frustrating for an offence not to score a touchdown when they get that close. For the defense, it can be a motivating and is often is a momentum changer when a defense makes a great goal line stand. Short yardage success is so critical and yet many pro offences don't practice it enough.
"When I went to Catholic high school in Philadelphia, we just had one coach for football and basketball. He took all of us who turned out and had us run through a forest. The ones who ran into the trees were on the football team". (George Raveling)
TheLionKing
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Interesting read Blitz. I have always been in favour of the quarterback option whenever we're in goal line situation. It forces the linebackers into a "no win" situation. If he rushes the quarterback, he throws the football. If he falls into pass coverage, the quarterback runs the ball.
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Robbie
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Blitz wrote:GOAL Only problem is that passing inside the 5 yard line is not the best way to go most of the time. Inside the 5-yard line, running the football on second down has a 69% success rate. Passing the football only has a 47% success rate. Inside the two yard line the touchdown rate for running the football goes up to 83% while passing the football goes down to 33%. The facts are that running the football inside the five yard line on second down are much better than passing the football. The rate of success increases more inside the two yard line while surprisingly the rate of success passing the football inside the two-yard line goes down.
Also, if the pass is intercepted at or just inside the goal line, then there's a very good chance that the opposition can bring it back all the way down the field for a touchdown of their own.
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Tighthead
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I know that in the NFL, in goal to go, first down is the best passing down as the play action threat is most effective in that situation.

This is simplistic, but it is nice to run when they expect a pass, and vice versa. Inside the 10, I prefer to see them run out of a spread formation, as opposed to a jumbo formation where the defence is all bunched up. Likewise, passing out of a jumbo set is very effective as the defence is in attack mode, and vulnerable over the top.
uncle leo
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I don't have any stats but it must offly tempting for the offense to throw the ball when 10 defenders are in the box. And, chances are the defense is in tight-man coverage.

Perhaps the defenses in the CFL would run a Zone defense when in the goal-line area. It gets embarressing when a DE fills in at the Tight-end position for the TD catch.
Canuck_4_Life
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uncle leo wrote:It gets embarressing when a DE fills in at the Tight-end position for the TD catch.
More and more teams are doing that with linemen.

It gets embarrassing when the defence outscores the offense it's trying to stop.
Blitz
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Perhaps the defenses in the CFL would run a Zone defense when in the goal-line area. It gets embarressing when a DE fills in at the Tight-end position for the TD catch.
It's hard to do that in the CFL, with the depth of the end zone...a zone might be able to pick up the tight end but the cost is that playing zone opens up too many holes for a quick pass. It's why teams go to tight man coverage. The smartest way would be for the defense to take on the tight end at the line of scrimmage, holding him up while still being able to play the run. The problem is that CFL defenses too often give the tight end a clean release down at the goalline.
"When I went to Catholic high school in Philadelphia, we just had one coach for football and basketball. He took all of us who turned out and had us run through a forest. The ones who ran into the trees were on the football team". (George Raveling)
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