On the 12th day O’Trenchin (Monster Post)

Day 12 and welcome to day 12…fiiiive golden hats, four mountaineers, three pancakes two overtimes and a beeer in a treeee…..

 

So looking for a main idea or a theme of what the guys have done better since the Texas game, there are a few things that stand out.

  1.  Samia has started every game since, and Alvarez has been able to stay healthy. I’m a firm believer more so in the Willie’s and the Joe’s than the x’s and the o’s.
  2. The guys have just done a much better job picking up twists, slants and stunts.  Really they’ve just been executing at a much higher level.  Hopefully these’ll help you see what I mean.
  3. It can’t be overstated how more time in a system helps you play faster and cleaner.  The more you see things, and the more you work at those movements, they become second nature.

 

 

In this post you’ll be able to see stills from Texas Tech, Baylor and Oklahoma State.  The very first offensive snap against Texas Tech as Man-Cub and I were settling in, Mama was none too pleased as i said “Holy $#%+, we’re getting better.”  What I saw was the twist/slant you see below.  The beauty of a zone scheme is that you block whomever shows in your gap.  The End goes outside, so Brown lets him go, since he knows that Mixon has end man on the line of scrimmage.  The outside backer shoots down into the gap that the end vacated…

lastA

 

 

Here it is a tick later, and you can notice that Mixon is facing his man up, and Big O is facing up the backer.  Darlington is heading up to the Mike backer, while Alvarez has the A gap handled.

lastb

 

 

One second has come of the clock in all, as the ball was snapped at 14:05, and you can see how clean this play looks.  Something that the guys struggled with mightily early in the season, and especially against Texas was picking up slants and twists.  I know people get frustrated at times when Coach Stoops goes back to Execution, but here’s what a really well blocked play looks like.  The fact that it went pop-pop-pop really made me happy.  Man-Cub giggled and Mama gave me a pass.  Notice Westbrook by the 1st down line.  See him carrying out his route?  He does this later in the season too…:)

lastC

 

 

Jumping ahead to Baylor, something else that got a lot better that wasn’t great early on is how well Mixon and Samaje are blocking for each other.  While this play didn’t score or break for 20, it was a heck of a play by Samaje and the o line in general.  First off, notice how the whole Baylor team is pushed to the hash or past?  Second, look at Samaje in this shot as he’s cutting the End…

last17

 

 

Here he is finishing the play within the SAME SECOND taking out another Baylor defender.  Mixon has smooth sailing up for the first down and down inside the five.  These two guys have embraced the idea of being on the field together at the same time.  It gives defenses fits, and it makes the offense so versatile, it’s hard to load up against any one thing.

last16

 

 

To finish the play, Mixon makes a “Soft Shoulder Cut” on #48 right above the scores.   #48’s “Soft Shoulder” is his right shoulder.  The reason it’s called that is that he’s coming upfield towards Baker, so all of his strength is to the left side of his body.  By Mixon getting vertical towards the goal post, he creates an arm tackle situation by attacking #48’s Soft Shoulder since #48 will have to reach at him with his right Arm.  Mixon has the power advantage by him setting up the defender with the head fake outside and forcing him to break down.  You can see all or parts of six Baylor defenders walled off to the left.

last15

 

 

Here, it’s just a zone right with Mixon taking his turn as the lead blocker.  As you can see by the blue box, there’s definitely a numbers advantage by running right…

last14

 

 

By simply running away from the numbers advantage the defense had left, the Sooners didn’t even have to block em all.  Just get hats playside on hats, and the Baylor defenders can’t close the gap in time…

last13

 

 

The previous shots didn’t do justice to how wide the hole was.  You can see that three Baylor defenders are unblocked to the left, but it doesn’t matter.  Any of you who have been around a while have heard me say that running the ball is as much about outnumbering people at the point of attack as it is being physical.  Alabama is/are masters at this, and they are lauded as being more physical than everyone.  While they are very physical, they are also very smart and scientific with how they scheme to numbers.  Why wouldn’t you want to get Derrick Henry one on one with a safety?  To that point why wouldn’t you want to do the same with Perine or Mixon?

last12

 

 

Going back to my earlier point about picking up slants better, and also in a previous post about reading body language, this is a great example.  Bedenbaugh is a savant at teaching his offensive line what to do.  His young tackles, Brown and Samia have gotten light years better as the year wore on at noticing pre-snap body language.  Playing defense at times is like playing poker.  If you’ve ever seen the movie Rounders, Matt Damon’s character talks about every player having a “tell.”  Good poker players make people “tell” them what they’re going to do next based on their body language, sub-conscious nervous ticks etc.  The Middle linebacker just an instant before the snap gave it away by stepping a half step to his left “telling” the o-line that it was a slant.  Especially down by the goal line, if the middle backer is moving over a gap, someone has to fill his gap and so on and so on.  Baylor overloaded the left of the offense, and slanted inside.

last11

 

 

If you look at Baker’s eyes, he’s reading the end man on the line of scrimmage who I circled…

Also you can see the whole entire line has negated Baylor’s slant.  At this point, there are four unblocked Baylor defenders and only three who can make the play.  The middle backer has to stay inside to account for the fake to Samaje.  By slanting, it makes Baker’s read really easy, as he’s reading the end man.  If the end comes down hard, he’s going to pull it…

last10

 

 

And that’s exactly what he does.  This is a lead option which means that Baker has a lead blocker in Mixon.  Joe leaves #48 unblocked since that guy can’t make the play anyway, and leads on the outside.  The fake to Perine has taken the middle backer and #48 out of the play, and by Mixon leading up on the safety, Baker’s got smooth sailing to the goal line…

last9

 

 

To finish off the play, what Mixon does is a small thing, but it shows the level of teaching that Bedenbaugh has provided along with Coach Boulware.  A lot of times when guys are lead blocking, they want to run outside and get downfield quickly.  They don’t realize that the defenders are going to be working from the inside coming out, so Mixon has to be educated to turn back inside.  That’s exactly what he does as you can see his numbers.  Baker walks in untouched as a result.  Again, Mixon and Perine have gotten soooo much better at blocking for each other and in general.  Extremely well executed play down by the goal line.

last8

 

 

Phil Bennett, Baylor’s D-Coordinator must be Venables’ long lost brother.  He’s going to blitz you, twist you and everything you can imagine all the time.  The outside backer, again poor old #48 at the last minute tips his hand and runs up outside.  Big O sees it and calls it out to give Nila and Dru Samia a heads up since they’re running a counter right into the blitz…

last7

 

 

It’s already a big play…Nila has inside leverage on the backer as #48’s upfield momentum has prevented him from closing down hard by just a little.  I put an arrow on Dru Samia’s head.  Since I want you to see how he’s already got his eyes upfield looking for the middle linebacker.  Against Tulsa earlier this year, the Sooners ran this same play into almost the same blitz.  There’s a shocker since Baylor’s coaching tree went to Tulsa… Anyway, the guys were better at being ready.  Even though the backer didn’t fill hard, Samia could have handled him since his head was turned and looking.  He’s got his inside(right) shoulder dipped so he can cut off the curve and face up the linebacker…

last6

 

 

Here’s a great shot of the gate opening for Samaje.  Dru is getting up on the backer and Nila has stoned the outside blitzer…

last5

 

 

And just like that…1 with the downblock by Big O on Oakman, 2 on the kickout by Nila on poor ol #48, and 3 with Samia being technically sound coming through the hole, popped Perine for a game changing long td that ultimately won the game for the Sooners…

last4

 

 

Fast forward a couple of weeks to Okie Lite, and teams were still running slants.  Big O once again does a masterful job of washing the slant down.  He did so well, that ultimately Samia didn’t have anyone to block when he came around the corner.  Samaje busted it for the long td run due to great blocking and Westbrook staking his claim for an academy award.  Just like he did against Texas Tech, Westbrook was in tune with what was going on and engaged.  That’s the difference and why the offense is clicking so well.  The guys are selfless and really want each other to succeed.  There’s no selfishness.  Guys are truly selling out for each other…

last3

 

 

This is very similar to the cutback run Samaje had against Baylor for the TD.  It’s zone left, and Okie Lite just over pursues…Great vision is an attribute that’s way too underrated for great backs.  Playing more and seeing things more has really helped Mixon.  He’s a different back than he was early in the year, and is coming on at just the right time.  Sterling and Baker are circled and watching to see what Joe does…

last2

 

 

Again talking about how everyone’s truly engaged with seeing the team succeed, how often do you see the QB and star receiver looking like the old Redskins’ o-line on the counter trey?  Baker and Sterling get simultaneous pancake blocks to open the gate for a 60 plus yard sprint for Mixon to the end zone…

Last1

 

Ok guys, now I’m off to start working on the Clemson preview.  Hopefully this shows you how the guys have gotten better.  The ability has always been there.  The intangibles, extra film study and strong leadership are really evident right now.  While I’m hopeful the Sooners win this Thursday and again on the 11th, the evidence suggests that they’ll definitely be prepared an ready to go.  Boomer!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

48 Comments

  • ALar03 says:

    Looks like i have alot of reading to do today!! First

  • Doobie74OU says:

    Great Breakdown! Loved every word!

  • hOUligan says:

    Great finish to the series, JY. Have noticed how quick Samia is, also, at getting turned down the line. The oline…heck fire…the whole team is playing so well together. They are playing for the guy next to them and for each other. Selflessness has been so key.

    Edit: and thanks so much for your hard work in breaking this down for us…and to Man Cub and ‘Wifie’ for allowing you the space to do this. No other site like TFB.

  • Okie403 says:

    Hey JY or any of you brighter football minds… how does the long layoff effect the timing, the reads, telling the “tells” , etc for an offense like this… it always seemed to really effect the timing offenses of the White/Bradford/Jones era…

    • hOUligan says:

      Read my mind. Worried about the same thing. My guess is the oline…not so much..but more the QB/receivers.

      • Clay Davis says:

        My hope is that because there’s been so much success from improvisation by Mayfield, that sort of timing isn’t affected as much.

    • JY says:

      We’ll have to see. It’s going to be that way for both teams. Clemson does a lot of the things that OU does. They love the screen game etc. Whoever can run the ball early and not turn the ball over will have the upper hand.

  • jonnyBgood says:

    That. Was. Awesome.

    • Stephen Dale says:

      i’ll second that ……..Love these breakdowns. Really helps me understand the intellectual side of OL blocking……thanks, JY.

  • SoonerMagic76 says:

    Sooner! Thanks for all the work, love it

  • Sooner Ray says:

    Great analysis as usual JY, looking forward to Clempsun. :-0

  • soonerinks says:

    Love all the TFB does, but these are my favs.

  • rainydaze114 says:

    Praise be to Bedenbaugh. I was cursing his name at the beginning of the year, I will confess. He’s the best in the biz.

  • Kevin says:

    It’s like Christmas after Christmas! I cannot express how much I appreciate your hard work on these, JY! I especially appreciate the descriptions of how the entire team is able to take advantage of those aggressive slants that have given us so many fits these past couple of years. Looking forward to reading the Clemson preview!

  • Ed Cotter says:

    Thanks again JY. A great breakdown once again. Can’t wait for the Clemson breakdown……..and beatdown at the hands of OU. Happy New Year to you and yours.

  • Roger Nixon says:

    Sooo good, JY. Bennett & Venables both were assistants to Bill Snyder. In 1999 Venables went from KSU to OU while Bennett went from OU to KSU. I was living in Manhattan when Bennett’s wife was struck by lightning and died.

    • EasTex says:

      I’ve known Phil since the early 60’s, we lived across the street.
      His 3 brothers were all coaches and Phil was the most aggressive, a linebacker through and through, and coming from a small town was named a Parade All-American.
      There is no blitz, run or pass, that he doesn’t know and love.

  • Kevin says:

    “Successful centers embrace the mental challenges. When Darlington first came to Oklahoma, he forecasted a post-football career in the medical field. His outlook changed when offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh arrived three years ago.

    Bedenbaugh pushed the linemen to dissect opponents’ tendencies: a pass rusher’s favorite moves, the way safeties trigger blitzes with their coverage assignments. Football was complex, and Darlington fell in love with it. Coaching is now a possibility for him when he’s through.”

    –ESPN (http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/14453565/why-centers-smartest-guys-field)

    • hOUligan says:

      Great article. Have always heard olinemen are often some of the most intelligent guys on the field. OU has had a succession of centers in Habern, IKard and now Darlington who are not the most physically dominant players, but highly intelligent and skilled technicians. Love these guys to death. And hope OU finds another Campbell Award quality center. Darlington will be missed.

      • Ed Cotter says:

        Cooper was a darn good center as well

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  • jdub says:

    Awesome analysis & comments JY! Thanks so much. Question for you on the shots from the goal line TD against Baylor – from a defensive point of view who do you think busted on that play? If the Mike had the interior responsibility for the fake to Samaje, then #48 shouldn’t have crashed so hard. This would make more sense to me, but if 48 was sound & was crashing down hard as part of the line slants, then the Mike should have been scraping over the top from the inside to handle the option look & pick up Mayfield. What do you think?

  • SoonerGray says:

    That made my day. Love this stuff!! Let me know when I can ‘subscribe’ 😉

  • Golfluvr13 says:

    JY, that was awesome! Thank you for your hard work on this. It is very much appreciated!

  • Sooner Man says:

    I hope we can stretch the field a little more with the passing game.

  • Cush Creekmont says:

    Another great job! I plan to re-read your work tonight when I have more time. I understand and follow your details, but like the players becoming more familiar with the playbook, you are helping us to better follow the nuances within the game.

  • soonermusic says:

    Wow. JY, great job, again!

    “It can’t be overstated how more time in a system helps you play faster and cleaner.” Couldn’t have said it better. It’s the reason I thought at the start of the season that Mike S. was gonna surprise some folks this year. Also, underscores what a nice job Venables is doing, considering all the key guys he had to replace this year.

    The O-line and the defensive secondary are two of the places where this “time in the system” seems to show up the most. Imho, great coaching makes a huge difference as to how much improvement is seen. Also, recruits/players who “get it.” Especially to get so much development done during one season.

    Thanks again for a terrific breakdown.

  • John Tolomeo says:

    thanks…ive always watched a ton of football but never played so its nice finally learning whats actually happening not just watching it happen..

  • Himself says:

    Jordan Leggett Clemson TE said: “The game plan is a basic game plan…we are gonna do whatever we want, whenever we want…we will pick them apart”

  • michael hammond says:

    JY…as usual, brilliant breakdown and dead on. These posts are my favorite read. People love to watch the action and I’m always interested in the setup n execution. Can you imagine if we could’ve had the foresight to put this o-line combo together a little earlier??

  • EasTex says:

    Always good to see your mug, JY, and thanks for bringing the goods.
    Watching Coach B yesterday, he talked about how much work his guys still need, which came as no surprise. He also talked about how great it is having the RBs we do and that their abilities motivate the OL. One example he used was the Mixon TD run against the pokes, he claimed his guys blocked “terrible”, but that Mixon saved the day.
    Thanks again, and look forward to your Clemson appraisal.

  • Rick says:

    JY, I wish I had read this in detail earlier in the day. Fantastic job as always. I enjoyed the read….again! I can’t wait to read your preview, and the post game analysis of the trenches after we win. Thanks….oh and about that man cub stuff involving colorful language, it’s even harder as a grandpop, than as a pop. Something to look forward to.

  • ToatsMcGoats says:

    Hell yes! Man-Cub getting some time in the film room! You’re raisin’ him right, JY!

  • Soonerfandave84 says:

    Confidence in the OL is growing daily. This group is a unit and will make the difference in the 4th quarter Thursday

  • Jackson1006 says:

    Great analysis as always JY. Love reading your breakdown of the plays.

    What are your thoughts on Clemson’s LBs? I think with Texas and Tennessee, their LBs were able to delay blitzes and were athletic enough to chase down Baker, neutralizing a big element of our O. I worry about that the most. OSU, TCU, Baylor – LBs were not their strength. Any thoughts?

  • Okie403 says:

    Ok. I’m still finishing Baylor /UNC and Baylor running all over unc. Literally. So question for JY and the brain trust here…what do we take away from this game regarding Clemson and their acc competition vs ours in the B12?

  • BigJoeBrown says:

    This is an unbelivable write up, thanks JY. It’s been so cool watching the line advance and utilize technique. Bedenbaugh is legit.

  • Exiled In Ohio says:

    Imagine what this line is gonna be like next year. If we can just get a few WRs to step up, it could be back-to-back! Thanks JY!

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  • blaster1371 says:

    Good to see the O-line get better at pre-snap reads. I suspect Clemson will blitz from different places and do a lot of twists.

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