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Upon Further Review- Rhett Lashlee

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JHallCanes said:
I initially wanted to say it’s true but also SMU plays lesser talented teams than we do as well

But then I took another look at our 2020 schedule...
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Talent wise we are.

Our horrid coaching and scheme made us look much much much worse.

A guy like Harris would have had close to 1500 all purpose yards with SMU.
 
Hegemon said:
Talent wise we are.

Our horrid coaching and scheme made us look much much much worse.

A guy like Harris would have had close to 1500 all purpose yards with SMU.
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I agree. Just making a joke.

I’m cautiously optimistic.
 
@Lance Roffers , that's a lot of stuff you want the offense to accomplish. I remember OU vs. UF a decade ago. The announcers were hyping up the OU pace and created a clock just for the OU QB. What happened? Every play the offense stopped before snapping the ball and looked to the sideline. "check with me"

Just about everything you list is negated when the players do not execute. "Coach what happened on that drive?" "He's gotta catch that ball." or "He's gotta block his man."

Playcalling gets overrated by the fans because we see the final result, not what prepares the team. The team should not be treating games like they are going to be easy during practice.
 
TheEye said:
@Lance Roffers , that's a lot of stuff you want the offense to accomplish. I remember OU vs. UF a decade ago. The announcers were hyping up the OU pace and created a clock just for the OU QB. What happened? Every play the offense stopped before snapping the ball and looked to the sideline. "check with me"

Just about everything you list is negated when the players do not execute. "Coach what happened on that drive?" "He's gotta catch that ball." or "He's gotta block his man."

Playcalling gets overrated by the fans because we see the final result, not what prepares the team. The team should not be treating games like they are going to be easy during practice.
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All of this. You can have the best scheme in the universe, but a dropped ball or missed assignment cancels all of that all.

But, execution becomes a lot easier when the players aren't thinking as much.
 
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supersaiyanshel said:
All of this. You can have the best scheme in the universe, but a dropped ball or missed assignment cancels all of that all.

But, execution becomes a lot easier when the players aren't thinking as much.
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yep Lashlee will def be getting the ball out quicker, so guys don't have to think that much now we can see mark pope take a slant to the house or whoever im excited for the O!
 
Excellent work, I'm cautiously optimistic with this hire. Hopefully, simplifying things will help us get some of the younger guys ready and on the field early.
 
BS85 said:
Wish Jeff Thomas was here another year for this offense
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I'll play: Like the guy said on LeBatard Show, if they didn't bring Thomas back after he walked away, we beat Florida.

We beat Florida and this would have likely been a very different season. That's was a culture hit on Manny, just like I said he risked it, when he did it.
 
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Silver King said:
I'll play: Like the guy said on LeBatard Show, if they didn't bring Thomas back after he walked away, we beat Florida.

We beat Florida and this would have likely been a very different season. That's was a culture hit on Manny, just like I said he risked it, when he did it.
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I'm tempted to say that, but ultimately I'm not sure that beating Florida in game 1 would have made much of a difference to the final season results. This team would have been completely full of itself after beating UF and possibly getting ranked, and it would still have come out dead flat @ Chapel Hill after the bye, guaranteed.
 
I love that this scheme will seemingly allow chaney & knighton to get on the field sooner. It also seems paramount our o line & receivers coach hires are strong to make this offense hit its peak. As long as Lashlee isn't stubborn and put our o line in too many perilous situations I think we'll have a big improvement next year, although my expectations will be a bit tempered after this disaster season we just experienced.
 
supersaiyanshel said:
All of this. You can have the best scheme in the universe, but a dropped ball or missed assignment cancels all of that all.

But, execution becomes a lot easier when the players aren't thinking as much.
Click to expand...
TheEye said:
@Lance Roffers , that's a lot of stuff you want the offense to accomplish. I remember OU vs. UF a decade ago. The announcers were hyping up the OU pace and created a clock just for the OU QB. What happened? Every play the offense stopped before snapping the ball and looked to the sideline. "check with me"

Just about everything you list is negated when the players do not execute. "Coach what happened on that drive?" "He's gotta catch that ball." or "He's gotta block his man."

Playcalling gets overrated by the fans because we see the final result, not what prepares the team. The team should not be treating games like they are going to be easy during practice.
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Bad coaching creates bad execution.

We showed who we are the first drive of the season and it was pretty **** good for starting freshmen at both tackle spots. We marched on them into field goal range. We should have built on that success and had better calls in the red zone.

The difference between good coaches that succeed wherever they go and bad coaches who need everything to be perfect, is that good coaches always meet their team where the team is at. Good coaches believe their eyes and adjust to what they see QUICKLY.

Florida was terrified of our speed and played soft. When Enos refused to give up the long drops against all evidence that they were killing us, he sunk the entire team. It didn’t just happen in the first game. He built that ineptitude from the entire offseason.

Good coordinators that produce improvement and big numbers always take the easy money, force the defense to adjust then make them pay for overplaying with the adjustment.

Good execution doesn’t just happen magically out of thin air. It starts with finding out exactly what the team does well, building on it, and gaining confidence and momentum that allow the team to grow.

Theoretically, any play can work at anytime if you just execute, but we all know that is bullshyt practically. Execution is created by positive momentum that begins in practice.

Bad execution snowballs into an avalanche because of bad scheming.The best coaches know that and build their team up from a realistic starting point.

Lashlee isn’t perfect, but I think he will bring major improvement because his offense addresses issues that spiraled us into execution that got worse over time, when it usually gets better unless injuries pile up and we stayed reasonably healthy.
 
Lance Roffers said:
GIF's


Example of one of my favorite plays; Smash from Y (83) with a Whip to the boundary, and a checkdown from RB. The reason why it looks like the QB is looking that way the whole time is he has two reads in one. His read is the boundary CB, believe it or not. He’s throwing this long before the receiver is open just based on what the boundary CB does. If the boundary CB sinks back into the end zone to take away the corner route, you know you have the Whip route underneath. If the defense drops into Cover-4, you have the checkdown with your RB 1-on-1 against the MLB.

There is a really cool RPO you can run with this as well, where you run this route concept but the RB is going to block the MLB rather than run a pass route and the QB is basically running a lead draw with a lead blocker and a light box to run against.

A red-zone special package out of this same concept is to have your WR run a slant-stop rather than the Whip you see here out of Trips, rather than 2 x 2. It creates a natural pick for your middle receiver running the corner.



On this play, it is a single-high S look from the defense. Stacks his TE (Y) with a slot (H) receiver. Once again, this is a simple read for the QB. Since he sees the defense is in single-high his first read is the middle seam route by 83 (little different than a crosser since it drifts deeper to give a better angle). This isn’t difficult, in fact, Lashlee is making it easy on his QB as you know that middle seam is going to be open in the second window unless the single-high S drops down to jump it. If he does, you have the Z 1-on-1 deep to the outside. Lashlee loves the Whip route, and so do I because it forces the CB to come up to protect against the slant and doesn’t allow him to drift back on routes to make the throw more difficult (or “muddy” the throwing lane).



Another one-read play for the QB. This is called Stick, but they double it with the OLB. That means the QB is making only one read; if the MLB vacates and follows the swing pass to the RB it’s a QB draw. If he doesn’t vacate, you throw the swing pass. These are simple reads for the QB and makes it easy for him to pick up and succeed in this scheme. Simple numbers game.



This is another air-raid staple. Ace Mesh X Post with a swing to the RB. The RB does what he is coached to do when the edge jumps it like this and turns it into a wheel. Post takes coverage away and opens that corner of end zone. The swing (into wheel) is the last read on this play. Read is corner or post, then mesh point, then swing (into wheel). You can see QB do this quickly and get to his third read. Little bit of variation because you have your Y (TE) attached in-line rather than split. Lashlee does this to keep TCU in more of a heavy personnel to respect threat of run.



Lashlee isn’t unusual in that he’s an Air-Raid guy who loves the concepts that most do in Stick, Mesh, Smash. This is Ace Trips Right Y Stick against single-high S man-coverage. Against this defense, the pre-snap read is the Z-Go. Looks off the S and knows where he is going the whole time. The Z is lined up outside the numbers and his one job is that he must release outside. If this is cover-2, it’s not even a read for your QB and is just a clear-out route.

When you have a stud receiver like Proche, you run concepts that open the field up for him and that’s what they did here.

Data (You have been warned)
  • Without accounting for strength of schedule, SMU scored a TD on 41.2% of their drives this year. That figure ranked 12th in the nation. Last season, SMU was at 23.7% which was 93rd. Adding a grad transfer QB helped, but the scheme change was big for this program. For context, Miami scored a TD on 26.0% of their drives, good for 76th in the nation. Alabama was at 56.4%, Ohio State at 55.0%, LSU at 52.3% to show where the elite teams are at (1, 2, 3).
  • SMU registered a 1st down on 77.1% of their drives, good for 28th in the nation. Last season, SMU was at 64.4%, which was 118th. Miami was at 69.4%, which was 84th in the nation. Ohio State at 87% and LSU at 84.4% were 1, 2.
  • SMU gained 57.7% of the available yards to their offense (meaning if there are 80 yards to a TD and you gain 60 yards, you gained 75% of the available yards). This ranked 14th in the nation. Last year, they were at 39.9%, good for 104th in the nation. Miami was at 44.3%, good for 83rd in the nation. Alabama at 70.2%, LSU at 69.2%, Oklahoma at 66.5%, Ohio State at 66.3% to show you the importance of this stat (1, 2, 3, 4).
  • SMU had their drive average at least 10 yards per play 18.3% of the time, good for 24th in the country. Last year they were at 11.9%, good for 85th. Miami was at 12.2%, finishing 79th. LSU was at 34.4% (wow), Alabama at 32.7%, Oklahoma at 30.9% (1, 2, 3).
  • An area that gives pause for the offense is at “Busted Drive Rate” which measures the percentage of drives that earn zero or negative yards. SMU finished at 9.8%, good for 42nd in the nation. Last year they were at 17.8% (121st). Miami finished at 16.8%, which was 120th in the nation (woof). Boise State was at 3.8%, LSU was at 3.9% (1, 2).
  • SMU was above-average in every metric, while Miami was below-average in every metric.
Observations
  • Smash, Slants, Post, Wheel, Mesh, Hitch, Dig, Screen all day in the passing game are the post-snap reads. There are pre-snap reads on almost every play to determine if the defense is giving a 1-on-1 matchup that can get deep. If there is, that’s the read on most plays.
  • Run game is based on numbers in almost all cases. If the box is light, it’s right. If the box is full, pull.
  • What does this offense do when the defense can run cover-2 with a LB fast enough to carry the seam 8 yards before giving off to the S, with a MLB who can cover the RB on the check down? It looks like most of their routes are going to disrupted if you play physical press-man cover-2 and have athletic LB’s. Of course, most offenses are going to be disrupted if the defense has the personnel to do those things.
  • Lashlee has a good feel for setting up routes and knowing when to use the variation for big plays. 3rd and long does not feel hopeless in this offense.
  • Miami is going to need to recruit WR’s who can get separation.
  • Hopefully whoever is the WR coach next year is good at teaching WR’s/TE’s how to stem a DB because in the smash concept it’s a must. Additionally, the Whip route that Lashlee loves to throw in the flat with the Smash concepts is not an easy route to master. You have to sell that slant hard enough to get the boundary CB to drive on it, then pivot and cut back out. If you give it away, the boundary CB can sink and muddy that corner route that the Smash lives on. Running the Dig route is another difficult route to teach/master because the WR has to get to his window on time. There are two windows the QB is reading on that Dig route and if he doesn’t get the ball in the first window, he has to keep running to get to the second window on time for the QB to see him. There are a couple of instances of this happening in the stills of the Memphis game.
  • Lashlee rarely asks his RB’s to pass protect, which will help the freshmen get on the field faster. For the most part, he utilizes them as decoys, or in pass patterns with the help of space to pull defenders out of the box. Then he gets the ball out of the QB’s hand quickly to offset blitzes. This is one of the major differences you will see in philosophies with this offense.
  • Any QB in America can play in this offense. It’s simple and the reads are the same regardless of what the coverage is. There is very little of the QB needing to read “if the LB moves here, do this”, type of stuff. Most of that is in the Read-Option run game. The offense is designed to give the QB only 1-2 reads on most plays. The Smash concept that Lashlee runs allows for the QB to make two reads with only one key, then get to the check-down, which is technically his third read.
  • Truthfully, there is more two-TE and bunch type of formations than I expected. This isn’t a true space-and-pace offense, but rather a hybrid of things that Lashlee has picked up along the way. Hopefully he has mastered what better defenses will do to counter his go-to plays because Miami does not have the OL to compensate for the need for more time.
  • Lashlee runs a lot of plays, but he doesn’t really turn up the pace until after the first 1st down of the drive. He picks the pace up even more once the offense gets past midfield. Then tends to go even faster on 3rd and short. Think how the Patriots go super-fast on those plays to prevent substitutions into short yardage personnel groupings.
  • I like that Lashlee is not afraid to continue to take free-money from the defense. If something he is calling is working, he will call it until the defense adjusts or stops it. Gus Malzahn was once told to have "six plays and be really good at them" which seems to have been passed down to Lashlee because he has about that many concepts that he goes to constantly. It's just that he can run any of the six out of just about every formation and they generally look the same pre-snap.
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Excellent work as always Lance.

Like you, my biggest gripe with Enos was the inability to capitalize on the easy money. It was there all season long.

That easy money is what separates offensive coordinators and makes high powered offenses. You destroy the defenses confidence and increase your own. When they overreact, big plays happen.

Lashlee gets to the line quick, reads the defense quick, and IMMEDIATELY attacks the weakness. He designs the offense to get rid of the ball quickly, even on deep routes.

I am also a fan of zone running and hopes he has the awareness to realize inside zone should be our bread and better in the run game. We may improve pulling and reach blocking over time, but we got big plays out of inside zone even when the offense was bad.

Thanks and keep doing God’s work.
 
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If Lance had a site, I'd gladly pay. Not to take anything away from Roman or any of the others, but the added analytics really make these threads.
 
  • Have your offense get to LOS and then “Check with me”
This one is simple: college athletes have less experience, less free time, lower football IQ’s opposed to NFL players (on average), and are limited in the time they can spend with coaches each week. Why ask a college QB to get to the LOS, read keys, make play calls, then ask them to make necessary adjustments when your professional coach who spends 80 hours a week creating the plays and game plan can make the adjustments for your QB after reviewing the defensive setup.


This is critical. So many teams do it, except us.
 
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miamifan007 said:
  • Have your offense get to LOS and then “Check with me”
This one is simple: college athletes have less experience, less free time, lower football IQ’s opposed to NFL players (on average), and are limited in the time they can spend with coaches each week. Why ask a college QB to get to the LOS, read keys, make play calls, then ask them to make necessary adjustments when your professional coach who spends 80 hours a week creating the plays and game plan can make the adjustments for your QB after reviewing the defensive setup.


This is critical. So many teams do it, except us.
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Went through a whole season without running a single audible lol... even when dbs showed blitz and walked up to the line, nope just ran the called play. That was a simpleton *** offense man smh
 
brock said:
Went through a whole season without running a single audible lol... even when dbs showed blitz and walked up to the line, nope just ran the called play. That was a simpleton *** offense man smh
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Audible? For what?

Didn’t you know every play in the Enos Master System has an answer for ANYTHING a defense can do?

Audible, schmaudible. Who needs audibles when you are basking in the genius of Dan Enos and his soggy play sheets?
 
Lance Roffers said:


Smash-Whip again with a wrinkle by having the TE in as an extra blocker rather than making him the Y like the first gif utilized. That looks like a red zone adjustment to get TE into that spot in red zone and utilize more size. When further out, utilize more speed in that spot. This was again a pre-snap read for the QB. QB is just throwing to a spot and the WR has to get there.

I could only add five pieces of media, but wanted to show this adjustment on earlier plays.
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**** fine work Lance.
 
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