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Are the Receivers open - LA Tech Film Review

Sep 21, 2022, 5:27 PM

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Let me preface this post by saying I have no experience playing quarterback or wide receiver and I have never coached the position. I would love if someone with more insight and experience watching tape could offer their thoughts and correct me for what I get wrong. Additionally, I have very limited data as the camera angles are very QB focused and rarely show more than 15 yards past the line of scrimmage, if they show past the line of scrimmage at all. In addition, the condescended games by the ACC Network are trash. Plays skip between a Georgia Tech punt straight into a Clemson punt, we will convert a 1st down only for the next play shown to be LA Tech with the ball, an occasional commercial from the game is still shown, while Cade only has 1 snap shown that counted in the entire La Tech game. Oh well, we will do analysis with what we have.

Like many of you, I have wondered what is wrong with the Clemson passing game. Are the receivers open? Is it a QB problem, an O-line problem or a scheme problem? DJ was suppose to have shown improvement, the O-line was suppose to be a potential strength, and we had a new coordinator in to prevent the offense from being stale. And yet through three games at times it feels like it is just more of the same. So let's get into it.

The first thing the tape shows, even in the view and play restraints given to me, is the receivers are open.

Click Photo 1

Antonio Williams is a stud and on the second drive of the game blows by his man in press coverage right after the snap. DJ Uiagalelei is already looking in this direction from the snap as he is locked in on Beaux Collins on the bottom left of your screen. Collins is open and he does a nice job placing this ball in between the corner and the safety, but you'd like for him to notice the receiver closest to him has beat his man and switch up the target. Especially as the safety is providing help guarding Collins over the top and abandoned the center of the field.

Click Photo 2

On this photo DJ has a man open on a "rub" play to the top right of your screen, but is not looking anywhere near Spector. You could blame this on the O-line for not picking up the rusher as they are only rushing four, or Shipley for getting run over, but DJ's eyes are nowhere near this play. Even if the block was picked up, by this time in the image the ball should be in the air towards Spector. Instead, it is a 50/50 ball to Ngata on the sideline that falls incomplete.

For anyone wondering why we don't use the middle or why we do not have anyone running wide open with 15 yards of separation; seems largely to do with protection. Short passes over the middle are not an option as linebackers are respecting the run and staying within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage before the snap. When it is a pass, they drop back and are covering that 5-10 yard window from the line of scrimmage. The safeties are providing over the top help on the sidelines, so the middle is open, but it takes time for a receiver to get 15 yards deep and then cut inside and it’s time DJ simply does not have.

Click Photo 3

In this 3rd and 10 play LA Tech rushes five and immediately generates pressure. The wide receivers are unable to get 10 yards deep into their routes before DJ is being taken down. Both guys open up across the center, but at this point it’s too late.

Click Photo 4

The same thing happens again here, this time on a 6-man rush. Antonio Williams will be wide open across the middle and Allen’s man actually falls down, but it is all for not as an offensive lineman is pushed back into DJ before any of it can really occur.

It is hard to tell how many guys are running free across the center because the opening in the defense is beyond where the television cameras show, but what they do show is normally two linebackers with their eyes on the QB sitting close like they are in photo 3 and other photos shown in this post with no one around. For those NFL fans reading, the looks we are getting are similar to what the Dolphins received vs the Ravens last weekend where Tua threw for 469 yards. The pass options are there we just need to give the receivers time to get down field and find the holes.
Until then we are stuck with mostly using the quick passing game which is far from crisp at this point in the season. My biggest gripe with DJ Uiagalelei during my LA Tech film review is his reluctance to take advantage of inside leverage or throw with any sort of anticipation.

Click Photo 5

Here we are in the hurry up, before the end of the half and DJ takes far too long to process the throw before hitting Ngata. He waits for Ngata to finish his curl and turn his hips back to him before beginning his throwing motion. A process that takes over 2 seconds before the ball leaves his hand, even though the defender is nearly 7 yards off. This pass is completed for a three-yard gain, but the cornerback is all over him by the time the ball reaches Ngata. It is also worth noticing that Shipley will slip out unguarded and Antonio Williams will cut up behind the defenders towards center field also wide open. When the average time a quarterback has to throw is 2.8 seconds, it can’t take over 2 seconds to process one receiver on quick curl with a defender so far off. And it is a repeated issue for DJ.

Click Photo 6

In the same situation against Georgia Tech, EJ Williams has the cornerback’s back to him and yet DJ pump fakes the curl and delivers the ball late. The cornerback is able to recover and almost makes the tackle short of the first down, if not for an excellent second effort by Williams.
Steelers offense uses a mixture of Curl and Go routes, with the Go routes, creating a deep threat for safeties and corners to respect, allowing space to work underneath. However, with the ball arriving consistently after the WR has made his break; the corners are playing the deep ball and given time to come up and make the short catch contested. It’s worth noting that there is a chance these routes are option routes and the WR are choosing to run a curl, but even DJ is not trusting that he and the WR are both on the same page.

When done correctly it looks a lot like this play from Ohio State.

Click Photo 7

CJ Stroud takes the snap, play action, and the ball is out of his hand in a little over 1 second. The fact that the RT already has a man coming free is immaterial as Stroud is already at the top of his throwing motion. The cornerback is not able to square up and make a play on the WR in time and Ohio State gains 17 yards on the play. All of that with closer coverage than we have on the first two examples.

From what I have seen DJ prefers to let a receiver settle into the empty spots of a zone and then hit them or when given man coverage will trust his ball placement towards the outside. In my unprofessional opinion, he is playing it safe. He is protecting against any miscommunication he and the receivers might have and making sure he has the correct coverage. You rarely see him hit a receiver in stride through the hole in the zone or right after a break. The exception to that is Beaux Collins.

Click Photo 8

I know, a huge shock that our top receiver for the last 5 games of 2021 and old high school teammates is the guy DJ trusts the most, but it’s true. Here DJ correctly reads the DB and begins his throwing motion before the break is complete. In the play covered previously, where DJ misses Antonio Williams streaking open, is actually a great job reading the coverage the throwing the ball to Collins in between the two zones, he just missed that Williams embarrassed the corner on the play. The anticipation is not just deep with Collins either, on short out routes DJ's timing is prefect when Collins is the intended receiver.

Hopefully this chemistry and trust will grow with his all his wide receivers, especially Antonio Williams, as the season progresses. I know this film review comes across as negative, but I am actually very encouraged by DJ Uiagalelei’s play. When he has locked in on an open man he is purposeful with the ball, has shown nice touch on passes, and his footwork is vastly improved. The wide receivers are open we just need to give him the time and the confidence.

*Tigernet it would be nice if I could post photos in the text instead of as an attachment

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Cover-# is just a coverage shells where the "#" is the number of deep defenders (with the exception of cover-6).

-Cover-0 (or zero coverage) is, like it sounds, no one over top.
-Cover-1 has one deep safety in the middle of the field and is generally man underneath with either a 5th rusher or a robber zone underneath
-Cover-2 has 2 that nominally split the field in half. It can be man or zone under.
-Cover-3 has 2 deep safeties and rolls a corner deep to nominally split into thirds. This can also be man or zone underneath but it's almost always zone. Cover 3 with man underneath is usually only used in prevent style scenarios.
-Cover-4 (or quarters) has two deep safeties covering the middle of the field and rolls both outside corners deep to split the field into quarters. We played an absolute ton of cover-4 under BV. It's his go to coverage.
-Cover-6 is a blended coverage. It plays cover-2 on the weak side and cover-4 on the strong side. This is really versatile but also a more complicated coverage scheme for defenders to read keys. It's less common at the college level but you see it quite a bit on obvious passing downs in the NFL.

I think there's blame to go everywhere for offensive issues right now. On number 2 DJ shouldn't have come off the first read so early. He has to sense the pressure and know he has that extra quarter second. Even still coming off it is actually find but like I said he has to put that ball high and to Ngata's back shoulder. That's not on play-calling. That's DJ's execution. All that being said yes I think offensive scheme design is a massive weak point for this team and has been for closer to 10 years than 2 years.

The problem is that we haven't had an innovator at offensive coordinator since maybe Rich Rod. Since 2011 we've had Chad Morris, who was a Gus Malzahn disciple, not an innovator in his own right, and a bunch of disciples of his offensive scheme. None of them have meaningfully developed it. The only real noticeable tweaks from what Chad was running to what we're running now is that now we snap the ball with 5 seconds on the playclock instead of 25. Other than that it's the same offense doing the same thing. The only time I've seen ANY meaningful innovation since 2015 was in the 2018 playoffs where we introduced new packages of some 10 personnel to get Higgins and Ross on the field at the same time. Other than that it's 11 personnel until we get to short yardage then its 13 personnel. Rinse and repeat and watch Tigernet claim we're staying vanilla and saving the playbook until later in the year when the reality is we're not saving the playbook, our coaches just don't know how to be more innovative. I fear we're presently experiencing the Peter Principle with Streeter (and to a lesser degree I have this concern about Goodwin as well but that's a different discussion).

I think Dabo's one of the best culture and program builders in college football history. What he's been able to do at Clemson while facing down the reign of the greatest college football coach of all time is frankly remarkable. But I think his biggest weaknesses are stubbornness and complacency and in a college football world that's changing as rapidly as this one those two weaknesses are about as bad as they can be. I'll get derided as a coot on here for stating it, but for the first time in about a decade I don't really have a great feeling about the direction Clemson football is headed because it really feels like the man at the wheel has started to care more about who's in the car with him than where exactly the car's headed.

Are the Receivers open - LA Tech Film Review

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Re: Are the Receivers open - LA Tech Film Review

Re: Are the Receivers open - LA Tech Film Review

Re: Are the Receivers open - LA Tech Film Review

Re: Are the Receivers open - LA Tech Film Review

I see no instructions. Anyway, why can it not be as simple

Re: I see no instructions. Anyway, why can it not be as simple

Re: Are the Receivers open - LA Tech Film Review

Re: Are the Receivers open - LA Tech Film Review

Re: Are the Receivers open - LA Tech Film Review

Re: Are the Receivers open - LA Tech Film Review

Re: Are the Receivers open - LA Tech Film Review

Re: Are the Receivers open - LA Tech Film Review

Re: Are the Receivers open - LA Tech Film Review

Great stuff

Thank you.

Re: Thank you.

Re: Are the Receivers open - LA Tech Film Review

Re: Are the Receivers open - LA Tech Film Review

Re: Are the Receivers open - LA Tech Film Review

Re: Are the Receivers open - LA Tech Film Review

I've been trying to say this and thanks for the evidence.

I remember a couple of those plays

GREAT Post!!!***

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