Author: James Taglienti

Last week, we introduced the concept of offensive and defensive efficiency metrics. Long story short, offensive efficiency calculates the likelihood of the offense converting a possession on its side of the field into points. Defensive efficiency calculates the likelihood of your defense preventing an opposing offense from scoring. Offensive and defensive efficiency (ODE) combined can give you an idea of how well your team is performing on both sides of the ball. Texas A&M’s ODE vs App State As we can see from the chart, A&M had a total of eight offensive possessions in the game last Saturday, all eight…

We’ve broken down facets of A&M’s pro-option offense countless times, and we’ll continue with a breakdown today. Today we’re looking at Q Counter RPO, a run-pass option play that forces the defense to stop the interior run game and cover the edges against the passing game. Q Counter RPO Play Concept Q Counter RPO is a basic run-pass option concept. The play is run from 10 personnel with twin receivers on both sides of the field. QB is aligned in shotgun with the RB to his left. At the snap, the boundary slot and receiver go vertical and stalk block.…

Yesterday, we examined Texas A&M’s offensive and defensive efficiency as a way of grading their performance against Sam Houston. Today, we’re using the same efficiency metrics to grade App State’s performance in their season opener against North Carolina. Using advanced stats is a quick way to preview an opponent and show their strengths and weaknesses. App State Offensive And Defense Efficiency As we can see in the above graphic, App State had 11 valid possessions against North Carolina and converted 7 of those possessions into points. This is an offensive efficiency of 63.64%, an outstanding offensive efficiency. Anything over 50%…

In Michael Nemeth’s 2009 book Cinderella’s Slipper, the author used forensic statistical analysis to determine which statistics most commonly lead to wins in football. After analyzing the results of tens of thousands of games, Nemeth simplified it down to one thing: teams who are able to take the ball from their side of the field and convert it into points win the most. Using Nemeth’s theory, I’ve come up with a simply model of offensive and defensive efficiency to grade A&M following games. This offensive and defensive efficiency model can be applied to all teams in all conferences at all…

Early this afternoon, Austin Westlake offensive lineman TJ Shanahan committed to Texas A&M. Shanahan is currently listed at 6’4 310 lbs and projects as an interior offensive lineman. Shanahan announced his commitment on Twitter. https://twitter.com/TShanahan66/status/1567588550643785729 Shanahan plays offensive tackle currently but projects as a guard or center in college. Shanahan moves well on the field, with the physical strength to dominate nose tackles and defensive tackles. TJ has the athleticism to climb to the next level in a zone scheme or pull in a gap scheme. He displays a mean streak on the field, showing a desire to pancake every…

Texas A&M runs a pro-option offense which includes aspects of triple option and speed option, as well as run-pass option concepts. Today we’re looking at an adaptation on speed option, the load option play. During A&M’s 31-0 win over Sam Houston, their struggles in the run game were due to miscommunications and missed blocks. A&M’s attempt at running load option was stopped because of missed blocks in this game. Load Option Play Concept A&M runs load option from a shotgun split backs alignment in 21 personnel. Sam Houston was aligned in a 3-4 defensive front with a Cover 2 shell.…

In 2018, Clemson and head coach Dabo Swinney engaged in a quarterback rotation with starter Kelly Bryant and freshman phenom Trevor Lawrence. Bryant was the starter as an effective dual-threat QB and Lawrence was the fan favorite #1 national recruit out of Cartersville, Georgia. For the first four games of the season, Swinney started Bryant but rotated Lawrence in to give him significant playing time. After four games, Lawrence was named the starter and Bryant announced his intent to transfer. Lawrence led the Tigers to an undefeated season and a 41-16 blowout win over Alabama to win the national championship.…

After A&M’s 31-0 shutout win over Sam Houston, we’re looking at A&M first touchdown of the 2022 season. A&M scored on a slant wheel concept, a 66 yard pass from Haynes King to Yulkeith Brown. A basic two-man concept, the pass took advantage of Sam Houston’s coverage and Brown’s speed in the open field. Slant Wheel Play Concept Slant wheel is a simple passing concept often used in Air Raid and pro-style offenses. The play is an easy high-low read for the QB that stretches the defense’s coverage vertically. Offense is in 10 personnel with receivers aligned 2×2. Field receiver…

#6 Texas A&M started their 2022 campaign with a 31-0 shutout win over Sam Houston Saturday. The game started at 11 AM but was delayed two hours due to heavy rain and lightning. The few souls who stayed until 5:04 PM to watch the game to the end saw defensive dominance and a mixture of big plays on offense. Texas A&M QB Haynes King performed well at times, finishing 20/31 passing for 364 yards and 3 TDs. King’s performance was marred by two interceptions. King showed a little too much faith in his arm, attempting to throw the ball into…

In the first quarter of today’s Virginia Tech-Old Dominion game, a defensive misalignment resulted in Virginia Tech’s first touchdown of the 2022 season. Virginia Tech ran slice read, an adaptation of slice or split zone, and QB Grant Wells ran untouched to the end zone for a 7-0 lead. It was a basic mistake by the Monarchs defense, and a costly one at that. Play Concept And Misalignment Slice read combines elements of slice (direct handoff to RB off inside zone with H-back blocking backside DE) and bluff (DE is unblocked and QB reads for give-keep decision) into one play.…