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Some actual numbers, breaking down the passing game

JayLarson

Well-known member
It could be because I have no life, but this morning I went through and charted all the Griz offense plays from yesterday. I am just going to put my findings, and then we can discuss it.

Screen passes and swing passes to Naccarrotto, there were 13 passes thrown to him, 10 were caught and 3 were dropped, for a total of 44 yards, so on 13 plays the average was 3.38 yards. On other passes that were not screens Chase had 3 catches for 45 yards for over 14 yard average. He had an 18 yarder right before half when we had a timeout left and were trying to get in a field goal, and he ran upfield instead of OB or going down and the clock ran out.

So that means Chase 14 touches and 17 targets, while Henderson and Jones were not targeted as much as him combined, they had a total of 8 catches for 95 yards total, the bright spot was Ben Roberts, 7 grabs for 74 yards, and a drop that may have put him over 100 yards for the day. John Nguyen had the only catch by a RB and he gained 12 yards on it, and had 1 other thrown over his head. We have not seen alot of passes to the RBs which I think is something that could be successful when the defense is so spread out. But they are having to stay in and block on alot of plays for now, so this may not change this season.

The Griz have much more success with slants and crossing patterns where they gain around 5 yards, and on the outs and curls they gain about 10, and the ins and posts are where they do the most damage, but the QB has to stay in the pocket for those to work. Verses heavy pressures Chad threw 2 touchdown passes of 42 and 20 yards, and hit Henderson on a deep in for about 15 yards, but there were at least 4 other times that he rushed and he threw it no where close to a receiver. If he can stand in vs these heavy blitzes and not get hurried too much these are big plays waiting to happen.

The wind seemed to be blowing pretty hard and they may have had an effect of the ball coming out, but our receivers had a lot drops on passes they usually catch, and Chad was wide on pry a half dozen throws to wide open receivers, which for sure cost Chad a 300 yard game, but he still had 330 total yards with his 65 running yards. He seems up and down with his accuracy, but at least he didnt miss where he was going to be picked off.

The center snaps were much better yesterday, a couple were slightly off but it was nice to see that improve.

I think most of us on here just have a problem that if we are going to throw the ball short so much on screens, why aren't we giving Jones and Henderson some of these touches? I did see some screen action where we throw the ball down the field, and those plays will be successful after a few successful screens. It might not happen as soon as we would like, but there will be a game where we put it all together again like vs NDSU, and then we will get on a roll, much like 2011 I think.
 
After the NDSU game the griz offense scored 19,21,23,27 points. Thus each game they are getting a bit better on the offense, which fits what we are seeing on the field. Modest improvements each game. At that rate the Griz will be scoring 40pts + in November. Which might be good enough to win the November shoot-outs we expect.
 
JayLarson said:
It could be because I have no life, but this morning I went through and charted all the Griz offense plays from yesterday. I am just going to put my findings, and then we can discuss it.

Screen passes and swing passes to Naccarrotto, there were 13 passes thrown to him, 10 were caught and 3 were dropped, for a total of 44 yards, so on 13 plays the average was 3.38 yards. On other passes that were not screens Chase had 3 catches for 45 yards for over 14 yard average. He had an 18 yarder right before half when we had a timeout left and were trying to get in a field goal, and he ran upfield instead of OB or going down and the clock ran out.

So that means Chase 14 touches and 17 targets, while Henderson and Jones were not targeted as much as him combined, they had a total of 8 catches for 95 yards total, the bright spot was Ben Roberts, 7 grabs for 74 yards, and a drop that may have put him over 100 yards for the day. John Nguyen had the only catch by a RB and he gained 12 yards on it, and had 1 other thrown over his head. We have not seen alot of passes to the RBs which I think is something that could be successful when the defense is so spread out. But they are having to stay in and block on alot of plays for now, so this may not change this season.

The Griz have much more success with slants and crossing patterns where they gain around 5 yards, and on the outs and curls they gain about 10, and the ins and posts are where they do the most damage, but the QB has to stay in the pocket for those to work. Verses heavy pressures Chad threw 2 touchdown passes of 42 and 20 yards, and hit Henderson on a deep in for about 15 yards, but there were at least 4 other times that he rushed and he threw it no where close to a receiver. If he can stand in vs these heavy blitzes and not get hurried too much these are big plays waiting to happen.

The wind seemed to be blowing pretty hard and they may have had an effect of the ball coming out, but our receivers had a lot drops on passes they usually catch, and Chad was wide on pry a half dozen throws to wide open receivers, which for sure cost Chad a 300 yard game, but he still had 330 total yards with his 65 running yards. He seems up and down with his accuracy, but at least he didnt miss where he was going to be picked off.

The center snaps were much better yesterday, a couple were slightly off but it was nice to see that improve.

I think most of us on here just have a problem that if we are going to throw the ball short so much on screens, why aren't we giving Jones and Henderson some of these touches? I did see some screen action where we throw the ball down the field, and those plays will be successful after a few successful screens. It might not happen as soon as we would like, but there will be a game where we put it all together again like vs NDSU, and then we will get on a roll, much like 2011 I think.

Right there with you on throwing to the backs more. I think that's how you best utilize Nyguen as long as you're going to play him. Defenses are going to be focused on keeping Jones and Henderson from beating them. The others are going to have to make them pay for that strategy.
 
the wheel route that they used to score on us with their running back, would also be wide open with our running backs...we must be saving it ...ha !
 
Well if you take out the drops and if Chalich does not have errant passes when a guy is wide open, the numbers would look a lot better. He did not have any passes in danger of being picked, so that is another plus. He is throwing to open receivers, which means the offense is working how it should I think.
 
JayLarson said:
Well if you take out the drops and if Chalich does not have errant passes when a guy is wide open, the numbers would look a lot better. He did not have any passes in danger of being picked, so that is another plus. He is throwing to open receivers, which means the offense is working how it should I think.

Can't make a perfect pass or catch every time, but if we could reduce the errant passes and/or drops by just half, the numbers would be outstanding. I would think that would be a realistic goal that the they could achieve. I'm optimistic.
 
After the NDSU game the griz offense scored 19,21,23,27 points.
And as AZ pointed out on another thread, in those same games, the defense has held the opposition to
31, 20, 14, 13.....that's a great trend...
I noted after the loss to Cal Poly, there really wasn't anything wrong, things just needed "tightening up."

I don't think I've seen a better or more literal example of "tightening up" as the Griz over the past four games.
 
UMGriz75 said:
After the NDSU game the griz offense scored 19,21,23,27 points.
And as AZ pointed out on another thread, in those same games, the defense has held the opposition to
31, 20, 14, 13.....that's a great trend...
I noted after the loss to Cal Poly, there really wasn't anything wrong, things just needed "tightening up."

I don't think I've seen a better or more literal example of "tightening up" as the Griz over the past four games.

One correction, the 31 and 20 are in the wrong order (my doing). It's 20, 31, 14, 13....still a good trend, and gonna get better this next weekend, I believe.
 
grizeyes said:
JayLarson said:
Well if you take out the drops and if Chalich does not have errant passes when a guy is wide open, the numbers would look a lot better. He did not have any passes in danger of being picked, so that is another plus. He is throwing to open receivers, which means the offense is working how it should I think.

Can't make a perfect pass or catch every time, but if we could reduce the errant passes and/or drops by just half, the numbers would be outstanding. I would think that would be a realistic goal that the they could achieve. I'm optimistic.

This!!
Our receivers definitely need to do a better job of catching balls when they are wide open. Chalich was probably second string because he wasn't as accurate as Brady. But he has shown himself to be a scrappy runner and his errant passes haven't been INTs. That may be why so many of his longer throws are designed to be made to the sidelines - If our WRs can't catch them, they will be incomplete, which helps our D.
 
AZGrizFan said:
One correction, the 31 and 20 are in the wrong order (my doing). It's 20, 31, 14, 13....still a good trend ...
"When the legend becomes fact, print the legend!"
 
"Some actual numbers" are not actually well-received on eGriz ... in case you haven't noticed. :)

I can't begin to tell how many threads someone (include me, sometimes) has stopped dead in their tracks by injecting actual numbers into the discussion. :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
JayLarson said:
while Henderson and Jones were not targeted as much as him combined, they had a total of 8 catches for 95 yards total, the bright spot was Ben Roberts, 7 grabs for 74 yards, and a drop that may have put him over 100 yards for the day. k.

With playmakers like Henderson and Jones and Roberts, we have to get them the ball more frequently. Take the top off the defense. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmJcUlrkMNg
 
Receivers need to catch the ball. There is no excuse for drops (and I mean drops, not failed catches of tough passes), altho I know drops happen. There have been more drops this year than I remember in any year in the last 25 years. QB's are only accurate to varying degrees; some more than others--based on talent. I am completely fine with Chalich missing a number of passes, and not throwing an interception. Shows that he's listening to coaches and being careful. I believe all of our receivers can catch the ball, but they need to catch more balls. Our qb's are only so accurate, and only have so much time. They're trying. Somehow, some way, the receivers need to catch almost all of the easy ones, and more of the tougher ones, if UM is going to win the tough games. I think it's easier for receivers to catch balls, than it is for qb's to throw perfect passes.
 
IdaGriz01 said:
"Some actual numbers" are not actually well-received on eGriz ... in case you haven't noticed. :)

I can't begin to tell how many threads someone (include me, sometimes) has stopped dead in their tracks by injecting actual numbers into the discussion. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Well, give us an actual number! ;)
 
CDAGRIZ said:
IdaGriz01 said:
"Some actual numbers" are not actually well-received on eGriz ... in case you haven't noticed. :)

I can't begin to tell how many threads someone (include me, sometimes) has stopped dead in their tracks by injecting actual numbers into the discussion. :lol: :lol: :lol:
Well, give us an actual number! ;)
Sorry ... "can't begin to tell" you what that number is. :oops:

How embarrassing ... but it seems like a lot. :lol: :lol: :lol:

(Yes, you got me.)
 
IdaGriz01 said:
CDAGRIZ said:
IdaGriz01 said:
"Some actual numbers" are not actually well-received on eGriz ... in case you haven't noticed. :)

I can't begin to tell how many threads someone (include me, sometimes) has stopped dead in their tracks by injecting actual numbers into the discussion. :lol: :lol: :lol:
Well, give us an actual number! ;)
Sorry ... "can't begin to tell" you what that number is. :oops:

How embarrassing ... but it seems like a lot. :lol: :lol: :lol:

(Yes, you got me.)

Just easing' the tension!

tmb_1230_480.jpg
 
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