ANATOMY OF A BIG PLAY (LBs)

I'm going to post a particular play that illustrates some of the things that I have noticed about our interior LB play.

As a disclaimer, I am not posting this to criticize or gripe about our players or our coaching decisions. This is just an exercise that I like to do in my spare time. And I am not volunteering in my HS alma matter's scouting department this year so I have to cut my teeth in other ways just for fun.

OFFENSE:

Bucaneer's ball on thier 15. They are running a HB counter. Standard I formation, strong right. They are going to run at the 2 gap right at the Mike.

*Primary use for counters is to freeze the LBs in thier initial read and set-up the blocking.

Strong side guard will block down. Strong tackle will kick out the strong end. Everyone on the weakside will block down. FB will lead block to fill the hole.

DEFENSE:

Dallas has come out in a 3-4. NT is shaded to the strong side. SE are taught to split the TE and T. WOLB will step up, check flow of play and box as the weakside pursuit.

LBS: Mike is going to stack the NT to make his initial read then react to the ball. By default he has the 3 gap but can theoretically scrape from this point to anywhere. (note: The NT cannot be driven back as it will clog the LBs lateral path.)

The WLB will step up stacked behind the DE and make a read. HE IS SUPPOSED TO READ THE PLAY AND HAVE LATERAL PURSUIT IF THE BALL IS NOT COMING TO HIM.

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED:

The Mike stacked as mentioned but gets tangled up with his blocker when the counter happened. For whatever reason, the Mike was not prepared to take the blocker on and was only able to get a passing arm on the runner.

The Will made his original read and got sucked into the counter and got tied up with the center in the 1 gap. It was not a blitz. By being too far up the field, he has put himself in traffic and has taken himself out of weakside support. He continues to chase the play behind the line of scrimmage. This is a no-no.

The runner hits the hole, works off his lead block, and takes advantage of the missing weakside support and cut back to where the Will should have been and gained 10-15 yrds.

IN SHORT. The ILBs got sucked into the counter and were set up for the blocking because they made the mistake of overpursuing and overcommitting.

I think this should get better as the games go on. I want to give them the benefit of the doubt and chalk this up to mental lapses within the game. But good teams do not have these mental lapses. We have good athletes on this team and our LBs are up to task. But it is the mental aspect and discipline to play their technique that will enable us to be a better football team. Unfortunately, there where a few snafus throughout the game. Hopefully this corrects itself. 

This isn't rocket science - but I also am not in the Cowboys strategy sessions. So these observations are derived from my experience in playing and coaching and is highly subjective. But there are some fundamental things that I see that might help explain some things going on on Sundays. Like I've said before. This community is full of experienced football people. So please, add any wisdom or correction and we all will benefit.

I'll try and post some of these as the season progresses.