I could live without ever seeing a single slow developing stretch run on short yardage ever again.
It’s the new Dave or read option.
Pulling a guard (for Dave) in short yardage is dumb because any good defender will crash the space left by the vacating guard straight into the backfield which, needless to say, is not great for the success of a run play. It is incredibly hard for the other oline (probably the center) to close the gap fast enough when the defenders are all expecting run.
Leaving a defender (usually the DE) unblocked in short yardage for read option is dumb because—does it really require an explanation? But the QB needs to make the correct read for it to work which is, even under the best circumstances, going to result in failed plays a certain percentage of time. I’d say even someone who was “good” at it like JT Barrett was 50/50 on making the read correctly. And if the unblocked DE plays it well, or even if they are just really aggressive shooting the backfield, which they are more often than not because it’s short yardage and they’re expecting it, they can blow up the play regardless of how good the read is made.
Stretch run in short yardage is dumb because all the oline’s first step is sideways which instantly equals surrendering the point of attack and no push up front. It also instantly telegraphs which way the run is going and every defender on the team can crash to that side with reckless abandon and blow up the play. Unless you’ve got a hard counter (like naked boot the opposite way, or a RB that is really, really good at finding the cutback lanes) that you’ve set up heavily that the D has to think about to stay honest, please, please don’t do this.
I understand the theory behind each of these plays—Dave flips the numbers with an extra blocker, read option flips the numbers by neutralizing an indecisive defender, stretch runs create cut back lanes that a good RB (no one was better at this than JK Dobbins, and Trey Sermon was amazing at it when he hit his stride in 2020, so maybe Day was spoiled by his personnel into over relying on it) can hit all day—but the unique circumstances of short yardage, most obviously an extra aggressive defense expecting run at the point of attack, eliminates every one of these advantages more often than not, which is something Ohio State coaches seem to be incredibly stubborn about over the years.
Whether it’s Tressel, Meyer, or Day on these calls respectively, these short yardage plays have been frustrating me immensely for 20 years.
Outside of 2-3 games a year, you’re Ohio State and they’re whoever they are. Just line up and block the person in front of you and give the ball to the RB. That’s the attitude the coaches seem to have, just applied incorrectly to insist the advantage of those three plays can still be realized in short yardage.
I swear Day did this better earlier in his career with some TE creativity out of twelve personnel (two TEs). When the TE motioned everyone in the stadium knew the run was coming behind them, but just the variability of whether the TE would block straight ahead or crack back across the formation was enough to keep the defense on their heels and make it a highly successful play in short yardage despite it being incredibly telegraphed.
More of that, please. I do think Dsy has lacked the TEs to be comfortable with two on the field he trusts blocking to do this much the past several years (last year they didn’t have a second behind Stover, and Ruckert was never the greatest blocker.)
Hausmann and Farrell in 2020 were the last time Day had two grinder TEs he could rely on in short yardage, and he used the hell out of them.
I’m really hoping Royer (or maybe even Christian or Thurman as guys with the frames to block) steps up this season behind Stover to give Day a duo of TE he can be confident in for short yardage plays again.
