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3rd Down Woes

ThomasM

ThomasM

Retired from college football
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I did a little digging and it was even worse than I remember.

https://www.teamrankings.com/college-football/stat/third-down-conversions-per-game

When you factor in that Rosier actually could use his feet, and did on occasion to get a first down, this number is even more alarming. I know we have had problems on 3rd down for years now, but last season was probably the lowest point we could have ever reached in this category. It is also the single biggest sign of weakness at the most important position. When Richt said Rosier needs to improve, I think he understated it a bit. We need drastic improvement from the position to get this number up, not just marginal improvement.

Spring ball can't get here fast enough for this Cane fan.
 
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Rosier was really bad, but so was our entire offense. Predictable play calling. Not able to get 1 or 2 yards on a run play. I think the entire 3rd down, specifically 3rd and less than 4, needs to be completely re-evaluated.
 
I'm curious to see how ineffective our run game on 1st down was in leading to more 3rd and longs. Basically how often did we put ourselves behind the chains. If you are consistently in 3rd and 6+ because of poor execution on 1st down (Gaining 1,2, 0, or losing yards. Procedure or holding penalties), it will correlate directly to poor 3rd down execution.

Not saying all those other things about Rosier and some predictable play calling are not factors as well, but I think there is something to first down and not being physical on that down that leads us to be in bad 3rd down situations.
 
This issue is a direct result of two things

A. Rosiers lack of ability to remain calm under pressure and deliever an accurate throw to a hot receiver in rhythm
B. Lack of physicality on the offensive line due to just a lack in elite physical talent outside on Donaldson who was a true Frosh.

to really overcome this problem next season Rosier is going to have to be better the Oline improved from 16' to 17' and should hopefully make another leap next season but Rosier is going to have to be a different guy than he was last season if we really hope to jump in our third down efficiency.
 
Remember when we said "if only Kaaya could run, our 3rd down problems would be solved."?

It's an issue we've had going back numerous years. It's either big play or nothing at Miami. Too many inconsistencies at QB and OL for far too long. Defenses are going to continue to gang up to stop the run if we don't have a QB who can hurt them with his arm.
 
jmccomber5 said:
Rosier was really bad, but so was our entire offense. Predictable play calling. Not able to get 1 or 2 yards on a run play. I think the entire 3rd down, specifically 3rd and less than 4, needs to be completely re-evaluated.
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Part of the predictability was due to Rosier's inability. Yet another reason the position needs an upgrade.
DTP said:
Remember when we said "if only Kaaya could run, our 3rd down problems would be solved."?
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Now it's "If Rosier could pass..."
 
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brock said:
Defense hung itself out to dry not getting off the field on 3rds down too. Let’s not act like there isn’t a problem there as well
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Yes, but the O not staying on the field directly impacts the D. I agree the D needs to do better, but they will have a hard time doing so if the O can't stay on the field.
 
The big problem here is that even when Rosier did manage to throw a ball where the receiver could catch it, he almost never through it to where the receiver could catch it in stride and make a play after the catch. Instead the receivers were busy making diving catches to even secure the ball. All season long there was only a handful of throws where Rosier put a pass in a place that enabled our talented skill players to do there thing.
 
Lets start by reducing 3 and outs... the result is higher chances of scoring 7 or even 3 points... and the poor defense gets a break.
Also, one of the biggest offensive killers is predictability and slow developing plays... this is for the most part Rosier's department. You can't give good defenses enough time to figure out what the fvck you are going to do.
 
CANEMC said:
Yea but how many 3 and outs or blunders did we have off of turnovers created by the defense? Way too many missed opportunities by the O.
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How many 3 and out opportunities or 3rd and long situations did the defense give up? It was a lot and played a contributing factor of them staying on the field a long time. I know what I saw period
 
MikeCane18 said:
I'm curious to see how ineffective our run game on 1st down was in leading to more 3rd and longs. Basically how often did we put ourselves behind the chains. If you are consistently in 3rd and 6+ because of poor execution on 1st down (Gaining 1,2, 0, or losing yards. Procedure or holding penalties), it will correlate directly to poor 3rd down execution.

Not saying all those other things about Rosier and some predictable play calling are not factors as well, but I think there is something to first down and not being physical on that down that leads us to be in bad 3rd down situations.
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First downs were bad because rosier isn’t a D1 qb, the ol is horrible, and the OC was lacking.
 
brock said:
Defense hung itself out to dry not getting off the field on 3rds down too. Let’s not act like there isn’t a problem there as well
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the defense still did its job in all but one game this season to help us win, the offense definitely let the defense out to dry, defense also won us games like UNC and syracuse when rosier couldn't add more to the score to cruise into comfortable wins
 
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Part of the problem is Richt, like many coaches, likes to call runs on 2nd & 10 basically guaranteeing a 3rd & long. Data shows that an incompletion on 1st & 10 should actually encourage another pass on 2nd down if you want a shot at sustaining drives. It would also help if the offense had easy quick hitters instead of running mostly sideline 50-50 balls and in-breaking routes into heavy traffic.

This is a major concern considering the offense lost its 2 most dependable WRs in Berrios & Herndon.
 
brock said:
How many 3 and out opportunities or 3rd and long situations did the defense give up? It was a lot and played a contributing factor of them staying on the field a long time. I know what I saw period
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Some of that was soft *** cushions by Diaz and some of it was just MEs. But the fact remains, we did not convert enough on all those TOs the defense created. What was that percentage?
 
brock said:
How many 3 and out opportunities or 3rd and long situations did the defense give up? It was a lot and played a contributing factor of them staying on the field a long time. I know what I saw period
Click to expand...
https://www.teamrankings.com/college-football/stat/average-time-of-possession-net-of-ot

Yeah, but like I said, if our O can convert more 3rd downs, our D would NOT be on the field as much. That would directly lead to a more rested D, and a better 3rd down D. Now, there is obvious room for improvement on D as well, but the D getting off the field influences the O less than the O getting off the field influences the well being of the D. We averaged 26+ minutes time of possession last year, which is terrible. We get that up to 30 and without a doubt the overall numbers on D will improve. If the D is not on the field, it can not give up first downs, yards, or points.

Now on the flip side, the D can cause 100 turnovers and it won't mean squat if the O goes 3 and out.

Anyway, they both need to improve, I just believe the O has further to go, and will have a much larger impact on how the D performs.
 
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