Goal line offense

[JRich]

The nature of the offense prevents any personnel changes in short yardage situations. You roll with the same lineup on 1st and 10 as 3rd and 1.

Need to be more creative here, IMO. The HB dive is too predictable.

 

[TennVols12]

I'm kinda "old school" I guess and still believe in the axiom: "Football is a game of inches" ( Thanks Coach Lombardi) In an extreme short yard situation, 4th and 1, or 4th and GOAL....going into a shotgun formation immediately surrenders 5-7 YARDS to the defense when the ball is snapped.
WTF..????!!!!

What do you think turning around and handing the ball to the running back 5-7 yards behind the line of scrimmage does?

 

[SpookyAction]

OLine played a part in it I agree, but I also believe shot gun should be thrown out the window on third or fourth and 1. OLine can only hold up for so long especially when a front the likes of bama, Georgia and Pitt knows the run is coming

It will be good when our OLine expectations move past this stage, which is realistic right now.

 

[Remy]

It seemed to me last year that we struggled running the ball when we were on the goal line or needed short yardage. If the other team new we were gonna try to pound it we couldn’t get the yardage we needed. I’m hoping our o-line has improved in this area this year.

If you go back and look at the history of the type offense Heupel runs traditionally they tend to struggle in the short yardage running game. These days it's called the RPO but it's nothing more than the run and shoot offense with some tweaks than Warren Moon ran in the NFL with the then Houston Oilers.

 

[GetYouSomeofThat]

Tom Brady's old, extremely slow, and very very valuable butt continues to call the old fashioned QB sneak for short yardage. Sure, Brady has a great OL but he's done it against NFL DLs that KNEW it was coming and defenses that perform at a very high level.

Practice, technique and practice, for the power push is the difference. If a 40yo Brady...... worth multi-millons to his team...... lines up under center and calls his own number successfully against the Bills or Rams or anyone, it's a no brainer that his team has spent lots of time making it work.

Tennessee hasn't done that. They should.

Pro teams sre alloted much more practice time that collegiate teams. This allows for that technique to be perfected.

 

[Vol865]

Been a problem for YEARS...and I've ALWAYS felt it was an O-Line issue...they traditionally (since 2009) play like little girls...

That first one was a free play because offsides lol

 

[Vol865]

Small being bigger will help

 

[LittleVol]

It's not just about having big backs or lineman being bigger/older.

If an AVERAGE defense knows what's coming it has a higher probability to stop it.
Since we don't have the big fullback and power back, then use shifts.

We need to have at least 5 different looks on goaline. It could be from the exact same personnel, but you need to divide attention and weaken defensive resistance.

Coastal Carolina does this wonderfully. Other teams too.

 

[IndianaVol]

One thing that makes me feel a little better about the goal line situation is that Heupel has mentioned it more than a few times during camp as being worked on and recognizing it as an issue.

Now we just got to see if the men got it fixed...come on September !!!

 

[Brave Volunteer]

You are aware that in an under-center formation, the QB has to run 3-5 yards back to hand the ball to the RB? Absent a QB sneak, there's no difference in "yards surrendered". Plus, the ball travels faster through the air from a shotgun snap, than it does for a QB to take the handoff from under the center, handle the ball, turn and then take multiple steps directionally. Also, I've never seen a shotgun snap taken by a QB 7 yards deep.

For the record, I prefer under center at the goalline and 4th and 1 situations, but this is faulty logic. Go Vols!

But the difference is the RB is already moving forward when he gets the ball as opposed to shotgun where he's stationary. This isnt rocket science.

 

[VOLfrombama]

I thought for the most part he was one of our better linemen last season when healthy

Spraggins and Cade were both higher ranked

 

[GreyWolf1129]

Heupul's offense, impressive as it is, loses it's edge inside the 10 or in short-yardage situations. Here, it comes down to mass -vs- mass. To win that battle, you need wide butts on the OL who can get the 2-3 yard push. I have no doubt that Heupul (and Golesh) know this. But in trying to keep the fast pace, and keep the defense in whatever look they are in, you have to find that 1 to 3 yard play to (a) move the chains, or (b) find the end zone. Two obvious solutions...

Shotgun, run fake, and find the TE over the middle. Tillman and any other WR are easier to cover on a short field. Or go under center, and do it the hard way.

I expect the UT offense to be better on short yardage situations this year. I also expect the UT defense to be better overall this year, Translation: potential for a 9 or maybe 10 win season, This is likely not yet our year to win the SEC East, but it could be the year we serve notice that 2023 will be the year that UT is the team to beat in the East, and maybe in the SEC.

We've already come a long way from the disaster of Pruitt's last season. Don't forget where we were two seasons ago, and how far we have come since. Heupel is the right guy. Give him time to get his system fully in place.

Go Vols.

 

[guido4198]

But the difference is the RB is already moving forward when he gets the ball as opposed to shotgun where he's stationary. This isnt rocket science.

Actually...it kinda is "rocket science". It's Newton's Third Law of Motion...i.e.: the concept of MOMENTUM.
Newton’s Third Law of Motion and the Concept of Momentum
To respond to an earlier question from TennVols12:
"What do you think turning around and handing the ball to the running back 5-7 yards behind the line of scrimmage does?"
If the QB takes the ball from under center and isn't handing it off until he has backed up 5-7 yards behind the line of scrimmage...then I would say both he and the RB need to be taught better.
GBO...!!!!

 

[Other_Guy]

Succeed on 3rd and 2 and get off the field on 3rd and 7 = unstoppable (maybe)