Full disclosure, I am very excited about this hire. If you, realistically, look at the situation Texas Tech football is in, and then just look at Cumbie's resume, this is a home run. A lame duck head coach is hiring away a conference rival's offensive coordinator who has extensive D1 coaching experience, and is known to be an above average recruiter. What's not to like?
I get if you're frustrated with Texas Tech's fascination with hiring "Tech Guys," but look around football right now... who isn't interested in hiring someone associated with Texas Tech's offenses of the past?
This is not a deep dive, we'll have time for that later, I just watched the highlights of every TCU Big 12 game from 2019 and recorded the plays that stood out to me. I chose 2019 to avoid the "who was calling plays in 2020?" debate.
These clips are all running plays that stood out to me. Nearly every one of these plays is from a different formation and several personnel groupings. Just a breath of fresh air after what we've been through the past two years.
The first play is just zone read, but look at all the window dressing. You've got a relatively unusual formation with two TEs to the right and two WRs to the left, you've got pre-snap motion, and you've got misdirection after the snap. So many things for the defense to account for, even though the base play is one that seventh grade C-teams can run well. It's especially impressive when you remember how good that Baylor defense was in 2019.... all in all
The second play is just zone read again, but this time out of a nub set, TE by himself on the left, all the receivers on the right. I like this formation, especially in the red zone, because it puts some pressure on the defense having to account for an isolated TE while getting enough bodies to cover all the receivers on the other side. It ultimately gives TCU a numbers advantage in the run game which they exploit for the touchdown. Again, nothing groundbreaking play wise, but the setup makes everything happen.
I absolutely love this third play. It's just power read for the offensive line, but adding the pre-snap motion puts pressure on the defense in a different way and forces their hand in terms of committing to a read. The defensive end, which is the read, tries to slow play it, but really gives Duggan the option to keep or give. Either is going to result in a big play, but Duggan decided to let the better athlete handle this one. Watch what the Duggan fake does to the back seven defenders, it influences them enough to impact their angles in a way that puts them behind the jet sweep. Without the Duggan motion, they could just trigger on fast flow, and this is a no gain instead of a big play.
Nothing special here, but again, Sonny has beat OU by alignment. This is kind of an unusual formation because the number 3 receiver is ineligible, but it doesn't matter if you are going to run the ball. It's 6 on 6 on that side of the center, so running the option basically makes it 7 on 6 if Duggan reads it right, which he does for a big play. It's going to be nice to have an OC that schemes wins.
I put the last play on this clip for a simple reason, I've been screaming into the void (and to @W. McKay ) about how I think SaRodorick would excel out of pistol looks like we've got here because he can get downhill in a hurry and look for seams. It's that nub set again (Cumbie trying to get a numbers advantage) and they are just running outside zone. What's cool here is the fold block out of the TE and RT, makes both player's blocks much easier and it springs a big play. Again, scheming wins.
I get it, this doesn't fix the roster issues on the offensive line and quarterback, especially when you consider the running element (but I'm a believer in Donavan Smith), but it does show a coordinator who schemes wins for his players. It is essential when you are not working with top tier talent across the board, I am excited.
I'll look at some passing plays tomorrow.
I get if you're frustrated with Texas Tech's fascination with hiring "Tech Guys," but look around football right now... who isn't interested in hiring someone associated with Texas Tech's offenses of the past?
This is not a deep dive, we'll have time for that later, I just watched the highlights of every TCU Big 12 game from 2019 and recorded the plays that stood out to me. I chose 2019 to avoid the "who was calling plays in 2020?" debate.
These clips are all running plays that stood out to me. Nearly every one of these plays is from a different formation and several personnel groupings. Just a breath of fresh air after what we've been through the past two years.
The first play is just zone read, but look at all the window dressing. You've got a relatively unusual formation with two TEs to the right and two WRs to the left, you've got pre-snap motion, and you've got misdirection after the snap. So many things for the defense to account for, even though the base play is one that seventh grade C-teams can run well. It's especially impressive when you remember how good that Baylor defense was in 2019.... all in all
The second play is just zone read again, but this time out of a nub set, TE by himself on the left, all the receivers on the right. I like this formation, especially in the red zone, because it puts some pressure on the defense having to account for an isolated TE while getting enough bodies to cover all the receivers on the other side. It ultimately gives TCU a numbers advantage in the run game which they exploit for the touchdown. Again, nothing groundbreaking play wise, but the setup makes everything happen.
I absolutely love this third play. It's just power read for the offensive line, but adding the pre-snap motion puts pressure on the defense in a different way and forces their hand in terms of committing to a read. The defensive end, which is the read, tries to slow play it, but really gives Duggan the option to keep or give. Either is going to result in a big play, but Duggan decided to let the better athlete handle this one. Watch what the Duggan fake does to the back seven defenders, it influences them enough to impact their angles in a way that puts them behind the jet sweep. Without the Duggan motion, they could just trigger on fast flow, and this is a no gain instead of a big play.
Nothing special here, but again, Sonny has beat OU by alignment. This is kind of an unusual formation because the number 3 receiver is ineligible, but it doesn't matter if you are going to run the ball. It's 6 on 6 on that side of the center, so running the option basically makes it 7 on 6 if Duggan reads it right, which he does for a big play. It's going to be nice to have an OC that schemes wins.
I put the last play on this clip for a simple reason, I've been screaming into the void (and to @W. McKay ) about how I think SaRodorick would excel out of pistol looks like we've got here because he can get downhill in a hurry and look for seams. It's that nub set again (Cumbie trying to get a numbers advantage) and they are just running outside zone. What's cool here is the fold block out of the TE and RT, makes both player's blocks much easier and it springs a big play. Again, scheming wins.
I get it, this doesn't fix the roster issues on the offensive line and quarterback, especially when you consider the running element (but I'm a believer in Donavan Smith), but it does show a coordinator who schemes wins for his players. It is essential when you are not working with top tier talent across the board, I am excited.
I'll look at some passing plays tomorrow.
