Post by elp525 on Sept 23, 2011 5:01:04 GMT -5
Friday September 23, 2011
by Mike Casazza
Charleston Daily Mail
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Dana Holgorsen has a playbook that's more like a pamphlet.
Maybe that's because he doesn't have many plays. Maybe that's because some plays are drawn up in the dirt.
Twice this season, West Virginia has run a gadget play where inside receiver Tavon Austin comes across the field in motion before the ball is snapped to the quarterback.
Geno Smith then taps the ball with his fingertips forward to Austin, who gets the ball on the move before anyone knows what has happened.
"That's one of those little plays we have, one of those wrinkles we have," Smith said. "If you ask me, I think it's really good. It catches the defense off guard."
No. 16 WVU (3-0) hasn't used or needed much more trickery this season, but may need to pull out something special at 8:12 Saturday night on ABC. No. 2 LSU (3-0) visits Mountaineer Field with one of the best pass defenses in the country and personnel capable of making things difficult for the Mountaineers and their passing game.
"They feel like their athletes are going to beat your athletes," Smith said.
The Mountaineers have ways to deal with that, and the unnamed hot potato pass to Austin is just one.
It's something Holgorsen brought to WVU from Oklahoma State, where Brandon Weeden flicked it to Biletnikoff Award winner Justin Blackmon.
Austin, who leads WVU with 20 receptions and 236 yards, has twice picked up big gains and first downs on the play. The Tigers haven't allowed a passing touchdown or a pass play to gain more than 25 yards this season.
"When I knew I was going to be that guy, I got happy," he said. "Everyone else is looking around. The offensive line stands up and there's too much going on with the backs and receivers. Then they see me flying around the corner."
Holgorsen had to see Smith and Austin master the play in practice before he'd use it in a game. There were problems, especially early.
"All types of things," Smith said. "Behind him, in front of him, him dropping it."
There's little risk involved, though. It's a forward pass and even if Austin can't handle the flick and the ball hits the ground, it counts as in incomplete pass and not a fumble.
The reward is there, too. The 5-foot-9 Austin disappears behind the pass protection and the pass happens so fast and is so unexpected that defenders need a moment to figure out what happened.
Smith can add some deception. Last week at Maryland, he made the pass and then froze the defense by faking the handoff.
By then, Austin was on the move.
"He gets around that corner so fast," Smith said. "That's the advantage of having a guy like that and having a play like that. We ran it against Maryland and the defensive end did a double take. He didn't know what happened. It was pretty funny to watch on film."
This is part of the advantage the Mountaineers believe they can explore and enjoy against the Tigers, who have two All-SEC-level cornerbacks, including Morris Claiborne, a preseason All-America and the reigning Walter Camp national defensive player of the week.
The other cornerback, Tyrann Mathieu, was the SEC defensive player of the week for playing all 82 snaps, making 10 tackles and breaking up two passes against Oregon on Sept. 3.
LSU is No. 19 nationally in pass defense. WVU is No. 7 in pass offense.
"Being that we know where we're going and the defense doesn't necessarily know, I would say that gives us a slight advantage," WVU receiver Stedman Bailey said.
The Tigers play a lot of man-to-man defense and rely on the size and speed of their secondary to make it work. Frequently, the defenders jam receivers after the snap at the line of scrimmage. They'll position cornerbacks and safeties in different ways to vary the leverage, but WVU runs pass routes to create space and avoid resistance.
"The timing has to be right between us and the quarterback," Mountaineer receiver Ivan McCartney said. "It's about us knowing where we have to be and what to do every time without letting the cornerback know anything. Even a slight move can get him going in a whole other direction."
The challenge is that LSU can use its speed to catch up quickly.
"We've got to anticipate a little quicker and understand when they bring pressure and when they don't bring pressure and be ready to get rid of the football," WVU inside receivers coach Shannon Dawson said. "That's the key across the board.
"Everyone has to understand the speed of the game is going to increase and we've got to combat that by having every individual focus on playing their game fast."
by Mike Casazza
Charleston Daily Mail
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Dana Holgorsen has a playbook that's more like a pamphlet.
Maybe that's because he doesn't have many plays. Maybe that's because some plays are drawn up in the dirt.
Twice this season, West Virginia has run a gadget play where inside receiver Tavon Austin comes across the field in motion before the ball is snapped to the quarterback.
Geno Smith then taps the ball with his fingertips forward to Austin, who gets the ball on the move before anyone knows what has happened.
"That's one of those little plays we have, one of those wrinkles we have," Smith said. "If you ask me, I think it's really good. It catches the defense off guard."
No. 16 WVU (3-0) hasn't used or needed much more trickery this season, but may need to pull out something special at 8:12 Saturday night on ABC. No. 2 LSU (3-0) visits Mountaineer Field with one of the best pass defenses in the country and personnel capable of making things difficult for the Mountaineers and their passing game.
"They feel like their athletes are going to beat your athletes," Smith said.
The Mountaineers have ways to deal with that, and the unnamed hot potato pass to Austin is just one.
It's something Holgorsen brought to WVU from Oklahoma State, where Brandon Weeden flicked it to Biletnikoff Award winner Justin Blackmon.
Austin, who leads WVU with 20 receptions and 236 yards, has twice picked up big gains and first downs on the play. The Tigers haven't allowed a passing touchdown or a pass play to gain more than 25 yards this season.
"When I knew I was going to be that guy, I got happy," he said. "Everyone else is looking around. The offensive line stands up and there's too much going on with the backs and receivers. Then they see me flying around the corner."
Holgorsen had to see Smith and Austin master the play in practice before he'd use it in a game. There were problems, especially early.
"All types of things," Smith said. "Behind him, in front of him, him dropping it."
There's little risk involved, though. It's a forward pass and even if Austin can't handle the flick and the ball hits the ground, it counts as in incomplete pass and not a fumble.
The reward is there, too. The 5-foot-9 Austin disappears behind the pass protection and the pass happens so fast and is so unexpected that defenders need a moment to figure out what happened.
Smith can add some deception. Last week at Maryland, he made the pass and then froze the defense by faking the handoff.
By then, Austin was on the move.
"He gets around that corner so fast," Smith said. "That's the advantage of having a guy like that and having a play like that. We ran it against Maryland and the defensive end did a double take. He didn't know what happened. It was pretty funny to watch on film."
This is part of the advantage the Mountaineers believe they can explore and enjoy against the Tigers, who have two All-SEC-level cornerbacks, including Morris Claiborne, a preseason All-America and the reigning Walter Camp national defensive player of the week.
The other cornerback, Tyrann Mathieu, was the SEC defensive player of the week for playing all 82 snaps, making 10 tackles and breaking up two passes against Oregon on Sept. 3.
LSU is No. 19 nationally in pass defense. WVU is No. 7 in pass offense.
"Being that we know where we're going and the defense doesn't necessarily know, I would say that gives us a slight advantage," WVU receiver Stedman Bailey said.
The Tigers play a lot of man-to-man defense and rely on the size and speed of their secondary to make it work. Frequently, the defenders jam receivers after the snap at the line of scrimmage. They'll position cornerbacks and safeties in different ways to vary the leverage, but WVU runs pass routes to create space and avoid resistance.
"The timing has to be right between us and the quarterback," Mountaineer receiver Ivan McCartney said. "It's about us knowing where we have to be and what to do every time without letting the cornerback know anything. Even a slight move can get him going in a whole other direction."
The challenge is that LSU can use its speed to catch up quickly.
"We've got to anticipate a little quicker and understand when they bring pressure and when they don't bring pressure and be ready to get rid of the football," WVU inside receivers coach Shannon Dawson said. "That's the key across the board.
"Everyone has to understand the speed of the game is going to increase and we've got to combat that by having every individual focus on playing their game fast."
