JAY JORDAN: Comprehensive 2019 regular season recap

[ChrisMWilliams]

As always, phenomenal work by Jay. A lot to chew on here.

https://cyclonefanatic.com/2019/12/jay-jordan-at-the-end-of-the-day-2019-regular-season/

 

[JJIII]

As always, phenomenal work by Jay. A lot to chew on here.

https://cyclonefanatic.com/2019/12/jay-jordan-at-the-end-of-the-day-2019-regular-season/

Just an extra nugget here. Another way that that teams attack the defense in the run game is to split the DT and the Nose. They block down on Nose with a CG double then take inside position on end and lead thru the gap on the backer. Kansas used this effectively, so did Kansas State. ISU aligns with and end in a 5 Tech and one under in a four tech. Gives teams a pin and bounce on one side and a split on the other. Now they just have to figure out how to interfere with the support so it is late. It is not easy to do, but ZP was vulnerable to getting blocked and chasing and certain linebackers had a hard time getting to the right position.

 

[JJIII]

Another nugget. Mike Rose is a good linebacker and player. He is better than most at OLB. But, had two tough games at end of year. He is an MLB, especially at 240. If he stays outside, they have to get him back to 230 and protect him on that side. Vance is really good. But, half step slow in read and play making. His best use does not fit in the current scheme. Hummel is far better than his snaps suggest. Not sure the hesitation to run him as full time player. Likely versatility and value on special teams.

Had a hard time replacing Harvey. He had perfect skill set for his position. McDonald inability to adapt set back some of the LB plans I believe.

 

[norcalcy]

Very much agree with Jay's succinct dispatch of the K State debacle. Still trying to get that bad taste out of my mouth. As for the season in total, it was a strange ride.

Based on 2019's body of work, my expectations for the bowl game are fairly low. I hope to be pleasantly surprised with a victory but won't be surprised if it's a "close, but not quite good enough" outcome against strong competition.

The build up to 2020 will be interesting. Based on this staff's talent evaluation and player development track record, I remain optimistic. Despite the frustrations of 2019, ISU football is in a great place relative to its history.

 

[CycoCyclone]

Our O line underperformed for the seniority on the edges. Without FB or TE support, our tackles couldn't set an edge, so that consumed a blocker for stretch and off tackle run. They also didn't get to the second level often enough to help with the extra defenders that Jay points out.

Getting out performed physically pisses me off while "trusting the process" I want some bulldozers to support our running game.

 

[CloneBaseball#1]

Agree. Mike Rose is a middle LB’er who can make plays. He was on an island and hidden out in coverage. Vance to me is a pass rusher more than a run stopper. The other issue this yr was the D Line got zero pass rush which impacted everyone. Maybe that was Will as well. I think we would have been a lot better with Rose in the middle.

 

[CyCloned]

Just an extra nugget here. Another way that that teams attack the defense in the run game is to split the DT and the Nose. They block down on Nose with a CG double then take inside position on end and lead thru the gap on the backer. Kansas used this effectively, so did Kansas State. ISU aligns with and end in a 5 Tech and one under in a four tech. Gives teams a pin and bounce on one side and a split on the other. Now they just have to figure out how to interfere with the support so it is late. It is not easy to do, but ZP was vulnerable to getting blocked and chasing and certain linebackers had a hard time getting to the right position.

I think the line took a bit of a hit when Bailey went down. Love ZP, he is a guy that gives 110% on every play and did some nice things in there, but he is still a little undersized and got manhandled in the running game.

I also thought that Lima was just not playing as well at the end of the year, like he was a little banged up. Excited to see what Heacock will do next year, as it feels like they need to bring in another DL against teams that are run heavy like Iowa and KSU.

Will McDonald looks like a guy that can really cause issues on passing downs, so hopefully there are plans to get him more involved in 2020.

 

[madguy30]

Are the details/fundamentals something that can be improved on best in August during camp?

I.e. established early? It was a common theme for the season but imo it's difficult to right that ship in a week or even two (bye).

And is it believed that it will be an emphasis going into next season?

 

[pdxclone]

Another nugget. Mike Rose is a good linebacker and player. He is better than most at OLB. But, had two tough games at end of year. He is an MLB, especially at 240. If he stays outside, they have to get him back to 230 and protect him on that side. Vance is really good. But, half step slow in read and play making. His best use does not fit in the current scheme. Hummel is far better than his snaps suggest. Not sure the hesitation to run him as full time player. Likely versatility and value on special teams.

Had a hard time replacing Harvey. He had perfect skill set for his position. McDonald inability to adapt set back some of the LB plans I believe.

Mostly agree ... Hummel is not the answer. He may go fast but not to the right spot many times. Not the tackler Spears (or Harvey) was. Rose and Vance are both MLBs; but you want your best players on the field at the same time.

 

[Trice]

Jay, I enjoyed your analysis as always. Curious about one comment you made regarding our "complete and total lack of a vertical passing game." You offered a couple of conventional explanations for that, then said, "I believe there was another explanation internal to the team because I do not believe any of the common explanations are true."

Perhaps there's some reading between the lines I'm missing here and I just need it spelled out for me, but can you elaborate on what you mean by that, or what some of those possible reasons might be?

 

[AuH2O]

Another nugget. Mike Rose is a good linebacker and player. He is better than most at OLB. But, had two tough games at end of year. He is an MLB, especially at 240. If he stays outside, they have to get him back to 230 and protect him on that side. Vance is really good. But, half step slow in read and play making. His best use does not fit in the current scheme. Hummel is far better than his snaps suggest. Not sure the hesitation to run him as full time player. Likely versatility and value on special teams.

Had a hard time replacing Harvey. He had perfect skill set for his position. McDonald inability to adapt set back some of the LB plans I believe.

The LB approach this year was tough. First, the staff took a shot with McDonald thinking he could adapt at SAM or at least be disruptive enough to offset shortcomings in reading plays and playing in space. That didn't work out and the staff was left deciding on playing one of two guys that are MLBs in order to get their three best LBs on the field. McDonald came on late as a disruptive situational DE, but having him not work out at SAM did cause some problems. The staff has limited evaluation time on these young guys going into the season, so banking on an unproven guy in a new role is risky, but it can pay off.

I suspect if Vance or Rose go into Spring knowing they will be the guy at SAM we will see big improvement next year. I think Hummel is probably better suited for WLB than SAM. He is good in space but not nearly the downhill guy Harvey was or Rose and Vance are. I think a full offseason without surprises in LB roles will pay off next year.

 

[cycjob]

As Jay pointed out I'm still trying to figure out what happened to the QB run option. In his freshman year, Purdy excelled at making people choose covering him, the back or a pass option. The team made it easier on defenses this year by essentially making the cover one fewer option.

I know they want to protect Purdy, but part of what makes him special is making the defense face difficult choices.

 

[Trice]

As Jay pointed out I'm still trying to figure out what happened to the QB run option. In his freshman year, Purdy excelled at making people choose covering him, the back or a pass option. The team made it easier on defenses this year by essentially making the cover one fewer option.

I know they want to protect Purdy, but part of what makes him special is making the defense face difficult choices.

Absolutely. I was totally baffled by that all year. I agree that they were probably concerned about injury so it makes sense to cut back on designed runs. But even on a called pass play with great coverage he looked reluctant to run most of the time.

I've mostly purged the Kansas State game from my memory, but wasn't there a play in the second half when receivers were covered, so he started to take off then pulled up right at the LOS and actually threw it backward to Hall? At the risk of reading too much into a single play, that was the moment when it really hit home that we've completely neutered this huge asset to our offense.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

Just an extra nugget here. Another way that that teams attack the defense in the run game is to split the DT and the Nose. They block down on Nose with a CG double then take inside position on end and lead thru the gap on the backer. Kansas used this effectively, so did Kansas State. ISU aligns with and end in a 5 Tech and one under in a four tech. Gives teams a pin and bounce on one side and a split on the other. Now they just have to figure out how to interfere with the support so it is late. It is not easy to do, but ZP was vulnerable to getting blocked and chasing and certain linebackers had a hard time getting to the right position.

I think they should stem down into an even front occasionally just to keep teams honest with things like that. Run blitzes are great against this kind of thing as well.

 

[AuH2O]

As Jay pointed out I'm still trying to figure out what happened to the QB run option. In his freshman year, Purdy excelled at making people choose covering him, the back or a pass option. The team made it easier on defenses this year by essentially making the cover one fewer option.

I know they want to protect Purdy, but part of what makes him special is making the defense face difficult choices.

I really don't get this. There seemed to be very little true read option. There were runs out of the spread, including some QB runs, but nearly all seemed to be straight designed RB or QB runs without a read. While Purdy made some bad reads last year and took a pounding late last season, overall the read option was a good weapon. If you want to minimize hits you can run the read option with an approach of only pulling it if it's clear the defender you are optioning is crashing on the give. Brock had a tendency to pull it too much, and almost always when it was something of a "static" read, where the defender doesn't really commit either way.

Not to mention, RPO was largely absent. There were some plays that had the look, but it appeared to me based on OL that many of these were simply designed play action where Purdy often hit the TEs. RPO is such hell for a LB to defend that if you've got a QB with a knack for it, and you've got good TEs, it should be a staple of the offense. It is a bit harder now that they are calling OL downfield so much tighter, but it is still a great concept that's tough to defend if you can do it well.

RPO and read option are effective red zone weapons. Too bad they were largely absent in a year when ISU was terrific offensively outside the red zone and bad once they got there.

 

[quasistellar]

Excellent article as usual by Jay.

 

[cycjob]

Now that the season is over, based on the #PROVEIT chosen by the team, I'd evaluate that they proved themselves to be a middle of the pack team. That is certainly far better than what had been seen for many years prior to CMC, but probably isn't what the team was really trying to prove.

 

[LarryISU]

Watching Michigan play pretty well against Alabama, what really sticks out to me is the offensive line. Those boys are big, strong, flexible and well-coached on their assignments. They are able to push the Alabama defense back or open up a hole.

Our O-line could do that against inferior competition, but against any team with at least an average defense, we just could not get a push downfield, nor open a hole with any consistency. So many, many of our runs were for a loss, no gain or just a yard. Until we get an O-line playing like these top 15 caliber bowl teams are putting on the field, we have to win by making no turnovers, no penalties, trick plays, whatever. Just lining up and going head to head, we are going to be a 6-6 or 7-5 team, regardless how talented our QBs, RBs and WRs are.

Oh, and notice how all these January bowl teams (or Texas last night) switch it up and go under center once in a while? Makes you think that is something to emulate as well!