Virginia Tech Shows Glimmers of Offensive Improvement Against Duke

After weeks of frustration surrounding the inability of the offense to generate any kind of sustained running game, Scot Loeffler's offense finally opened some holes in a 17-16 defeat of the Duke Blue Devils. Loeffler used a familiar formula, but a strategy that hasn't been used much since the victory over Virginia last season. Tech attacked the edge with the offensive line in space. Loeffler called lots of counter-action, and incorporated some trick elements to help mix up Duke's defense.

At the same time, it wasn't perfect. Pass protection was even more atrocious than normal. Penalties again derailed several critical drives that could have given the Hokies some wiggle room. Michael Brewer went through stretches where any kind of blitz seemed to make him blind to any openings down field, so much so that many openly discussed (myself included) if it was time to play Brenden Motley every down. Things are a work in progress, but behind a mix of a rejuvenated J.C. Coleman, a suddenly more assertive Brewer, some trickery from Motley, and the continuing emergence of two potential superstar playmakers in Bucky Hodges and Isaiah Ford, the Hokies were able to pick up their second road win over a top-20 team this season.

Return of the Outside Zone Sweep

In retrospect, the best performance all season by a Hokie running back in 2013 was Trey Edmunds breakout performance against the Miami Hurricanes. In that game, Loeffler featured a version of the outside zone read where multiple linemen pulled, while the H-Back and play side linemen blocked down. The Hokies had some similar success in a limited fashion against Georgia Tech this season. The outside zone sweep is effective because defensive linemen are taught to key the first step of a zone blocking offensive line and move that direction—the old adage "the lineman will take you to the football." After establishing the inside zone read, a defensive line will often slant away from plays that are down-blocked, so sweeps and counters can be very effective. Boston College used the same concept to cross up the Hokies defense last week.

As I noted in my preview, it was absolutely critical for the Hokies to force those run-stopping, creeping Duke defensive backs to take on blocks rather than running down plays from the back side. Loeffler used the sweep concept, and a hyper-aggressive offensive line that looked eager to get the shackles off, to reinvigorate J.C. Coleman's Hokie career. Let's take a look.

Here is the first play with Coleman in the backfield. The Hokies align with Ryan Malleck as the tight end, Bucky Hodges in the slot, and Cam Phillips to the boundary. Brewer jet motions Phillips across the formation and then hands the ball off to Coleman on the outside zone read sweeping to the right.

Note the blocking at the point of attack first. Bucky Hodges cracks down on the left inside linebacker. Malleck and Wade Hansen execute a pin and pull, with Malleck blocking down on the defensive end and Hansen pulling out and plowing over the unfortunate corner. Caleb Farris ties up the defensive tackle. David Wang and Wyatt Teller both pull and turn up around the edge. Laurence Gibson lays out to cut off any penetration through Teller's space. Wang heads to the cover 2 safety and gets a little piece, but Teller de-cleats Duke's outstanding middle linebacker David Helton. On tape, you wince when you hear the contact. To add insult to injury, Teller sends Helton flying over Hodges in a vaudevillian pratfall. Coleman, unlike some of his previous outings, attacks the hole with conviction and finishes assertively instead of losing forward momentum by trying to avoid contact. While this isn't a new concept, everything looks fast and aggressive, from the blocking to the running by Coleman.

Loeffler feasted on the outside zone off the right side to try to settle the offense down after a slow start. The offensive line continued to create space, and Coleman continued to exploit it.

Here is the exact same play, minus the jet sweep motion from the boundary. Again we have great down blocks by Hodges, Malleck, and this time Augie Conte. This time the safety recognizes the formation and attacks the edge to take away the sweep, but Hansen finds him and drives him into the sideline. Wang and Teller lead through, with Teller again bouncing Helton almost 10 yards down field. Helton keeps his feet, so Teller adjusts to help Conte pancake the defensive lineman that Conte got great push on. The key to the play is Wang. On the previous clip, Wang didn't get much of the corner. This time, he launches his frame into the corner and takes him out of the play. Not surprisingly, Coleman aggressively exploits the big hole. Wang's block took a 6-yard run and turned it into an 11-yard one.

Most of Coleman's carries came on some variation of the sweep with the exception of the disastrous fourth-and-one until late in the third quarter. Honestly, as effective as it was, I would have liked to have seen Loeffler exploit the Duke edge even more.

The Case of Motley vs Brewer

As I noted, many Hokies were calling for Brenden Motley to replace Brewer during an ugly stretch in the third quarter where Brewer took sack after sack and seemed incapable of avoiding pass rush or finding his receivers down field. The call had some merit, as Motley had tremendous success in limited action as a Wild Turkey quarterback. But, the Wild Turkey was more than just an inverted veer where everyone on the field knows the quarterback is keeping. Let's see how Loeffler put Motley in position to have success.

First, do you realize that on Motley's first snap, Deon Newsome got the carry? That is right, on the first snap, Motley read the Blue Devil defensive end crashing inside against the inverted veer. Motley made the correct read and handed the ball to Newsome.

Malleck veer releases to option stalk the safety, again forcing Duke's best players in space to muck it up against blocking. Behind Malleck, Wyatt Teller comes rampaging through from his left guard spot. Even though Teller doesn't really engage anyone, his aggressiveness seems to open up space; nobody is eager to get in his path. Isaiah Ford, who has struggled with blocking at times, does a strong job of getting up field and then stalk blocking the corner. Newsome gets a nice gain.

On the next play, Motley got a big run on the same quarterback counter with an outside zone fake that Boston College tortured the Hokies with last season. It wasn't beautifully executed, but Motley ran over a Duke defensive back in the hole for a big gain down the right sideline.

On the next series, Motley showed another element to the Wild Turkey. On this play, Motley faked a screen, perhaps one packaged with the play to the left slot.

Deon Newsome, again at halfback, gets a nasty kick out pancake block on the Duke corner. Teller pulls and turns up, and Malleck trails him to lead through the hole and throw a nasty cut block on the Duke linebacker. Motley again does his speedy Logan Thomas impersonation and gets a big gain.

With Brewer struggling, and Motley being so effective, it certainly makes the creative offensive mind ponder the possibilities of Motley as a threat to keep the ball on inside and outside zone reads. Brewer has not kept the ball much this season, but Duke's over pursuit on inside zone reads left some big yards on the table for Brewer. Brewer correctly reads the defensive end crashing, keeps and picks up an easy 12 yards.

With Motley's size and speed, any defense that crashes their end or tries to cover the quarterback with a scrape exchange on read plays would have their hands full with Motley. So, with Brewer struggling mightily, why didn't Loeffler make the switch.

To make a rational analysis, I have to go by my own evaluation of Motley as the top quarterback in the spring. Motley demonstrated a strong arm and some athleticism, but he had issues with accuracy all spring long. In the final spring scrimmage and in the spring game, Motley had Bucky Hodges wide open on seam routes for easy touchdowns, and both times overthrew Hodges badly.

The fact is that as well as Coleman, Motley and the running game were working, the best playmakers on the field are Isaiah Ford and Bucky Hodges. As an offensive coordinator, you have to know that if you make a quarterback change, the new starter has to have the ability to put the football in places where Hodges and Ford can make plays. While Motley may have boosted the running game, his inconsistency passing in the spring could certainly give pause when it comes to incorporating the downfield threats.

Brewer got his opportunity for redemption after the Blue Devils fumbled a kickoff return. After cowering in the face of pressure in the third quarter, Brewer stood tall in the pocket and looked to his big tight end to make a play. And Hodges didn't disappoint. First, with major heat in his face, Brewer found Hodges on a corner route against man coverage to set up first and goal. After a Wyatt Teller penalty seemed to derail a prime scoring opportunity, Brewer again found Hodges.

Everything comes together here. The offensive line protects Brewer. The route concept pulls the free safety away from Hodges. And, unlike Motley in the spring, Brewer delivers an accurate ball. Loeffler's decision to not switch quarterbacks paid off.

While the announcers salivated over the play design, perhaps the most impressive trait isn't the design but the nuance of the route running by Hodges. Hodges has to run a post route. He sees Jeremy Cash, an All-ACC and second-team All-American, playing outside leverage coverage. Hodges knows that Cash cannot let Hodges beat him to the corner. So, instead of running a straight line and then cutting to the post, Hodges bends his route into Cash's body to threaten his outside leverage. Cash has to back pedal because he has no help to the inside. As Hodges gets into his body, he is moving forward while Cash is backpedaling. When Hodges then bends back to the inside, he is still going forward, while Cash has to plant, change direction, and close. This subtle nuance creates about two steps of space without Hodges pushing off. It also creates even more distance between Hodges and the free safety to the inside, which presents an even bigger window for Brewer to throw into. This is spectacular route running and something we didn't see from Hodges earlier in this season. This is an NFL-caliber route, and it looks like Bucky's time and work with Aaron Moorehead is paying off.

Can't Have Sweet Without the Sour: Pass Protection

While the offensive line had a very good day run blocking, the pass protection was abysmal. Part of that was Brewer not getting rid of the football (even with two safety valves open underneath the coverage).

But, the major bugaboo is still blitz pickups. The offensive line at times looked lost in setting protections. Some players occupied zones and handed off pass rushers who exited their zone, while others chased stunting defenders like a lab chasing a tennis ball, which allowed a defender through the vacated space. The running backs are not effectively picking up the correct blitzer, and Brewer doesn't seem to identify the blitz and audible to a hot route behind the blitz. It is a perfect storm right now, made worse by some technique errors by both Hansen and Teller.

Duke sends their mike linebacker along with a safety through the left guard area. Wang picks up the linebacker, and Teller, as he should with the center, bumps Wang's man. But, Teller makes a cardinal mistake. Instead of punching the outside shoulder of the linebacker with his right hand and staying in position to pick up any delayed stunts, Teller steps hard inside and throws a shoulder into the linebacker. By doing so, his momentum now is sucked to the inside, and he has opened up a lane for Cash to blitz through. Teller is so incredibly strong that his punch will be very effective. He has to maintain discipline and trust his technique to prevent these types of breakdowns.

The Road to a Bowl goes through Wake Forest

The debate has raged here about 2014 being a lost season, but with so many young players, it is paramount to get to a bowl game and get those extra 15 practices to continue the upward trajectory of the guys who can contribute next season. A win next week in Winston-Salem gives the coaching staff that extra practice time to continue the development of their young talent and continue to build continuity on the offensive line. A bowl game itself doesn't mean much besides a showcase to improve the program's reputation, but those practices can make or break the following season.

It won't be easy. Wake has not had a good season, but they are a good defensive team and has been competitive in most of its losses. A jitterbug, blitzing defense that brings corners, safeties, and linebackers from all over the field has kept them in games. The Deacons have seven players that have more than 5.0 tackles for a loss, and most are defensive backs. They are going to move guys around and try to confuse the blocking assignments up front. Duke was very static with their front-four. However, Wake can't run or stop the run; advantage Hokies. Persistence and execution in the running game will lead to big plays, and that should open up things downfield for Brewer's young playmakers.