ASU Football: The Mechanics of UCLA’s Offense
By Mike Slifer
For tomorrow night’s game against UCLA, the ASU defense must prepare for an offense that is tough to defend. First, a look at the current quarterback situation for the Bruins.
Even though starter Brett Hundley was injured 10 days ago in the first quarter against Texas, ASU players and fans should expect Hundley to be in the lineup tomorrow night. The injury was to his non-throwing elbow and he’s had more than a week to get that elbow healthy.
But despite whether Hundley plays or not, ASU can expect to see more or a drop-back passing attack from UCLA. In 2012 when Jim Mora was brought in as the new head coach, he hired Noel Mazzone to be his offensive coordinator. (Mazzone came from ASU under Erickson). Mazzone’s original plan was to use the quarterback as a runner in the zone-read option. He did in 2012. However, since Brett Hundley has emerged as an elite college quarterback, UCLA has slowly turned him into an almost strictly drop back quarterback. Presumably, this move was meant to protect Hundley from taking too many direct hits running the ball.
Hundley’s back up, Jerry Neuheisel is not considered a running threat. So, if Neuheisel starts, he’ll be mostly in drop back mode. If Hundley starts, he will also be in drop-back mode because the coaching staff will want to protect that elbow. The bottom line is that even though ASU won’t admit it, they’ll probably not have to worry too much about designed runs from the quarterback in this game. Hundley may tuck it and run if he is under pressure in the pocket. (and he is dangerous doing that). But it’s a good bet that if/when UCLA runs the zone-read option, the quarterbacks will be handing the ball off every time.
Now to some of the mechanics of this UCLA offense.
In Mazzone’s system, the first order of business is tempo. Although “playing fast” is no longer unique to UCLA, Mazzone is one of the first coordinators to bring that to college football. They try to run a play every 20 seconds. Secondly, on almost every single snap, there is a run option and a pass option. The play call includes run-blocking schemes for the offensive line and routes for the receivers. It falls on the quarterback to decide whether to give the ball to the running back or to keep it and throw it to his receivers.
The quarterback’s first read is the pre-snap read. He looks at the defense to help influence his decision. For example, if the defense only has 6 players in the “box” (near the line of scrimmage) he might decide immediately that he will hand the ball off. This is based on numbers and the direction the run play is designed for. If the QB sees that he has more offensive linemen at the point of attack then the defense has defenders for, it’s an easy decision to hand the ball off.
If the QB cannot make a decision by looking at the front, he then looks to the secondary. Are there two high safeties or just one? Are the corners locked up in man or are they backed off in a zone look? What kind of leverage does the defender have lining up on the slot receiver? The receivers are looking at this too. The defense’s alignment will tell the receivers what route to run. These are called choice routes. The receiver has the option of changing his route based on how the defense responds. They can turn a short route into a long one or vice versa. They can turn an out route into a stop (stick) route or vice versa. Essentially, the receivers are running to open grass–away from defenders. The quarterback anticipates this and has to make the same read as his receiver and correctly predict where his receiver will go.
An example: the play call is for an outside zone run play. The linemen reach outside to block, the running back moves on his path to run the ball outside. However as the QB is temporarily placing the ball in his running back’s hands, he notices the outside linebacker crashing down hard to stop this run. The inside receiver sees this too. That receiver changes his route to run right to the area where that linebacker vacated. The QB pulls the ball out of the running back’s hands and immediately throws to that slot receiver in the open. This is the concept of “putting defenders in conflict”. If you read the correct defensive player, whatever decision that player makes is the wrong one. You give the ball to the option that defender ignores.
It may seem simple….and it is. The hard part is getting down the timing and making sure that the quarterback and receivers are on the same page. If you throw in a lot of motions and swing routes from running backs out of the backfield, you can put a lot of defenders in “conflict.”
When this offense is clicking, it’s almost impossible to defend. However, as with any scheme, the fundamentals of football have to be executed. This is where UCLA has been struggling so far this season.
Tomorrow, on Game Day, Devils in Detail will cover that in more detail and give the keys to an ASU victory.