Howard Game Breakdown

[BucsandBulls]

Overall, I left the game feeling dissatisfied in the way we won (mainly being down 7-0 early left a bad taste in my mouth), but after watching the game back, I thought it was actually much more promising than I originally thought, especially in the 2^nd half. Plenty of stuff to work on still, but I like the play calling and the direction we are heading with every meaningful game of football still in front of us.

Defensively, we got the play call signals fixed which was the biggest problem from game 1 and we didn’t give up any deep passes or blown coverages. We still have issues with gap assignments and tackling angles from Linebackers and Safeties, but the biggest answer for this is just more live game reps to get experience and eventually getting Grier back. There was meaningful improvement throughout this game as things slowed down and we got more comfortable reading play development and diagnosing screens etc.

Offensively, we definitely had a focus on the deep downfield throws this week. Good concepts and open plays just need to continue to hammer away at the reads and timing here, but definitely have the athletes to hit it big later in the season. Run game was slow to start off, but ended up solid even without having to use QB run too much.

OL and Interior DL are my two biggest concerns as I thought we would be more dominant against lesser athletes in this game and have a very tough challenge against the bigger bodies of UF next week. Skill position wise we should be able to hang with UF speed. Tackling will likely be an issue.

1st Q (rough) To me its, not a matter of being unprepared or unmotivated. It's just an inexperienced team that needs reps to build confidence together on both sides of the ball.

First drive: We are aggressive and elect to receive (I personally think this is meaningless and would rather just defer, but I know there were some on this board who thought this was an egregious affront to our offense last week against BYU). Go deep first play, unfortunately GB locks in on Weaver, the CB doesn’t bite on the stutter, and ends up in a 50/50 jump ball. Would like to see Weaver at least make this incomplete if he doesn’t come down with it. The better option would have been to scan the field because Khafre Brown has beaten his man on the opposite, but often you are only reading one side. USF D holds for a quick punt though, so no harm no foul.

Second drive: Great start with the pop pass to Jimmy Horn. He has had about 5 plays or so each game schemed up for him to get the ball in space. Would have been a td if our WR can hold the downfield block for a second longer. We then try to establish the run and would like to see more dominance from OL here. 3^rd down we get the first of several drops by Weaver. Its tough with the ball behind him but still catchable, and would have been wiped out anyways by OPI on the TE pick route.

Howard TD: This is a drive that shows our inexperience on defense. Inches away from a Lapointe Int turns in a 22 yard gain on the slant. We get a couple of TFL’s on conventional run plays but get hurt by RB screen,  the speed option (two guys go with pitch man, no one on QB), and Wildcat run (TD, LB flows out of Gap).

Third drive: Drive the ball well with a mix of run and pass. Drive stalls with the deep shot to Weaver. Feel like he could have again battled better to come down this TD, but it was also uncalled Pass Interference. Followed by a nice deep out route to Brown which goes off his hands. Shrader’s 54yd fga was well short. Not sure if he didn’t get it all, or that’s just outside his range.

2nd Q (good) This is what 1st quarter should have looked like.

Howard fumble 1: Defense gets Howard to quick 3^rd and long, but doesn’t diagnose the WR drag screen across the middle. I didn’t chart plays for an exact %, but it felt like we were brining LB or nickel blitz every other play. I like the aggressiveness, but we need to do a better job of diagnosing opposing teams countering this with screens. Luckily we drop Hansford in zone on the opposite side of this blitz and he forces the fumble while making the tackle 10 yards downfield.

First USF TD drive: We control the ball and run game finally gets going with Battie on the outside, nice speed toss which we come back to with a fake toss next drive. Miss a few deep shots to both Horn and Weaver, but nice to see this aggressiveness. Able to overcome some adversity on a Weaver drop with consistent connection on simple pitch and catch 5-10 yard outside routes and key 4^th down catch by Atkins.

Howard fumble 2: Defense continues to send pressure and Howard keeps going to the well with slants against the nickel blitz. Would like to see us play tighter on this. Howard converts three 3^rd downs, slant, screen, and lose QB contain. Great play by Jayden Curry/Timarcus Simpson to blow up the WR reverse out of the wildcat formation.

Second USF TD: Simple, easy 5 play drive, that starts with another great play design for Jimmy Horn, big play, but coulda/woulda/shoulda been a td with a little better downfield blocking intensity. Follow that up with the fake toss, PA to Gunner Greenwald up the seem and two plays later we are in the endzone. The big plays for Horn start opening up the inside run as putting him in motion draws the defense’s eyes. This is what you would have liked to see all night.

Howard missed FG: Quickly to 3^rd and 5, where we just miss an int and rough the passer with a free rusher, but otherwise hold with good coverage and a nice tackle on RB screen.

End of Half drive: Nice to see us be aggressive under a minute. Pick up 10 on the check down to Mangham. Another drop by Weaver on the sideline which would have gotten us close to fg range.

3^rd Q (progress) Better, but still learning to win.

Howard Punt: Defense gets it to 3^rd and long with a TFL. This time they do read the WR drag and get off the field.

USF punt: We go the well one too many times with the attempted Jimmy Horn run, but end up with a very makeable 3^rd and 5. Unfortunately it’s another Weaver drop. Reoccurrence of drops by Weaver. He is a stud and rightly a focus point of our offense, but he can’t let drops plague him all season if we are going to be successful. He is going to get so many targets and probably left 5 catches for 60 yards out on the field with drops. And that’s not counting 2-3 other balls where GB missed him on the deep ball. I expect him to have close to 100 yards every game.

Howard Int: Defense is hitting groove and again gets it to 3^rd and long immediately and this time a great undercut by Curry for the Int. I like how he’s playing and would be interested to see if he keeps his spot over Matt Hill when healthy.

USF TD 3: Nothing to this drive really, Jaren Mangham and the OL struggle with a couple attempts but handle their business for a TD.

These next two drives are where you get a familiar uneasy feeling about USF. It seems like we are finally rolling with momentum up 21-7 and should be able to get this game to an easy win, but it almost ends up 21-21 quickly and I think this where the team just needs more experience playing with a lead and learning how to win, as CJS says. The nice thing is we do seem to be building confidence both offensively and defensively throughout this game.

Howard TD: Howard is in USF territory after a PI on free play (offside) deep ball and a 12 yard checkdown where are LBs just drop too far in their zones. We get it to 3^rd and 7 but Howard converts against Man coverage on an out route. And then on 3^rd and 1 we have missed run assignments which leads to a 28 yard run. Looks to me like the LB (I think Gordon) was in the wrong gap and then Wil Jones takes a horrible angle. Run game assignments/tackling during Middle drill would be the #1 focus for me on defense right now.

USF TD 4 (almost INT): First play is almost disaster. We go with an unbalanced formation and WR motion. The playaction works and we would have had another schemed open deep ball possible for TD for Jimmy Horn. Unfortunately, the backside DB has a free blitz when his man goes in motion and is unaccounted for. He hits Bohanon on the release and is almost an INT except for the excellent no quit effort play by Jacobs to force the incompletion. The nice thing is we aren’t shaken by this play, and have a nice mix of run and pass (WR screen to Weaver on 3^rd and 5). Finish with a long TD run by Dukes on the counter.

4^th Quarter (Finish) Our 1’s are finally rolling, but would have like this to be earlier so that 2’s and 3’s come in sooner.

Howard Turnover on Downs: We continue to struggle with gap control and tackling, especially against some of the Wildcat looks. Get it 3^rd and 5 and successfully play tighter man coverage with the blitz. 4^th and 4 we get off the field.

USF TD 5: 2 play drive, Weaver responds to challenges with drops earlier and holds on the ball on a big hit on the 10 yard slant. GB has to protect him better. Followed up by long Battie TD run. Great blocking on this play and interesting that Lofton was in for Hall at RG. Didn’t notice if they were rotating in this game, or just working in 6^th OL for experience and trying out different combos.

Howard Punt: Backup D comes in and looks hungry. 3 and out. TFL (#17 Shuler), Sack, and a nice tackle on the outside WR screen. Not sure if this was just fresh legs surprising Howard, but it was nice to see.

USF TD 6: We finally have a connection on the deep ball (great catch by Dollison). Nice runs by backup RBs Hamilton and Powell get us the TD. (we even let the backup K get the XP).

Howard TD: We now put in anyone who hasn’t played yet on defense, so I wouldn’t be too discouraged by this TD drive, since these are hopefully the only snaps many of these guys play besides special teams this season. But Howard 1^st team offense does march down the field easily with pitch and catch and finishes with a long TD run. A couple bright spots for #21 Stokes with a sack and an Int (doesn’t count in stats) on the two point conversion.

USF Punt: Entire second team offense is in now. Would have liked them to let Marsh pass, but that is nitpicking at this point. Ideally we dominate earlier in the game so that two’s are into start the 4^th quarter instead of trying to run the clock out and get the game over with.

Howard Downs: 3^rd defense gives up more garbage yards but gets a TFL and Sack to end it.

 

P.S. Thinking about putting most of this weekly analysis in a video podcast with a buddy (he’s the color analyst) since there isn’t much USF coverage beside the daily stampede and 247. Would people be interested in that or prefer this written out? May also do a weekly preview too. 

[Rocky Style]

5 minutes ago, BucsandBulls said:

P.S. Thinking about putting most of this weekly analysis in a video podcast with a buddy (he’s the color analyst) since there isn’t much USF coverage beside the daily stampede and 247. Would people be interested in that or prefer this written out? May also do a weekly preview too. 

This sounds like a good area of opportunity.  I'm not aware of anything for USF like this by fans that is somewhat produced or edited at the moment.

[GoBulls84]

My single biggest problem with the defense is that we continue to be atrocious on 3rd downs. It feels like we've been awful on 3rd downs for like a decade now. Don't even feel safe on 3rd and longs (10 or more).

[LrdNorman]

1 hour ago, Rocky Style said:

This sounds like a good area of opportunity.  I'm not aware of anything for USF like this by fans that is somewhat produced or edited at the moment.

I’d listen — great analysis!

[Triple B]

22 minutes ago, GoBulls84 said:

My single biggest problem with the defense is that we continue to be atrocious on 3rd downs. It feels like we've been awful on 3rd downs for like a decade now. Don't even feel safe on 3rd and longs (10 or more).

I think that's a huge point of concern. Big plays here and there can be troublesome but not lethal ..... not being able to get off the field on a consistent basis is a problem.

[BucsandBulls]

15 minutes ago, GoBulls84 said:

My single biggest problem with the defense is that we continue to be atrocious on 3rd downs. It feels like we've been awful on 3rd downs for like a decade now. Don't even feel safe on 3rd and longs (10 or more).

I can agree with that and getting off the field has been a problem long before the current staff. 4th and 24 against Houston still gives me nightmares. And nothing frustrates me more, especially if its a screen or draw (happened against BYU).  3rd down should be a time for the defense to get excited to make a play. I'm a big Bucs fan too (hence the name), so I remember the old Bucs defense or USF defenses just getting excited for 3rd and long because now the offense is desperate so you are more likely to get a sack or an int. I think the difference is we still lack a dominant and confident pass rusher. Hoping Logan, Hansford, or Kelly can begin to show that more in their game. 

Howard was 9/17 on 3rd down overall. I went ahead and charted those 3rd downs. They were 6/9 in the first half and 3/8 in the second. 6/9 on 3rd and short(<7 yards) with 2 tds; and 3/8 on 3rd and long with two turnovers. To be transparent one of the turnovers they were going to get the first down until the guy fumbled. But the three third and long conversions were 9, 7 and 7, so not the worst performance in this particular game. And I think the starters improved as the game went on and they began to see their keys and diagnose plays.

1. 3rd and 9 in the 2nd quarter. We blitz and they run a wr drag screen across the middle and the CB gets picked off by another route. They would run this same/similar play multiple more times in the game and we adjusted to take it away. I think it was later an incompletion and a short tackle. They would fumble on this drive.

2. 3rd and 7 in the 3rd quarter.  We play man coverage and the wr fakes the slant and pops back outside for a quick out, just enough for the first down. . This was the same CB#2 who is converted back from safety due to CB injuries. I wouldn't blame him though the coverage was pretty tight, only way to stop this is likely get home with the pass rush. I am still definitely unsatisfied with our pass rush when we don't blitz. They would later score a td on this drive. 

3. 3rd and 7 in the 4th quarter against our 3's in defense. They run a typical zone read handoff which just completely takes our backups by surprise given the situation and they gain 27 and score their final td on this drive. 

[Gatorbull325]

2 hours ago, BucsandBulls said:

Overall, I left the game feeling dissatisfied in the way we won (mainly being down 7-0 early left a bad taste in my mouth), but after watching the game back, I thought it was actually much more promising than I originally thought, especially in the 2^nd half. Plenty of stuff to work on still, but I like the play calling and the direction we are heading with every meaningful game of football still in front of us.

Defensively, we got the play call signals fixed which was the biggest problem from game 1 and we didn’t give up any deep passes or blown coverages. We still have issues with gap assignments and tackling angles from Linebackers and Safeties, but the biggest answer for this is just more live game reps to get experience and eventually getting Grier back. There was meaningful improvement throughout this game as things slowed down and we got more comfortable reading play development and diagnosing screens etc.

Offensively, we definitely had a focus on the deep downfield throws this week. Good concepts and open plays just need to continue to hammer away at the reads and timing here, but definitely have the athletes to hit it big later in the season. Run game was slow to start off, but ended up solid even without having to use QB run too much.

OL and Interior DL are my two biggest concerns as I thought we would be more dominant against lesser athletes in this game and have a very tough challenge against the bigger bodies of UF next week. Skill position wise we should be able to hang with UF speed. Tackling will likely be an issue.

1st Q (rough) To me its, not a matter of being unprepared or unmotivated. It's just an inexperienced team that needs reps to build confidence together on both sides of the ball.

First drive: We are aggressive and elect to receive (I personally think this is meaningless and would rather just defer, but I know there were some on this board who thought this was an egregious affront to our offense last week against BYU). Go deep first play, unfortunately GB locks in on Weaver, the CB doesn’t bite on the stutter, and ends up in a 50/50 jump ball. Would like to see Weaver at least make this incomplete if he doesn’t come down with it. The better option would have been to scan the field because Khafre Brown has beaten his man on the opposite, but often you are only reading one side. USF D holds for a quick punt though, so no harm no foul.

Second drive: Great start with the pop pass to Jimmy Horn. He has had about 5 plays or so each game schemed up for him to get the ball in space. Would have been a td if our WR can hold the downfield block for a second longer. We then try to establish the run and would like to see more dominance from OL here. 3^rd down we get the first of several drops by Weaver. Its tough with the ball behind him but still catchable, and would have been wiped out anyways by OPI on the TE pick route.

Howard TD: This is a drive that shows our inexperience on defense. Inches away from a Lapointe Int turns in a 22 yard gain on the slant. We get a couple of TFL’s on conventional run plays but get hurt by RB screen,  the speed option (two guys go with pitch man, no one on QB), and Wildcat run (TD, LB flows out of Gap).

Third drive: Drive the ball well with a mix of run and pass. Drive stalls with the deep shot to Weaver. Feel like he could have again battled better to come down this TD, but it was also uncalled Pass Interference. Followed by a nice deep out route to Brown which goes off his hands. Shrader’s 54yd fga was well short. Not sure if he didn’t get it all, or that’s just outside his range.

2nd Q (good) This is what 1st quarter should have looked like.

Howard fumble 1: Defense gets Howard to quick 3^rd and long, but doesn’t diagnose the WR drag screen across the middle. I didn’t chart plays for an exact %, but it felt like we were brining LB or nickel blitz every other play. I like the aggressiveness, but we need to do a better job of diagnosing opposing teams countering this with screens. Luckily we drop Hansford in zone on the opposite side of this blitz and he forces the fumble while making the tackle 10 yards downfield.

First USF TD drive: We control the ball and run game finally gets going with Battie on the outside, nice speed toss which we come back to with a fake toss next drive. Miss a few deep shots to both Horn and Weaver, but nice to see this aggressiveness. Able to overcome some adversity on a Weaver drop with consistent connection on simple pitch and catch 5-10 yard outside routes and key 4^th down catch by Atkins.

Howard fumble 2: Defense continues to send pressure and Howard keeps going to the well with slants against the nickel blitz. Would like to see us play tighter on this. Howard converts three 3^rd downs, slant, screen, and lose QB contain. Great play by Jayden Curry/Timarcus Simpson to blow up the WR reverse out of the wildcat formation.

Second USF TD: Simple, easy 5 play drive, that starts with another great play design for Jimmy Horn, big play, but coulda/woulda/shoulda been a td with a little better downfield blocking intensity. Follow that up with the fake toss, PA to Gunner Greenwald up the seem and two plays later we are in the endzone. The big plays for Horn start opening up the inside run as putting him in motion draws the defense’s eyes. This is what you would have liked to see all night.

Howard missed FG: Quickly to 3^rd and 5, where we just miss an int and rough the passer with a free rusher, but otherwise hold with good coverage and a nice tackle on RB screen.

End of Half drive: Nice to see us be aggressive under a minute. Pick up 10 on the check down to Mangham. Another drop by Weaver on the sideline which would have gotten us close to fg range.

3^rd Q (progress) Better, but still learning to win.

Howard Punt: Defense gets it to 3^rd and long with a TFL. This time they do read the WR drag and get off the field.

USF punt: We go the well one too many times with the attempted Jimmy Horn run, but end up with a very makeable 3^rd and 5. Unfortunately it’s another Weaver drop. Reoccurrence of drops by Weaver. He is a stud and rightly a focus point of our offense, but he can’t let drops plague him all season if we are going to be successful. He is going to get so many targets and probably left 5 catches for 60 yards out on the field with drops. And that’s not counting 2-3 other balls where GB missed him on the deep ball. I expect him to have close to 100 yards every game.

Howard Int: Defense is hitting groove and again gets it to 3^rd and long immediately and this time a great undercut by Curry for the Int. I like how he’s playing and would be interested to see if he keeps his spot over Matt Hill when healthy.

USF TD 3: Nothing to this drive really, Jaren Mangham and the OL struggle with a couple attempts but handle their business for a TD.

These next two drives are where you get a familiar uneasy feeling about USF. It seems like we are finally rolling with momentum up 21-7 and should be able to get this game to an easy win, but it almost ends up 21-21 quickly and I think this where the team just needs more experience playing with a lead and learning how to win, as CJS says. The nice thing is we do seem to be building confidence both offensively and defensively throughout this game.

Howard TD: Howard is in USF territory after a PI on free play (offside) deep ball and a 12 yard checkdown where are LBs just drop too far in their zones. We get it to 3^rd and 7 but Howard converts against Man coverage on an out route. And then on 3^rd and 1 we have missed run assignments which leads to a 28 yard run. Looks to me like the LB (I think Gordon) was in the wrong gap and then Wil Jones takes a horrible angle. Run game assignments/tackling during Middle drill would be the #1 focus for me on defense right now.

USF TD 4 (almost INT): First play is almost disaster. We go with an unbalanced formation and WR motion. The playaction works and we would have had another schemed open deep ball possible for TD for Jimmy Horn. Unfortunately, the backside DB has a free blitz when his man goes in motion and is unaccounted for. He hits Bohanon on the release and is almost an INT except for the excellent no quit effort play by Jacobs to force the incompletion. The nice thing is we aren’t shaken by this play, and have a nice mix of run and pass (WR screen to Weaver on 3^rd and 5). Finish with a long TD run by Dukes on the counter.

4^th Quarter (Finish) Our 1’s are finally rolling, but would have like this to be earlier so that 2’s and 3’s come in sooner.

Howard Turnover on Downs: We continue to struggle with gap control and tackling, especially against some of the Wildcat looks. Get it 3^rd and 5 and successfully play tighter man coverage with the blitz. 4^th and 4 we get off the field.

USF TD 5: 2 play drive, Weaver responds to challenges with drops earlier and holds on the ball on a big hit on the 10 yard slant. GB has to protect him better. Followed up by long Battie TD run. Great blocking on this play and interesting that Lofton was in for Hall at RG. Didn’t notice if they were rotating in this game, or just working in 6^th OL for experience and trying out different combos.

Howard Punt: Backup D comes in and looks hungry. 3 and out. TFL (#17 Shuler), Sack, and a nice tackle on the outside WR screen. Not sure if this was just fresh legs surprising Howard, but it was nice to see.

USF TD 6: We finally have a connection on the deep ball (great catch by Dollison). Nice runs by backup RBs Hamilton and Powell get us the TD. (we even let the backup K get the XP).

Howard TD: We now put in anyone who hasn’t played yet on defense, so I wouldn’t be too discouraged by this TD drive, since these are hopefully the only snaps many of these guys play besides special teams this season. But Howard 1^st team offense does march down the field easily with pitch and catch and finishes with a long TD run. A couple bright spots for #21 Stokes with a sack and an Int (doesn’t count in stats) on the two point conversion.

USF Punt: Entire second team offense is in now. Would have liked them to let Marsh pass, but that is nitpicking at this point. Ideally we dominate earlier in the game so that two’s are into start the 4^th quarter instead of trying to run the clock out and get the game over with.

Howard Downs: 3^rd defense gives up more garbage yards but gets a TFL and Sack to end it.

 

P.S. Thinking about putting most of this weekly analysis in a video podcast with a buddy (he’s the color analyst) since there isn’t much USF coverage beside the daily stampede and 247. Would people be interested in that or prefer this written out? May also do a weekly preview too. 

This was great! 

[Bulls On Parade]

I like your in depth analysis. 

Defense is definitely a work in progress...wonder If we didn't have pretty much our second string secondary on field most of the game what the defense would have looked like. 

Hope we get them back this week.