Some Bad Coaching Decisions

[RebelBuzz]

I thought Coach Sanchez made a couple really bad coaching decisions today that might have changed the outcome of this game.

• Our first offensive possession, we settled for a 41-yard field goal attempt while trailing 7-0. It missed. I was sitting on the north edge of the stadium and there was a decent breeze in the face of Pantels for the 41-yard attempt. I understand that Greene had just gotten stuffed on 3rd and 1, but, there was a breeze, and let's be honest, what is the FG% in the MW for 40+ yard field goals? I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I'm guessing that's a 50/50 proposition at best. How much success has Greene had for us on short yardage? I like our chances with Greene MUCH more than a 41 yard field goal. Obviously hindsight is 20/20, but even before the kick went up, I didn't like this conservative approach. Plus, our offense had actually moved the ball pretty well on the drive... it is not crazy to think we could have gotten 7 on that drive... and who knows what happens after that.
• As much as I hated that FG attempt, I might have hated the FG attempt in the second half even more. After scoring a quick TD to start the second half, CSU fumbles on 3rd and long and gives us great field goal position at the 33 yard line. We get a quick first down to Boyd, then back to back 2-yard runs by Sneed to give us 3rd and 6 from the 10 yard line. We throw an incomplete pass, then trot out Pantels for a 27-yard field goal. Terrible. Even on 4th and 6, I want us going for the first down. When you go down 35-0 at half, you need TOUCHDOWNS, and a lot of them if you want to have a shot. Sure, you can hope to pitch a shutout in the second half, but it's more likely that you're gonna have to score 42+ points to win the game. There's no time for field goals. Even more than I wanted us to go for it on 4th and 6, what we really needed to do was run the ball on 3rd down, knowing that even if you only get 3-4 yards, we are going for it on 4th. Put yourself in a position to put the ball in the endzone. At least we made this FG.
• Perhaps my least favorite call of the night was the decision to go for the surprise onside kick after we cut the lead to 35-17. There was still 12 minutes left in the game, and our defense hadn't given up a THING in the second half. We fail on the onside kick (let alone that we were offsides...), they get the ball at our 36 yard-line after the penalty, and one play later, they score a TD on a long pass. WHY? WHY? Sure, if it worked, you look like a genius... but an onside kick is ALWAYS difficult to pull off. You've gotta do everything PERFECT. We couldn't even stay onside, let alone recover the ball. Prior to that play, we had ALL the momentum and our defense was rolling. This TD was the final nail in the coffin. You kick that ball deep, let's assume (not certain, I know) we get a 3-and-out, and we are getting the ball back down 18 with 10 minutes to play. For someone who had been so conservative kicking FG earlier... why did he choose to go out on a limb here?
• Last one. Minor, but I didn't like it. After CSU scored following the failed onside, we only got 3 yards on our first 3 plays from scrimmage. We had a 4th and 7 and sent out the punter... Really, the game is over, but punting there was throwing in the towel, which I don't like. IF you lose by 25 or by 35, what's the difference? Why not try and see if you can get the 4th down conversion and get another score?

 

[RebelinWA]

On 4th and 2 on that first possession, I was surprised that we didn't go for it also. I got really mad we settled for a field goal. Minus that first possession we had, flat doesn't even describe that first half. If we had played that first half from the second possession like we did marching out of the second half, that game would have been a win. We've got a long way to go. It's a process.

 

[Bullmastiff 1]

I thought Coach Sanchez made a couple really bad coaching decisions today that might have changed the outcome of this game.

• Our first offensive possession, we settled for a 41-yard field goal attempt while trailing 7-0. It missed. I was sitting on the north edge of the stadium and there was a decent breeze in the face of Pantels for the 41-yard attempt. I understand that Greene had just gotten stuffed on 3rd and 1, but, there was a breeze, and let's be honest, what is the FG% in the MW for 40+ yard field goals? I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I'm guessing that's a 50/50 proposition at best. How much success has Greene had for us on short yardage? I like our chances with Greene MUCH more than a 41 yard field goal. Obviously hindsight is 20/20, but even before the kick went up, I didn't like this conservative approach. Plus, our offense had actually moved the ball pretty well on the drive... it is not crazy to think we could have gotten 7 on that drive... and who knows what happens after that.
• As much as I hated that FG attempt, I might have hated the FG attempt in the second half even more. After scoring a quick TD to start the second half, CSU fumbles on 3rd and long and gives us great field goal position at the 33 yard line. We get a quick first down to Boyd, then back to back 2-yard runs by Sneed to give us 3rd and 6 from the 10 yard line. We throw an incomplete pass, then trot out Pantels for a 27-yard field goal. Terrible. Even on 4th and 6, I want us going for the first down. When you go down 35-0 at half, you need TOUCHDOWNS, and a lot of them if you want to have a shot. Sure, you can hope to pitch a shutout in the second half, but it's more likely that you're gonna have to score 42+ points to win the game. There's no time for field goals. Even more than I wanted us to go for it on 4th and 6, what we really needed to do was run the ball on 3rd down, knowing that even if you only get 3-4 yards, we are going for it on 4th. Put yourself in a position to put the ball in the endzone. At least we made this FG.
• Perhaps my least favorite call of the night was the decision to go for the surprise onside kick after we cut the lead to 35-17. There was still 12 minutes left in the game, and our defense hadn't given up a THING in the second half. We fail on the onside kick (let alone that we were offsides...), they get the ball at our 36 yard-line after the penalty, and one play later, they score a TD on a long pass. WHY? WHY? Sure, if it worked, you look like a genius... but an onside kick is ALWAYS difficult to pull off. You've gotta do everything PERFECT. We couldn't even stay onside, let alone recover the ball. Prior to that play, we had ALL the momentum and our defense was rolling. This TD was the final nail in the coffin. You kick that ball deep, let's assume (not certain, I know) we get a 3-and-out, and we are getting the ball back down 18 with 10 minutes to play. For someone who had been so conservative kicking FG earlier... why did he choose to go out on a limb here?
• Last one. Minor, but I didn't like it. After CSU scored following the failed onside, we only got 3 yards on our first 3 plays from scrimmage. We had a 4th and 7 and sent out the punter... Really, the game is over, but punting there was throwing in the towel, which I don't like. IF you lose by 25 or by 35, what's the difference? Why not try and see if you can get the 4th down conversion and get another score?

1) I was ok with it. Pantels has been good this year. It was early.
2) Totally agree, the FG in that situation did nothing. We were still down 4 scores.
3) Agree again.

There is no question that the offense struggled in the 1st half. Drops, Sneed missed a couple guys, 2 ridiculous penalties that negated 1st downs. However the defense was atrocious. Zero pressure on the QB this week. We have watched all season our CBs struggle to defend the deep ball. Maybe it's scheme, maybe we are committing an extra guy to defend the run, but good lord could we see some safety help over the top?

 

[RebelinWA]

I m not sure why, but this season after such a great freshman campaign, Hough hasn't been the impact player he was before. Maybe he's playing hurt. It seems like him and Mouton aren't quite as fast as they were last year. I m guessing its some kind of injury, because we saw them play lights out before.

 

[mwsn7022012]

I m not sure why, but this season after such a great freshman campaign, Hough hasn't been the impact player he was before. Maybe he's playing hurt. It seems like him and Mouton aren't quite as fast as they were last year. I m guessing its some kind of injury, because we saw them play lights out before.

The problem with the defense, particularly the secondary, is that we lack talent.

 

[RebelBuzz]

1) I was ok with it. Pantels has been good this year. It was early.

I'm fine with playing conservative in a 0-7 game early on. My point is that it was a 41-yard FG and it was only 4th and 1. For me, it's all about percentages. I'm not talking what percentage Pantels is in practice, I mean actual game averages. I am estimating here, but I'd be surprised if it's better than 50/50. I know Pantels has been perfect, but I don't think he had even attempted anything outside 40 yards this year in-game.

On the other hand, David Greene has been practically unstoppable in goal line and short yardage situations. I don't have those exact numbers either, but I'd guess he's 75% or better on the year (and he has a good amount of attempts). Despite the fact that he was stuffed on 3rd down, feed him the rock again. Or, since teams scout for Greene and know how good he's been, sell a hard play action to Greene and let Sneed roll out.

If it was 4th and 3+, I think the numbers tell you to try the FG. But on 4th in 1, I think it was the wrong call, even without the benefit of hindsight.

 

[Bullmastiff 1]

I'm fine with playing conservative in a 0-7 game early on. My point is that it was a 41-yard FG and it was only 4th and 1. For me, it's all about percentages. I'm not talking what percentage Pantels is in practice, I mean actual game averages. I am estimating here, but I'd be surprised if it's better than 50/50. I know Pantels has been perfect, but I don't think he had even attempted anything outside 40 yards this year in-game.

On the other hand, David Greene has been practically unstoppable in goal line and short yardage situations. I don't have those exact numbers either, but I'd guess he's 75% or better on the year (and he has a good amount of attempts). Despite the fact that he was stuffed on 3rd down, feed him the rock again. Or, since teams scout for Greene and know how good he's been, sell a hard play action to Greene and let Sneed roll out.

If it was 4th and 3+, I think the numbers tell you to try the FG. But on 4th in 1, I think it was the wrong call, even without the benefit of hindsight.

I didn't particularly like the decision, but we had plenty of time to recover.

Overall I think execution in the first half was the biggest issue on offense. The dropped passes have become to common place. I think Stevenson either ran the wrong route or slipped on one pass play. Thomas drops a lateral leading to a CSU TD. Two penalties killed two drives after first downs.

The defense was just bad. Yes they were given a short field on 2 occasions. However CSU went 5 for 6 on their drives in the first half all five for TDs.

I think we have come a long way in terms of talent on offense. Defense we are still another year or two away. Outside of Tau we have zero playmakers on defense.

I have been disappointed in Alo-Wily and Vaolaga this year. Both were really disruptive during Spring and Fall. Haven't been nearly as productive as I had expected.

 

[RebelBuzz]

Speaking of the backwards pass... was it? For some reason, it really bothered me that the backwards pass "stood" as called on the field. I get that sometimes on a review you don't have a good angle to see if the runner's knee was down or if the ball was being fumbled, or you can't see if the ball shifted when the receiver hit the ground. But in this case, where you have a swing pass in the flats with no one blocking the camera view, you should be able to determine if the ball is backwards, exactly sideways (also a fumble/live ball), or forwards.

So I found the archived stream of the game and snapped these two pics on my phone:

Sneed is a right-handed QB and his arm was behind the 12 yard line when he released the ball. Lex touches the ball in front of the 12. I don't know how this call stood. The ball doesn't have to travel 1 yard, 1 foot, or 6 inches forward; ANY forward movement and it is a forward pass.

And it was a yuge call. The difference between 35-0 and 28-0 is gigantic. (We don't do a stupid onside kick if its 28-17 rather than 35-17. Not to mention that this was our play on first down... and who knows if the Rebs could have put a drive together to get 3/7 points. Really dislike that call.

 

[Bullmastiff 1]

Speaking of the backwards pass... was it? For some reason, it really bothered me that the backwards pass "stood" as called on the field. I get that sometimes on a review you don't have a good angle to see if the runner's knee was down or if the ball was being fumbled, or you can't see if the ball shifted when the receiver hit the ground. But in this case, where you have a swing pass in the flats with no one blocking the camera view, you should be able to determine if the ball is backwards, exactly sideways (also a fumble/live ball), or forwards.

So I found the archived stream of the game and snapped these two pics on my phone:

Sneed is a right-handed QB and his arm was behind the 12 yard line when he released the ball. Lex touches the ball in front of the 12. I don't know how this call stood. The ball doesn't have to travel 1 yard, 1 foot, or 6 inches forward; ANY forward movement and it is a forward pass.

And it was a yuge call. The difference between 35-0 and 28-0 is gigantic. (We don't do a stupid onside kick if its 28-17 rather than 35-17. Not to mention that this was our play on first down... and who knows if the Rebs could have put a drive together to get 3/7 points. Really dislike that call.

I think we may have our answer as to why Thomas isn't used in the passing game a lot. I know he caught the TD from Sneed on the scramble. However this is the second time he has flat out drooped a pass on this exact play. He dropped one vs Idaho in OT where he would have walked in. This one essentially put the game out of reach.

 

[rebelbuck]

Sanchez said in one of the post game presser's after someone asked if our RB's could help at WR when Woods went down. He stated basically , that "they arent really natural pass catchers". Probably be a point of emphasis moving into spring to have these guys really work on this part of their game moving forward.

 

[Bullmastiff 1]

Sanchez said in one of the post game presser's after someone asked if our RB's could help at WR when Woods went down. He stated basically , that "they arent really natural pass catchers". Probably be a point of emphasis moving into spring to have these guys really work on this part of their game moving forward.

Yep...Green might be the best pass catchers of the group. I remember watching Williams HS tape thinking this guy has speed, good vision and feet, finishes his runs well. Only downside was he looked uncomfortable catching the ball.

 

[mwsn7022012]

Yep...Green might be the best pass catchers of the group. I remember watching Williams HS tape thinking this guy has speed, good vision and feet, finishes his runs well. Only downside was he looked uncomfortable catching the ball.

Goes to show you how clueless Fresno State is since they recruited him as a wide receiver.

 

[Bullmastiff 1]

Goes to show you how clueless Fresno State is since they recruited him as a wide receiver.

According to him, they barely recruited him at all. Another indication of the ineptitude.

 

[mwsn7022012]

According to him, they barely recruited him at all. Another indication of the ineptitude.

It makes no sense to me since he's runs a 10.5 100 meter. Personally, I think we're lucky to have landed him. He should have landed with a P5 program.