Question about play calling logistics and going no huddle
I have a question about how plays are relayed from the OC to the offense and the differences between no huddle and conventional styles. As I understand it, Al calls the play, it gets relayed to Devin by someone on the sideline with a headset via hand signals. Devin then reads the play off of his arm band to the rest of the team, they break the huddle and line up. Correct?
How much different is no huddle mode? Would the entire offense have to memorize the plays and hand signals so that everyone just gets the call directly from the sideline? Is this something that's feasible to implement mid season? Brian has talked at length about the advantages no huddle gives to the QB in terms of time to change the play after seeing the defense (or for the OC to call in another play). What got me thinking is with the talk of a new center (and the young interior line in general), would getting to the line more quickly and seeing defensive alignment also help the center make the blocking assignment calls and for the OL to ID their targets?
October 1st, 2013 at 2:43 PM ^
always have a few base plays they know can work that it becomes second nature for them to execute plays. Oregon uses picture board to represent formation/plays at the same time if they want to go supersonic no huddle. The base plays are always their bread and butter plays like zone read, passing plays, running plays.
For a semi no huddle, the skill position players look to the sideline to get coaches signals, and QB barks out protection calls to the OL. Subsitutions usually happens in that pace or at huddled offense.
The signals will always include formation and plays with blocking scheme in it. It may come from any of the QBs(only one or one out of three) signaling plays. The change the QBs to keep opposing coaches guessing.
October 1st, 2013 at 2:45 PM ^
It could be done. The offense can push the tempo. It wont be full boar oregon or, Notre Dame., but the offense can run a no huddle two minute offense at any time. We have seen this staff do this to start a game. But the true identity of this team is ball control and power. They are hammering away at making this happen after two years of adjusting to Denard.
October 1st, 2013 at 2:52 PM ^
I was under the impression our "NASCAR" offense was a scripted, predetermined list of plays, not true no huddle. I agree we will never been a up-tempo team, but I think this could be useful in having more time to check out of bad plays, which is something this board has been critical of. I think some of that was reluctance to giving Denard the ability to audible, but I would think Al would like the option for Devin, or even himself, to read the defensive alignment and adjust as necessary.
October 1st, 2013 at 3:02 PM ^
As it has been usually described in press conferences even going back to 2011 when we were first made aware of the "NASCAR" tempo in pressers, Hoke and Borges always seemed to frame it a a change to the playcalling rather than specifically say that it was "no-huddle".
Actually, the first extensive discussion of it might have been after the Iowa game in 2011 when people were trying to differentiate the NASCAR stuff from other, perhaps more typical two-minute offenses.
October 1st, 2013 at 3:39 PM ^
/ducks
October 1st, 2013 at 10:36 PM ^
October 1st, 2013 at 2:45 PM ^
That fancy pants gimmick will never work in the B1G.
October 1st, 2013 at 3:35 PM ^
What, the forward pass? Tomfoolery indeed.
October 1st, 2013 at 4:32 PM ^
Why, I hear that fellow Yost is thinking about having some of his defense play back of the line. He calls them fellers "linebackers" or some such thing. Imagine that!
October 1st, 2013 at 4:48 PM ^
come up with that?
October 5th, 2013 at 9:47 AM ^
From what I understand, yes. Yost invented the linebacker position.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linebacker
A linebacker (LB) is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan.[2]
October 1st, 2013 at 3:42 PM ^
You could easily have a prescripted wristband with play numbers that gets changed out after every drive with the playcalls on them for backs and ends. Quarterbacks then call a base scheme for the line.
There's no reason you couldn't run 80%+ of a typical playbook encompassing well over 90% of actual playcalls without ever huddling.
October 1st, 2013 at 4:03 PM ^
It seems to me, they don't need to go "no huddle" so much as break the huddle faster and get lined up with the opportunity to check out of plays or adjust protection. I don't know if the delay is from Borges or the hand signals or Devin, but it is possible for the call to come down from the booth, line up and still make adjustments.
October 1st, 2013 at 4:37 PM ^
A big benefit to not-huddling is trapping the defense in a personnel grouping that you can take advantage of. If they go Nickel on a 3rd and 6 and you get the first down, you could call an I-form run on the next play and potentially have an advantage (assuming your TEs can block, cough cough).
The other advantage is to get the line fast, check out the defense, then adjust if needed. I agree, having wristbands would be an easy way to switch to a different play and just call it out to everyone. Then next drive just change the bands. Not sure why more teams don't do that.
October 1st, 2013 at 4:38 PM ^
Dreaded double-post.
October 1st, 2013 at 4:50 PM ^
A no huddle offense 5 games into the season when your starting QB already has 10 turnovers, is a recipe for disaster.
Chad Henne (and every starting QB before him) use to make checks at the line and he rarely had a problem with getting the play off. Michigan also had one of the most complex systems of relaying the play to the QB when Carr was the head coach.
Devin cannot read a defense yet, and nothing is going to help him other than time in the same system and film study.
Remember, in Devins first year at QB, he was under RR, the QB did not have to think in that offense. He spent one year under Borges in a hybrid spread offense, then another half year as a WR in the same offense. He has had less than a full season as the starting QB.
Devin needs time. Switching how Borges plans to call plays down the road will just delay are transition even more. We need to just get it over with and stick with one offensive philosohpy.
Going no huddle outside a 2min drill will only set us back...again.
October 1st, 2013 at 5:55 PM ^
As much as it makes sense, Michigan will never be a no huddle team under Al Borges. Hate it or not, it is better to accept that fact.
October 5th, 2013 at 12:31 PM ^
San Diego State was a no-huddle team under Al Borges (and Hoke).
October 1st, 2013 at 8:05 PM ^
October 1st, 2013 at 8:06 PM ^