As I said, one of the keys to defending the option is recognizing that the snap count will always occur when the pitch man is either right behind the quarterback or just a couple steps away. If your defensive linemen know when the ball will be snapped, they can get upfield, prevent Tech's offensive linemen from diving at their knees, and keep Nesbitt from reaching the corner.
Miami had an advantage because Dwyer was hurt. But the principles remain the same. Force Nesbitt to throw the ball. On occasion, he will connect on a a big play, but he's not accurate enough to do it consistently.
Miami wins.
2 comments:
It's not quite that simple for timing the snap (such as the wide pitch), but you do have the basic premise down. If your DL can beat their OL, get a push into the backfield which will make the option much more difficult to execute and stop the dive, you can shut them down easy. Of course saying it and doing it are two different beasts.
Well said, Mr. Sanchez. "Always" was admittedly too strong a phrase to describe the timing of the option snap count.
I think that the difference between Miami last year and Miami this year was not that they have better athletes, but that their coaches figured out how to defense the option. Hopefully, Coach Martinez will watch lots of game film, since Tech will have an bye week before they play UGA.
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