(07-13-2019 10:50 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(07-12-2019 08:26 PM)ruowls Wrote:  Well...
I was asking sincerely. The issue I have is trying to understand what expectations are and what people look for.
As an example, a receiver can be taught to run an out. And to run that out, they need to take 10 steps and be at 12 yards and roll over their outside plant foot and carry their speed through the cut. They may execute it crisply and flawlessly. And the QB took his 5 step drop and threw the ball without a hitch and threw it to the perfect spot where the receiver should be with his 12 yard route. The problem is that if the flat coverage jumps the route and gets a pick 6. The result is a crappy play that was executed crisply and flawlessly. If the QB and receiver are graded on executing what they were taught then they graded out well even though the play didn't work. Or do you grade out the play and fail the players. Or fail the OC for calling an out against that particular coverage.
This has always been a pet peeve of mine. Teach what is really important and execute success. Not static steps for a dynamic process.

But that would neither be crispness nor flawless execution. Flawless execution would mean anticipating and reading the flat coverage, and going elsewhere with the ball if the flat coverage threatens to jump the route. That's the problem I have with a lot of coaches. If the receiver takes his 10 steps and makes the proper cut, and the QB makes his drop and throws the ball on time, but it gets picked, that's not flawless execution, that's somebody screwed up. Maybe it's the play call, maybe it's the failure of the QB and/or receiver to read the defense and anticipate the break. But I'm including all of those factors in execution and crispness.

To distinguish a bit, crispness to me is more things like avoiding false starts and other pre-snap violations, getting into the right formation and running the right play, situational awareness, basically stuff other than actual play execution. Execution involves not just taking the proper 10 steps before the cut or the 5 step drop and releasing on time, but rather also knowing what is the strategic and tactical situation and how that should drive action.

Maybe it comes from my rugby background where situations are more fluid, but I like the OODA or OADA decision model (observe, orient/analyze, decide, act). Don't just know to take 10 steps and cut, but know why, and also know if and when you should take maybe 9 or 11 steps. I guess that's why I like option and run-and-shoot offenses, because so much decision-making occurs after the snap.

I have always understood your approach, RU, to be based to a significant extent on these concepts.

Since we are going down this rabbit hole....

How do you quantify decision making? Especially when it is arbitrary. There are certain quantifiable skills you can be proficient at in sport. You start with the basics of football and you build. Stance, athletic position, memorize formations and proper alignment, routes, tracks, meshes, throwing mechanics, and blocks are some of the basic building blocks. Then there is the position specific techniques. Then there is teaching what to observe and how to analyze what you observe. This is the variable that can impact performance significantly. It is also the variable that can let one player or team be different. Football doesn't have to be standardized. The beauty of the game is that it shouldn't be. Tendencies are basically one's attempt to standardize. And that can be used to an opponent's advantage. How do you game plan against OADA? The decision and action isn't standardized or consistent. It is only specific to that instance. You aren't invoking a specific response to Cover 3 (the observation). You are observing the flat coverage in that specific instance of Cover 3 and analyzing that and then deciding on a plan of action. And that would be based on the skills you have and the loose expectations of timing of the play and general adherence to some of the techniques you have been taught. But ultimately, it is the decision and action chosen in this instance that leads to success. Not running 10 steps or throwing it to a predetermined spot at a predetermined time. Granted, the time factor is important in incorporating pass protection and negating the rush. So, there are some parameters you can't really change. So, knowing where you can adjust and where you can't is an important skill to learn (experience).