3rd down play calling

[Ross]

I separated the 3rd and long from the 3rd and short

3-17-ATL41(11:48) (Shotgun) G.Frerotte pass incomplete to W.Welker.
3-15-MIA29(8:16) (Shotgun) G.Frerotte pass to R.Brown to MIA 35 for 6 yards (C.Lavalais).
3-11-MIA19(3:33) (Shotgun) G.Frerotte pass incomplete to R.Brown.
3-9-ATL13(2:31) (Shotgun) G.Frerotte pass to R.McMichael to ATL 9 for 4 yards (A.Rossum; C.Lavalais).


Note on the above 3rd and long situations. We only threw to the WR one time out of 4. The other times the pass went to the RB/TE in the hopes that they could beat the people in front of them and make it a 1st down. In other words on 3rd and long we only threw the ball once on a route meant to get the ball at or beyond the first down marker.

3-4-MIA41(8:21) (Shotgun) G.Frerotte pass incomplete to C.Chambers (J.Webster).
3-4-MIA30(:37) G.Frerotte pass incomplete to M.Booker (K.Brooking).
3-3-ATL48(:41) (Shotgun) G.Frerotte pass incomplete to R.Brown.
3-2-ATL22(4:43) R.Brown left tackle to ATL 21 for 1 yard (K.Brooking; D.Williams).
3-2-ATL8(2:47) G.Frerotte pass intended for C.Chambers INTERCEPTED by K.Carpenter at ATL 5. K.Carpenter to ATL 6 for 1 yard (D.McIntosh).

Note on the above 3rd and 4 yards or less. We only ran the ball one time out of 5. 3 of the 4 throws went to the WR. In other words, when presented with a short yardage, we went away from the one strength this offense has shown, in the hopes of fooling the defense.

It seems to me the Offensive play calling has got it backwards when presented with 3rd downs. Yes it might not be imaginative play calling on 3rd and long to throw to your WR’s on routes meant to get the ball at the sticks or better. And yes the defense might be expecting the conventional wisdom of running the ball on 3rd and short. Especially when your RB’s are popping along at 5 yards a clip. But there is a reason it is conventional wisdom. The reason is because it works best regardless if the defense knows its’ coming or not…

 

[Jimi]

Im not sure wether thats playcalling, lack of seperation from the recievers, or poor QB play. I cant say one way or the other without reviewing the game.

 

[unifiedtheory]

[font=&quot]I posted a really long thread in VIP but the meat of it is this:
Offense's Third Down Conversions:[/font][font=&quot] 0 for 9
Gus Frerotte's Third Down Passing Statistics: 1 for 8, 4 yards, 1 Interception.
Questionable play calls (my definition of a questionable play call could be better described as a HORRIBLE play call): 8
Points left on the field: At least 10[/font][font=&quot]



[/font]

 

[Ross]

[font=&quot]I posted a really long thread in VIP but the meat of it is this:
Offense's Third Down Conversions:[/font][font=&quot] 0 for 9
Gus Frerotte's Third Down Passing Statistics: 1 for 8, 4 yards, 1 Interception.
Questionable play calls (my definition of a questionable play call could be better described as a HORRIBLE play call): 8
Points left on the field: At least 10[/font][font=&quot]



[/font]

Yes I tend to agree with the amount of horrible play calls. We have no business throwing the ball on 3rd and short to our WRs when we have two horses in the backfield who can get it done.