Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Back to Basics

While reading an article in the WSJ about the high number of long running plays this year, this passage caught my eye:

Mr. Jones of the Cowboys scored two weeks in a row on similar running plays that completely fooled the Philadelphia Eagles. Saturday night, the Cowboys were in a running formation on first down at their own 27-yard line. Mr. Jones took the handoff, faked to his left and cut back to the right. Eagles linebackers Moise Fokou and Jeremiah Trotter bit on Mr. Jones's fake, but they should have known better: They had two 300-pound clues.

Dallas guards Kyle Kosier and Leonard Davis were pulling to their right—a telltale giveaway of the direction of the run. Had Messrs. Fokou and Trotter followed the guards, and not the motion of the fullback and the running back, they would have stuffed Mr. Jones for a loss. Instead, he strode 73 yards for a touchdown.

Do NFL LBs really not know to watch the pulling guards? That's really basic defense. I'd be mad at junior high players for not watching the guards. Do the pros really have that hard a time with the fundamentals?

1 comment:

Ump said...

I'd love to insert a high pitched screaming Coach Houdy soundbite, but I can't pick one.