FanPost

Numerical and Formation Ramblings of a Fan

This post is dedicated to the formations and numbers of the Carolina vs. Vanderbilt game on offense. This information is unofficial and is directly taken from watching the game and watching the game again (and again). I do this for myself as I am ever trying to better my understanding of the game of football but I wanted to post the information so that maybe everyone could enjoy it as well. I don't know if any of you are interested in the information or not and if you enjoy this then I have some documented information on blocking, Dylan Thompson, and some of the major events in the game that I can post,

First off I use a formation documentation format that is taken from "Take Your Eye Off The Ball". The first number is the number of RBs on the field and the second is the number of TEs. I tracked the number of run plays, pass plays, and pass plays that reverted into run plays (only did this due to Spurrier's comments from the other day). I also did not include snaps that did not happen due to penalties and kneeing at the end. Also due to ESPN being terrible I believe I missed a formation or two. Formation wise I have documented what was present when the ball was snapped not what they originally set up as. Formations are tracked from 0 0 (0 RBs and 0 TEs) to 2 3 (2 RBs and 3 TEs).

So what can you take from this information I'm about to share? Our tendencies as a team, how we changed our play calling after the half, and maybe a glimpse into he future formations we will be using. Feel free to point out anything that you disagree with or question.

Overall Statistics

Total Pass Plays: 17

Total Run Plays: 31

Total Broken Pass Plays: 5

Total Offensive Plays: 53

Run Percentage: 67.9% (including broken pass plays)

Pass Percentage: 32.1%

Other Notable Percentages

Snaps with 1 RB and 2 TE: 54.7%

Snaps with at least 1 RB: 100%

Snaps with at least 1 TE: 67.9%

After the jump we go into formation percentages and game half comparisons.

Formation Breakdown

The formations (00), (01), (02), (22), and (23) we not called at all during this game. Although people were calling for the formation with 3 TEs and 2 RBs due to our depth in both positions Spurrier never executed it on the field. Remember that the first number is the total of RBs on the field and the second is the TEs.

Formation (1,0) - 1 RB and 0 TE

Total Snaps in Game: 26.4%

Total Runs Out Of Formation: 71.4%

Total Passes Out of Formation: 28.6%

Formation (1,1) - 1 RB and 1 TE

Total Snaps in Game: 7.5%

Total Runs Out Of Formation: 50%

Total Passes Out of Formation: 50%

Formation (1,2) - 1 RB and 2 TE (Most in the game)

Total Snaps in Game: 54.7%

Total Runs Out Of Formation: 75.7%

Total Passes Out of Formation: 24.3%

Formation (1,3) - 1 RB and 3 TE

Total Snaps in Game: 1.9%

Total Runs Out Of Formation: 0%

Total Passes Out of Formation: 100%

Formation (2,0) - 2 RB and 0 TE

Total Snaps in Game: 5.7%

Total Runs Out Of Formation: 66.7%

Total Passes Out of Formation: 33.3%

Formation (2,1) - 2 RB and 1 TE

Total Snaps in Game: 3.8%

Total Runs Out Of Formation: 0%

Total Passes Out of Formation: 100%

Unless Spurrier diverts from what we have here we will probably have 2 TEs lined up for most of our plays and we will always have a RB lined up. Some of of that is obvious and anyone who watched the game can tell you we played lopsided in respect to our plays the entire game. It is interesting to see the tendencies of certain formations and this is what opposing teams are looking for as well. Although we were unbalanced in respect to the whole game in the second half the play calling started changing and became more balanced in formations, passes, and runs.

Half vs. Half Comparison

First Half

Run Plays: 77.8%

Pass Plays: 22.2%

Second Half

Run Plays: 57.7%

Pass Plays: 42.3%

As you can see above the play calling did change from the first half to become far more balanced in the second half but still not exactly where you want the play calling. I believe, whether Connor Shaw plays or not, the second half is more like what we will be seeing in the next few games because of Spurrier's drive to get more passing into the game. For example, in the most popular formation, the (1,2), we ran it only 10 times in the second half compared to 19 times in the first half.

Another interesting note is that we ran the (1,2) formation only once in the third quarter and only three times before the touchdown in the fourth quarter. One great thing about this formation is that they have to respect the pass or something like this will happen. After the TD we were trying to run the clock down and ran it an additional 5 more times. This particular formation is strong for both run blocking and pass blocking but allows for the TEs to go out for the key 3rd down completions or provide blocking on the outside of tackles or LBs which is why they like it.

Hopefully this post didn't get too long and provided you with a good insight on our balance (or lack thereof) in play calling. It shows the basic view for opportunities of improvement for the offense and areas of leverage for the defense. Again if everyone likes the post and/or content I am willing to make it a little more presentable and therefore be able to show more patterns and tendencies. I look forward to any changes that we will be seeing for East Carolina to try to get our offense rolling.

Disclaimer: Some participation counts (elsewhere) have higher numbers than me but I only counted TEs and RBs if they actually lined up like their perspective positions.

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