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Anyone who watched Sunday?s Chargers at Cowboys game knew that Dallas?s goal-line opportunity in the second quarter was massive. It was the difference between being down seven and being tied at that point; by the end of game, it had become the difference between defeat and victory.
On third and fourth down, both with less than a yard to the end zone, the Cowboys ran the exact same play. Maybe it was slightly different; maybe Marion Barber was supposed to run between the center and the guard on one of them, and between the guard and the tackle on the other. Both plays were so disastrous that it was impossible to tell.
While the Cowboys? choice of play, a handoff to Barber up the middle, looked like a classic that?s been run countless times, that situation really wasn?t the best time for it. The play took only a second or two to develop, but that was enough time for the Chargers? defense to focus in on what was happening in the Dallas backfield. The defense was given a chance to become proactive rather than reactive.
Worse yet, in a third or fourth and less than a yard, especially on the goal-line, the defense is expecting a runner between the tackles. Giving a defense what it expects and taking time doing it isn?t exactly pleading for success, as the Cowboys discovered. Doing that same thing after it failed miserably the first time? repeat the above line.
With so many ways to manufacture a single yard, even when facing a short field and a stacked line, is this the best a playoff contender could do? There are (at least!) three proven methods for scoring in goal line situations. At least one would probably have been worth a try at least once out of the two plays.
Run: The Sneak
Having the player who receives the snap run straight ahead has three clear benefits. It reduces the time taken between the snap and the arrival of the runner at the line of scrimmage; it eliminates the opportunity to fumble during a handoff; and it effectively prevents any loss of yardage, considering the NFL?s forward progress rule. The creation of forward momentum also helps when getting to the line, especially if the player who receives the ball dives over the line.
Many teams don?t possess the most athletic and/or mobile quarterbacks, making this strategy tougher. In this case, the logical way to run the play is to position a back, receiver or tight end in place of the quarterback. (Whoever can handle a snap and run one yard without fumbling, really.)
The downside is that snapping the ball to a player who never receives snaps otherwise and clearly has no passing skills worth mentioning is painfully obvious. The defense can see how the offense has lined up and react accordingly before the snap. Unfortunately for teams like the Cowboys last weekend, so is taking that extra time to hand off the ball. If a play has to be telegraphed, at least make it quick.
As an aside, the Broncos faced a similar problem in their loss to Indianapolis. Lacking a gifted rusher at the quarterback position, Denver could easily turn to Correll Buckhalter or Brandon Marshall. Anyone who can catch 21 balls in a single game (congratulations to him) can likely handle a snap after a few dozen practice runs, after all.
Pass: Tight End over the Middle
Many coaches aren?t huge proponents of passing in goal line situations, and I can?t blame them. The possibility of getting nothing out of an incompletion, or of throwing an interception in the end zone and having the other team start on its own 20 yard line (which is, oddly, much worse than simply turning the ball over on downs), really isn?t appetizing. That?s why the passes thrown at the goal line don?t tend to be among the most creative.
Thankfully for offenses, a stacked line combines well with corners toward the edges of the field to check their men. The only real defenders left in about the middle half of the end zone are the safeties. Using a tight end, or even just a big receiver (and Marshall becomes relevant again?), can be huge in this area for the usual matchup problem reasons.
A player who?s too big to be tackled easily by a safety, yet fast enough to outrun a cheating linebacker, is even more useful in goal line situations. The drawback to those players tends to be that they don?t have track-star speed. With such a tiny part of the field available, that is far less of a concern.
Additionally, being difficult to tackle is incredibly valuable when coverage tends to be even tighter than usual. When beating a man or breaking a tackle aren?t necessary, size often wins by itself. (That isn?t just bulk. The ability of tall players to win jump-balls is just as crucial.) Even in non-goal-line situations, Indianapolis was able to use Dallas Clark as a mismatch against Denver?s safeties, resulting in easy points. The Cowboys could have done something similar with Jason Witten, who has more size than every defensive back in the league and has the best hands on the team.
Run/Pass: The Bootleg
Aside from going at or over that stacked middle of the line, the evident way to avoid a surge of linebackers is to stretch the field. Typically, only the cornerbacks are all far from the hash marks, with the exception of a rogue outside linebacker on a gimmick play. An athletic quarterback can outrun an outside linebacker in a footrace, or at least not give up too much space before the goal line, and only one blocker (likely that side?s wideout) is necessary to take out a corner.
Alternately, rolling out provides a great opportunity to pass. Either back can, after throwing an initial block, flare out into the flat. A receiver or tight end can run an out pattern. It doesn?t take more than a few yards for a receiver to run a post-corner, which would put him right at the back corner of the endzone ? where no one else might be. Creating options allows the quarterback to analyze his situation and act accordingly, instead of pre-dialing a play that has to go off as expected in order to succeed.
If the team is that lacking in confidence of its quarterback to run and its other players to handle a snap, not to mention its quarterback to pass and its tight end to catch, a handoff to the fullback cuts down on time. The Eagles demonstrated this with Leonard Weaver?s touchdown run against the Giants on Sunday night.
I?m not trying to single out the Cowboys, either. Teams have been falling prey to this play-calling malaise for a long time, and the Cowboys are only the latest. Having it occur at a turning point in a game with massive playoff implications didn?t help either. Even so, many NFL play-callers can no doubt identify.
This article probably isn?t very enlightening. There?s nothing here that isn?t common knowledge, and all of the above plays, except for perhaps the rare non-quarterback sneak, are in every NFL playbook. Why is it, then, that the best teams in the world, with (hopefully) the best coaches in the world, continue to plan out uncreative plays that don?t work? A handoff to the tailback is great on first and ten at midfield, but as the field shrinks, so does the amount of time it has to take to run a play. As in most situations, it also helps not to rerun a play that didn?t work.
NOTE: In terms of defenses being proactive, hats off to the 49ers for their win on Monday. That was an impressive display of Mike Singletary football. Helmets were hitting elbows, tacklers were wrapping up their men, and Frank Gore?s huge night let the defense take some much-needed rests. It?s too bad the 49ers don?t show up like that every game.
Matthew Gordon can be reached at matthewpmgordon@gmail.com
