⚡ CFB Dashboard

Also want to talk about clip 2, where CJ rolls to the field side to evade pressure and hits Dozier for a first down. This is a really neat pressure package that Vandy uses. It looks to me like a 2-under fire zone blitz based out of cover 3. But as a wrinkle on the standard fire zone, they are bringing pressure from the nickel and dropping their boundary edge. This pressure package is designed to stretch the OL out and open up the interior blitz lanes for the LBs. Really nice stuff from Vandy. And I will give CJ credit in that he evades the pressure and extends the play, keeps his eyes downfield and makes a play to get a first down. That's good off-script stuff that really highlights his athleticism. However, there is another option here that could have demonstrated elite cerebral capacity, had it been used. What I want to start seeing from a 3rd year QB is reading the pressure and where it's coming from, and having an immediate understanding of what area is going to be exposed as a result. When CJ sees the nickel and MIKE blitzing, his first instinct is to bail and evade to the field side. That's probably because he's an athletic guy and he's able to use his legs to his advantage, and he's relied on it a lot his entire football career (even pre-college). Another option here is a hot alert understanding that there is no way they are sending a fire pressure while leaving the deep area of the field exposed. That means cover 3, and that means the intermediate seam area is open. Chance Robinson is going to come wide open on the boundary hash, and you can throw the ball right behind the pressure there and he's got a huge RAC opportunity. Robinson sees this right before the snap and tries to alert CJ about it, and he turns around expecting the pass as soon as he clears the DE. But pressure is still rattling CJ and clouding his processing, and it ends up in missed opportunities. The pressure gets there fast, but there is a window to make the throw if he hadn't immediately started scrambling. He might take a hit as he's throwing, but hey, that's football. The RB did a good enough job against the blitz there for CJ to stand firm and hit Robinson. Now, you could make the argument that it didn't matter because we got the 1st down and ultimately scored a TD on this drive. That's true. But these plays present opportunities to kill drives. Maybe an OL holds on the edge defender as CJ is escaping the pocket. Maybe Dozier slips when coming back on the scramble drill, and it's a pick 6. Or maybe it's just an inaccurate throw because throwing on the run is difficult, and we lose the down. The other thing to keep in mind is that these types of opportunities are what NFL scouts are looking for. You might be able to run around against Vandy, but if you want to be an NFL QB you have to understand pressures/coverages and make the throws.