Breakdown Sports

I have compiled what I believe is the first and second team All-B1G team. This is admittedly highly subjective, as I combined stats with what I saw in the game action that I watched them in. I attempted to take the whole body of work into play, but gave more weight to how they played at the end of the season. Italics means that the player was the best of his position group. First Team Offense Second Team J.T Barrett, OSU Quarterback Connor Cook, MSU Tevin Coleman, Indiana Running Back Ameer Abdullah, Nebraska Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin Running Back David Cobb, Minnesota Tony Lippett, MSU Receiver Kenny Bell, Nebraska Stefon Diggs, Maryland Receiver Leontre Carroo, Rutgers Tommy Olsen, Minnesota Center Jack Allen, MSU Kyle Costigan, Wisconsin Guard Pat Elflein, OSU Zack Epping, Minnesota Guard Travis Jackson, MSU Jack Conklin, MSU Tackle Taylor Decker, OSU Brandon Sherff, Iowa Tackle Rob Havenstein, Wisconsin Maxx Williams, Minnesota Tight End Dan Vitale, Northwestern Br...

While the B1G as a whole continues to have a bit of a down perception, there is no denying that there is still a good deal of individual talent scattered throughout the league. As finalists lists for a variety of awards continue to trickle out, below, I post the B1G players up for the award, and some brief thoughts on the player. Jamie Sabau/Getty Images

Originally posted at Maize n Brew August 27, 2013 Note One of the primary strengths of utilizing an H-back (U-back) is the versatility they give to the pass game. They can split wide, play the wing, play in-line TE, or play FB. In this way, offenses can put them in different positions, in different formations that have a variety of strengths, yet continue to run the same plays. Likewise, an H-back can always flex into a position to become a vertical threat. This post is quick look at the versatility an H-back gives to the pass game when combined with the run game  using an H-back. Introduction While each of these formations have their own strengths and weaknesses, as we've discussed, they also have a lot in common. The pass game is no different. While clearly you can move around a U-back, put him on the other side of the formation or something else to take advantage of different pass concepts, you can also run what are essentially the same plays with different initial looks....

Originally published at Maize n Brew Note This information is applied to the Bill O'Brien PSU teams, but the concepts are familiar throughout the Big Ten. Many teams, such as Iowa, Wisconsins, etc, will utilize zone running schemes. And the mesh concept described below will apply to many teams with young QBs, and will be utilized by coordinators throughout the Big Ten. Introduction This piece will be a bit shorter today, but hopefully it will still be informative. Penn State has given me absolutely no full game footage, making it very difficult to grasp a whole lot about scheme and patterns. But they do have some pretty good game highlights, and for whatever reason some guy from Nebraska has some all 11 footage from when they played Penn State, so I got some nice stuff coming your way (thanks Alonzo Whaley ). Anyway, Bill O'Brien has done a great job in a short time taking many of the offensive philosophies from the Patriots, very much simplifying them, and then teachin...

Last time we looked at how Michigan attempted to stop Nebraska’s speed option attack with a Cover 1 . Not finding much success, the very next week, facing Northwestern, they turned to more two-high coverages in the face of the Kain Colter lead spread attack. In this post, we’ll look at how Michigan utilized a two-high man under and Cover 4 to defend the speed option. How the Speed Option is Run Be it under center or from the shotgun, the speed option is essentially the same. The offensive line, in the case of most modern day offenses, will run their standard outside zone blocking scheme. The one difference is that the offense will bypass the defense’s EMOL toward the play and instead work to the 2 nd level. The defender left free with be the option defender, the player that the QB will read to determine if he will keep the ball and run it himself or pitch the ball to his RB. Here is how it looks: Northwestern will also occasionally run a true triple option from th...

One of the big issues Michigan has been having is in pass protection. If I went into all the complexities and calls of all the different pass protections, you would quickly realize why young players have trouble with this part of the game (to go along with the vast complexities of the run game). There is a reason that offensive linemen are often considered the smartest guys on the field. Well, we're going to go over the basics just to try to get you up to speed a little bit. For briefing sake, there are three different types of blocking schemes: man, gap (zone), and combination. Man Blocking BOB. Big on Big; Back on Backer. This is a man blocking scheme that is optimal for many teams because of its ability to get a hat on a hat, an offensive lineman on a defensive lineman, and a back on a preferred LB (if a back is in to block). First let's look at a world where 5 person blocks exist. Whoever is the uncovered lineman is will be the "double read" blocker. The OL al...