Iowa defensive tackle Jaleel Johnson is one of the top (if not the top) defensive lineman prospects who attended the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, last week. Since I’ll be covering DL here at Inside the Pylon for the 2017 Draft I wanted to get acclimated to a top prospect like Johnson before diving in full…
Under first year offensive coordinator Jake Spavital, the Cal Golden Bears have found some success in the passing game by utilizing elements of the scheme he ran from the previous three years at Texas A&M. With stability at quarterback following the departure of Jared Goff, Spavital has found success using the short side of the…
Before the Buffalo Bills were outgained by Le’Veon Bell and the Pittsburgh Steelers, they lost to the Oakland Raiders. Badly. The loss raised questions about where this team goes in the future, who was to blame for the loss, and what the biggest needs on this team are. One thing I noticed watching the game live and have…
During what head coach Rich Rodriguez termed an “awful year” the Arizona Wildcats have struggled on both sides of the football, ranking 75th and 113th in total offense and defense, respectively. While injuries at the quarterback position and a lack of continuity across the team have contributed to the team’s dismal 2-9 record through 11…
The defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos have one of the most feared defenses in the entire NFL. With high caliber players at all three levels of the defense, their game plan for the last year and a half has been to rely on their defense to win games, and it has certainly worked. In…
The wishbone formation. A throwback to days of football when 3 yards and a cloud of dust was far better than the dreaded… forward pass. The San Diego Chargers and second year running back Melvin Gordon used a variation of the wishbone, the inverted wishbone (also known as a diamond formation) to run all over…
With the rise of spread offenses, teams have begun to incorporate more wrinkles into their schemes. The Utah Utes are no different, as Ryan Dukarm shows with a break down of their Run-Pass-Option game. The Utah Utes are off to an impressive start to the 2016 college football season, and one of the main reasons for their…
Although the BYU Cougars stand at 4-4 this season, they have been involved in a ton of close games, partly due to their defensive prowess using creative blitzing schemes. Ryan Dukarm takes a closer look at the BYU stunts and defensive line schemes utilized this year. The BYU Cougars have given fans their fair share of suspense in 2016,…
Using route combinations effectively can create mismatches in the secondary and lead to racking up big yardage. Ryan Dukarm explains how the Buffalo Bills smash concept was used successfully two different ways on the same drive against the San Francisco 49ers. The Buffalo Bills offense has relied heavily on the ground game, led by running back LeSean…
There are encouraging signs that the Oregon State Beavers are starting to climb back into Pac-12 relevance after a tough couple of years. One sign is their commitment to the ground game with creative formations and concepts. Ryan Dukarm looks at how the Beavers are utilizing a jet sweep read option play to boost their…
John Elway and Gary Kubiak had a tough task trying to defend their Super Bowl title with inexperienced quarterbacks after moving on from Brock Osweiler. Ryan Dukarm broke down the first four weeks to analyze the Denver Broncos 2016 passing game so far and see how they’ve managed success with inexperience at the quarterback position. …
Everything gets tried to win in the NFL, be it uncommon or flexible personnel groups. Ryan Dukarm looks at the San Diego Chargers‘ fullback lead zone run to boost their rushing attack with Melvin Gordon. There are two basic types of running plays in football: Power and zone. Power running is associated with larger, less athletic offensive…
Many will focus on Washington’s impressive offense in their big win against Stanford. But it was the Washington Huskies pass rush that helped shut down McCaffrey and the Cardinal offense. Ryan Dukarm looks at how they did it. The Washington Huskies asserted themselves as a 2016 playoff contender with a crushing 44-6 victory over the…
In college football, there are so many ways to score, from long drives to strategy for shorter strikes. Failing at multiple two point conversions over the surer thing though, as Ryan Dukarm explains, hurts. In Week 3 of the 2016 college football season the Oregon Ducks lost a heartbreaker to the Nebraska Cornhuskers, falling 35-32. In…
College football means wild scoring drives and hot prospects. Ryan Dukarm shows us both in breaking down Arizona State Sun Devils‘ Kalen Ballage’s 8 TD day. Eight touchdowns. In one game. Arizona State running back Kalen Ballage tied a Football Bowl Subdivision record against Texas Tech with eight all purpose touchdowns, seven on the ground and…
Any good offense will have a play, or set of plays, to fall back on when in a tight spot. Whether it’s a variation on a simple route or a more complex concept, coaches will have their teams ready to run these plays through countless reps in practice. Ryan Dukarm breaks down the UCLA Bruins spot concept…