RichNhansom":1h7iwwfu said:
How many times have we watched YAC? How many teams rely on YAC?
If your downfield options have been covered and handing off is no longer an option then your options are to pass the ball, throw it away or take a sack. So if you have to choose between taking a sack, throwing the ball away or throwing it short of the first down marker and hoping for the best, what option would you choose?
Consider taking even 7 yards on a 3rd and 10 still nets better field position even if you don't achieve the first down and ultimately this is a game of field position. Live to fight another down.
As for empty sets I have read on here that is our highest percentage of success, so choosing to utilize your most successful scheme doesn't seem all that crazy, especially when you consider it would be to late for the defense to change personnel to compensate for it without burning a time out. Of course this assumes your opponent is setting up to stop the short run.
Really the only excuse for an empty set to fail on 3rd or 4th and short is execution because you should have mismatches all over the field.
Not to pick apart your post Rich but stats don't always tell the whole story. I would be curious to know the percentage of times we are sacked in empty sets. That would skew the "highest percentage of success" as would completions that don't result in a first down because often in that situation the defense will just give you the underneath completion. Given that the stat says 75% completion rate, it isn't all that different from the 67% rate in all sets last year.
As for the mismatches, teams are employing dime sets now w/six DB's and a LB in coverage. and even in nickels there will be seven defenders. The most eligible receivers we can send is five.