Eric Morris knows it’s a problem. The Oklahoma State Cowboys in short yardage, especially close to the goal line, are not as good as they need to be.
The first two drives of Saturday’s loss to Houston showed those issues once again.
The first drive, after a LaDainian Fields interception, ended with a field goal. OSU was first-and-goal at the Houston 10 and gained just five yards, including a 2-yard run by running back Caleb Hawkins and a 3-yard run by quarterback Drew Mestemaker.
The second drive ended on downs. From the Houston 8-yard line on first-and-goal, the Cowboys ran Hawkins for 5 yards, Hawkins for 1 yard and Mestemaker for a yard before he threw an incompletion on fourth down.
Morris isn’t running from it. In fact, he jokingly asked for suggestions during his press conference on Tuesday.
So, why not? Here are three suggestions for the Cowboys to make those short yardage situations more efficient.
Change OL Personnel in Short Yardage
After Saturday’s game one of the underreported things that Morris said was that the interior of his offensive line was undersized. That would include left guard Johnny Dickson III (317 pounds), center Tyler Mercer (300 pounds) and right guard Joseph Hanson (302 pounds). Now, 919 combined pounds sounds hefty to me. But in football terms, in tight spaces, that’s undersized in this era.
So, one thing the Cowboys could try would be to beef it up. That’s not as hard as it sounds.
Oklahoma State could slide Braydon Nelson, their left tackle, into left guard in those situations, for Dickson. Nelson is 327 pounds. That adds 10 pounds to the line. Nelson has played left guard before so it’s not a stretch in short yardage. At right guard the Cowboys could slide Desmond Magiya in for Hanson. Magiya is 333 pounds. That’s an extra 31 pounds. He’s played right guard this season. Again, not a stretch.
That’s an addition of 41 pounds to the offensive line in short yardage. If the issue is an undersized interior, that helps augment the issue.
A Moving Pocket for Pass Plays
Mestemaker’s 54-yard pass to wide receiver Wyatt Young set social media on fire last weekend because it was a throw across his body on a dime. But it wasn’t schoolyard football. It was planned and practiced. Mestemaker has proven he’s a solid passer on the move and the Cowboys have started employing a moving pocket just a bit more.
Why not employ that moving pocket more often? Yes, there is an issue of space. If he moves to one side that eliminates the other side of the field. But planned movement to one side also gives Mestemaker options with the football. He can run it, he can throw it, he can extend the play. He’s proven that. If the line is undersized in the interior, putting it on the move puts them at an advantage with one-on-one blocks.
OSU hasn’t employed this often and the Air Raid doesn’t always lend itself to the moving pocket concept. But the off-tackle run plays that Morris is using aren’t working and it’s because defenses know it’s coming. If the interior line is undersized, moving the pocket one way or the other could help unclog their inability to move the chains with the pass. Mestmaker’s decision-making should take care of the rest.
More 13 Personnel
Morris has started to use different “heavy” personnel to try and trick things up close to the goal line. He’s used defensive end Malik Charles a couple of times the past two games. He also used tight end Morgan McPhaul as a ball carrier against UCF and he scored a touchdown. But even that TD was close to not getting across the goal line.
So, the Cowboys have used some heavy personnel and even some 13 personnel. But the return of Oscar Hammond last week could help Morris use more 13 personnel in short yardage. Hammond is a good blocker who understands the scheme having played in it at North Texas.
Putting Hammond on the field in a package with McPhaul and another transfer like Bodie Boydston or Donovan Green, it could give OSU an edge. Any package like this should include McPhaul because he’s the team’s heaviest tight end at 265 pounds.
His size would make him the best lead blocker on the team. The Cowboys don’t employ a fullback. But perhaps Morris can align him in a way where he can get in front of Hawkins on close yardage plays to put the hammer down? It’s worth considering selling out to that kind of scheme when the short yards matter.
Bonus Suggestion: Score before the Red Zone
That would certainly solve the issue, right? Just get to the opponent’s 21-yard line and score before you get into short yardage. Problem solved.
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