Using Empty Protection with a Y-Stick Concept

When teams choose to use empty protection in the pass game, the offensive line is under more pressure than usual. Essentially, empty pro (also sometimes referred to as "big on big") is a pass protection concept that only involves the offensive line.

Most pass plays involve an extra blocker; teams either keep the running back or tight end in to pass protect (or have him at least chip a defender while leaving for a route), or motion in a slotted tight end to help out. There are plenty of creative ways to protect the quarterback on pass plays, but empty protection is by far the riskiest.

That's why it's nice to tie empty protection in with a good route combination that will come open early, especially if the defense blitzes. The Y-Stick concept is popular among Air Raid and Pro Style offenses alike, and it's a perfect match with empty pro. Let's take a look at why this is so effective:

The video used in making these images is courtesy of ESPN.

This is the count of men in protection versus potential rushers. The running back will be free releasing for a potential checkdown throw, so it's five on five. This count doesn't necessarily have any correspondence, meaning offensive player #1 might not block defender #1.

This count simply allows the offensive line to say, "Here are the five guys we're prioritizing in our protection." They're the most immediate threats, which is why the center (blocker #3) points out the will linebacker (defender #5) rather than the backer next to him. #5 is the innermost defender that isn't actually on the line, so he's the most dangerous of the two inside linebackers.

Here are the route combos on the play. I drew up all the routes to show the concept in full, but we're most concerned about the circled player, or the Y. For terminology purposes, the Y is a tight end (in this case he's flexed out). Some teams might call this guy an "A" rather than a Y, but that's a semantics discussion that doesn't really need to take place here.

As you can see, the cornerbacks are playing off their receivers; this means the defense could be playing man coverage or cover 4 zone, but the coverage hasn't really been tipped yet. However, they don't appear to be looking at the quarterback; rather, the corners and safeties seem focused on individual threats. This would indicate man coverage, but we can't be completely sure before the play starts.

This is called a "Y-Stick" concept because the circled Y is running a stick route. He's driving just past five yards, then making a speed break inside to face the quarterback while still moving towards the sideline. The Y-Stick and the release from the running back combine to work well with empty protection.

The quarterback's read is fairly simple. If the defense brings the house, throw the Y-stick immediately. If the Y is covered but there's still a considerable rush, throw the drag or dump the ball off to the running back. If the defense doesn't bring many rushers, wait for one of the developing routes to come open.

Just prior to the snap, the Will linebacker (who was #5 in the rush count) walks up to the line. This keeps him as a top-priority potential rusher. Had the Mike backer (the circled player) walked up instead, he would have replaced his cohort in the offensive line's presnap count.

However, the Mike's weight is pretty heavy on his toes; he definitely looks ready to blitz as well. The offensive line and the quarterback see this, but for now they're more concerned with the players in the yellow square.

The o-line doesn't have too many rules on this protection, except to block the first five rushers inside-out. This means inside rushers are a greater threat because they're closer to the quarterback. If a sixth rusher comes, the offensive line can't do anything; the quarterback has to recognize the extra rusher and throw to the (presumably) open receiver.

Here's the same play from an endzone angle right after the snap. The left tackle #59 recognizes that, in fact, both linebackers have decided to blitz. He leaves the defensive end that was lined up outside of him, because by the time that defensive end makes it to the quarterback the ball will be out.

The left guard (#73) and center (#57) are preparing to pass twisting pass rushers to each other. The rushers might have lined up in one gap, but by looping and changing their route to the quarterback, they hope to create confusion among the o-line and break one of their rushers free. #73 and #57 need to work together in order to ensure they both block the man who ends up in their respective areas.

Here is the play a split-second later, right before the quarterback makes his throw. The left side of the offensive line has done an admirable job adjusting to the blitz.

Since the defense ended up playing man coverage, the right defensive end dropped off to cover the running back. As a result, the right tackle (#70) is coming back inside to help. Pass protection is all about "bumping" your fellow offensive lineman off a player so that he can take someone else. #70 is hoping to bump the right guard (#64) off to the blitzing linebacker.

Meanwhile, the left tackle (#59) and left guard (#73) picked up the twisting players and allowed the outermost rusher to come unblocked, since he won't get to the quarterback before the ball is out. The center (#53) is passing off a defensive lineman to #73, then getting ready to pick up the late blitzing backer.

In a perfect world, everyone on the o-line would have ended up taking the man to his left; however, this is still a very good empty pass pro adjustment. #70 had no way of knowing the defensive end would drop in coverage, and in a quick passing situation the offensive line would rather block the man to the Y-Stick side so he can't jump up to bat the ball down.

Before any blitzers can arrive, the ball is already out. This is an excellent play to accommodate the blitz, because it gives the quarterback plenty of quick options without having to keep an extra player in protection. His first two choices here would be the Y-Stick and the drag coming from the left slot player, with the running back's free release established as a third choice checkdown route.

Since the defense had a man blitz on, throwing the Y-stick is an obvious decision. The defender manned up on the Y was a safety; as you can see in the above image, he's five yards away, allowing the receiver to get a first down.

Empty protection is perfect for quick passing concepts like the Y-stick, since it gives the quarterback a couple of seconds while allowing for more passing options. However, the offensive line's empty protection needs to be as good as Houston's on this specific play. The unit must be saavy enough to read pre-play keys, then react to twists and late blitzes. If the o-line is capable, this protection/route concept is a great addition to any offense.

Chalk Talk: Playing Offensive Line in the Triple Option

In my 13 years playing offensive line, I took part in several offensive systems throughout high school and college: pro-style, spread, pistol, and even a variation of West Virginia's offense called the "shot-run." Yet one of the most fun systems to play o-line in was undoubtedly the triple option.

I reported for my first training camp at Colorado College in August 2008. The Tigers' offensive coordinator left during the offseason to take the head coaching job at Grinnell, which is actually where I ended up once Colorado College cut football. Anyway, while meeting my fellow freshmen football players for the first time, I heard rumblings that we were going to run "the triple option."

I was coming from a high school where we were in the shotgun 95% of the time, and using 5-wide sets for at least a third of our plays. This was during a magical time when coaches across the country thought the spread offense couldn't be stopped. Unicorns danced in fields made of rainbows and puppy smiles. I liked playing o-line in the spread, and the pressure of passing on most plays developed in me an unflappable confidence in pass protection. I hadn't even heard of the triple option.

Our rival high school ran a bastardized double-tight version of the flexbone which we affectionately referred to as "the turtle," but I didn't know that it was actually an abomination derived from Paul Johnson's triple option. In the coming weeks and months, I would come to simultaneously revile and enjoy playing in the sweet simplicity of the triple option.

What's so great about playing in an offense that passes the football maybe three times a game, you ask? You can absolutely terrorize the defensive linemen.

Ask any d-lineman who has played against the triple option, and he will tell you he absolutely hates it; he will also probably call it stupid, because he doesn't want to say he is afraid of it. Offensive linemen have three jobs on the base triple option play: cut a d-lineman, double-team a d-lineman, or cut a linebacker. (a cut block is aimed at the defender's knees with the intention of getting them to fall down.)

At Colorado College, we literally used our entire practice time practicing these three blocks. It gets ingrained in the very fiber of your being, to the point where all you have to think about before a snap is how you are going to ruin your defender's world.

Did I mention we played out of a four-point stance? On passing plays, we actually had to take a step forward before we could start our pass blocking. When a defensive lineman is uncertain of whether he is going to be double-teamed or cut, he can't play to the best of his ability. I prided myself in causing these d-linemen to live in fear. I was a football terrorist, and I loved it.

Let's take a look at what makes the base play of the triple option so simple for offensive linemen.

The video footage used in making these images is courtesy of ESPN.

This is Air Force, who is located in the same city as Colorado College. Their offense rushed for over 314 yards per game (third in the nation). The quarterback reads the second man on or outside the center, which in this case is the defensive end. Therefore, the right tackle won't even worry about him; instead, he will slam down on the 3-technique with the guard, with the intent of working up to the playside linebacker.

The center and left guard will execute scoop blocks. They will take at least three steps at a 45-degree angle to the right; if the noseguard stays where he is the guard will cut him while the center goes downfield to cut the flowing linebacker.

The left tackle's job is essentially to keep the 5-technique lined up on his outside shoulder from making a play. Any line-of-scrimmage players outside the 5-tech are too far away to make a play if the quarterback hands off to the fullback.

After the first step, everything is going fairly well. The left guard is in the process of cutting the nose while the center works up to the backside linebacker, and the frontside double-team is nearly underway. The quarterback already has his eyes on the defensive end in order to see whether he should give the ball up the middle or keep it.

All blocks are developing flawlessly. You can see that the left tackle's assignment is too busy trying not to get cut to pursue after the play. Meanwhile, the #1 option player has come down to tackle the fullback, so the quarterback is pulling the ball to keep his second and third options alive (keep it or pitch it).

The play has devolved into absolute carnage at the line of scrimmage, which is exactly what the offensive linemen want. It is a hallmark of this offense to be able to get your skill players in space with defenders who could potentially make mistakes. To be clear, the offensive linemen have no idea whether the ball will be given, kept, or pitched on this play. They simply execute their assignment and let the brains of the offense (the quarterback) call all the shots. It's a very blue-collar type of football to play o-line in; just punch the timeclock and beat the crap out of defenders.

The triple option is all about getting the defenders to second-guess themselves, and this play does so perfectly. The circled defender is supposed to follow the pitch man, but with the quarterback running straight at him, he hesitates. The resulting pitch goes for a touchdown.

Of course, this isn't the only play in the triple option; however, defenses think they can stop it by assigning defenders specific roles against this play. As Chris Brown has pointed out, this doesn't work. A triple-option guru can just change the blocking assignments. As an offensive lineman, you just do what they tell you. It's nice being able to turn your brain off (or at least down a little) while playing football.

In the interest of full disclosure, our offense was absolutely terrible that season. Attempting to run the triple option with spread personnel is insanely difficult; it requires lots of time drilling the concepts into players. Especially crucial is having a quarterback who is comfortable making the split-second decisions crucial to the offense's success. However, as an o-lineman, it was rather pleasant just focusing on hitting people as hard as possible. Offenses where I was actually required to think before plays were more rewarding, but this one was pretty damn fun.

Chalk Talk: Understanding the National Championship in one play

On Monday, I talked about how offensive line play would determine the outcome of the National Championship Game. It was a showdown of the nation's top two defenses, certainly; but victory would go to the team whose offensive line made a dent in the opposing defense.

Down 15-0 in the desperate half of the fourth quarter, LSU started throwing haymakers. Facing a long fourth down, it was do-or-die time for the Tigers' offensive line, and they apparently decided to die.

Video used in making these images is courtesy of ESPN.

Jordan Jefferson just threw hot off an extra blitzer on the previous play and missed his receiver, so now the Tigers are calling a more conservative protection. They have six players to block six potential rushers. First, let's talk about the left side.

Because the running back has been placed on the left side, that will be the "man" side, meaning that the left guard and left tackle are manned up on the first and second pass rushers, respectively. The running back's job is to take the circled backer if he blitzes, or help the guard and tackle with their protection if the backer doesn't blitz. Sometimes the play will be called so the running back releases in a checkdown route if there is no extra blitzer.

On the right side, LSU also has three blockers for three potential rushers: the defensive tackle, the defensive end (who is actually a linebacker in a 3-point stance) and the defender with a diamond on him. The diamond player looks like he will be covering the slot receiver, so he's not a high-priority rusher on the right side. The center, right guard and right tackle will all slide right to accommodate any twists or blitzes meant to confuse them, and each blocker will take the gap to his immediate right. Whoever shows as a rusher in that player's gap is his responsibility.

Here's the very first step of the protection. Jefferson hasn't even started his drop in earnest, and most of the defenders have already begun to show where they're going. The left tackle is kicking wide to accommodate the d-end's hard outside rush. The running back is stepping up for the b-gap blitzer. The left guard is short-setting his d-tackle so as not to give up an inside rush lane. Dont'a Hightower has taken his first step hard and outside, so the right tackle is bailing outside hard with his first kick step. The potential right-side blitzer looks like he'll be sitting in coverage, so the o-linemen aren't really worried about him.

The trouble here is the defensive tackle on the right side. He hasn't really shown one gap or the other, so the guard isn't quite sure whether he should pass the rusher off to the center and go help his right tackle. The d-lineman is also Alabama's backup noseguard; for the last few plays he's been spinning and trying all sorts of crazy stuff since he just got put in the National Championship Game. The center and guard absolutely hate him because they've been playing hard the entire game only to receive a fresh rusher who is going nuts trying to get to Jefferson. Just a couple plays ago, the center pancaked the youngster and wouldn't let him up; that's when things usually start getting chippy.

The right guard's thirst for blood really hurts the Tigers here. He's so eager to beat up on this young defensive tackle that he doesn't maintain his gap protection as well as he should.

Here we are a mere split-second later. The left guard an tackle are still doing a great job staying on their blocks. The running back is preparing to take on his blitzing backer. However, all is not well on the right side. The right guard has committed fully to the defensive tackle, and Hightower finds the resulting hole in protection quite appetizing.

Everyone on the left side is still doing their job, but the right side is in DEFCON-1. The right tackle over-set his feet because he knew he had help to the inside, and he had to respect Hightower's outside rush speed. Now he's realizing his only help will come from the center, and the help won't make it in time. Jefferson has the bubble open, but it's well-covered and won't get enough yards for the first. He's looking for something deep to come open, but there isn't nearly enough time.

And, it's gone. LSU's best chance of scoring the entire game, that is. 

I can't stress how often this type of mistake happens, especially on a big stage. Offensive linemen love contact, because it's the only thing that makes playing offensive line any fun. With such a long period of time before the game, players start getting antsy; when their chance finally arrives, they can forget their assignments because they just want to hit someone. Say what you want about Nick Saban's dictatorial coaching style, but he showed up with the more disciplined team Monday night.

Chalk Talk: Alabama's Athletic Linemen

College football fans outside the SEC haven't been too excited for this year's national championship, seeing as it will be a rematch of the 9-6 yawn-fest that took place last November. It's been touted by media outlets as a battle of defenses, which is code for "unexciting" for fans that prefer a touch of offensive firepower. However, for fans of stellar offensive line play, the game should be excellent; what takes place in the trenches Monday will be the decisive factor.

Most of the "hype" (if you can call it that) surrounding today's BCS National Championship Game is centered on Alabama and LSU's impenetrable defenses, which are #1 and #2 in the nation statistically. However, both teams boast rushing attacks that average over 200 yards per game. LSU Head Coach Les Miles told the Associated Press yesterday to expect "...big boy football. And I'd expect it to be very, very physical." 

The "big boys" in question are the eight combined returning starters on the offensive line for both teams. Alabama's Barrett Jones was recently named the 2011 Outland Trophy winner. If there's ever a matchup to be dictated by offensive line play, it's this one.

Video used in making these images is courtesy of CBS.

The above play is from Alabama's 2009 SEC Championship victory over Florida. Although the game is older,  this play perfectly illustrates the athleticism of William Vlachos, who is now a senior for the Crimson Tide.

Alabama is asking Vlachos to snap the ball in a shotgun formation, then pull around for the playside linebacker (the Will). The Will backer will be in a perfect spot for Vlachos to execute his block, because the Will is going to flow downhill towards the ball.

Once Vlachos leaves, the two guards will double team the noseguard to the Mike backer (the standing defender who is further down in the frame). Since Ingram will be running the ball to the left outside the numbers (as shown by his arrow), this double team has a great angle and should be able to reach the Mike as he flows towards the ball.

Most of the other blocks here are straightforward; the tackles and tight ends are all performing a reach block on the individual players lined up over them. This involves taking a lateral step while placing one's helmet on the playside numbers of the defender's jersey, then delivering a punch on the inside numbers. The blockers will continue to work laterally to seal their man off and give Ingram a running lane to the left.

So far, the blocking has been executed perfectly. The right guard has already come off his double team block to get the Mike, and all the reach blockers are fighting to seal off the running lane. Vlachos is pulling for the Will backer, who is flowing towards Ingram and doesn't seem to expect a center in his lap.

Vlachos has now made contact with the Will backer and is beginning to drive him outside of Ingram's desired rushing lane. The rest of Bama's blockers are doing an incredible job of staying on Florida's defenders as long as possible. Holding a block for this long is a combination of tenacity and athleticism; against a speedy SEC defense, athleticism is the most important part of keeping these blocks long enough for the running back to make a play.

At this point, Vlachos is driving his man straight into the Alabama bench. This is the type of blocking Les Miles alluded to with his "big boy football" quote. Bama has now cleared an enormous rushing lane that allows for a 15-yard gain.

Look for Bama to combat LSU's incredibly fast defense with schemes such as this. In order to win the rematch, the Crimson Tide need their stellar linemen such as Vlachos and Jones to step up and use their athleticism to provide Trent Richardson with room to make plays. It might not be the touchdown party we saw in this year's Rose or Fiesta Bowls, but the offensive line play on both sides should be some of the best this season.

Chalk Talk: How Oregon Blocks the Inside Zone

Much has been made of Oregon's ADHD-esque offense since Chip Kelly first arrived as offensive coordinator in 2007. The team's appearance in the national championship last season resulted in countless high schools and colleges attempting to mimic Kelly's breathless no-huddle playcalling. Now, everyone seems to be jumping on the Autzen bandwagon; Miami Heat Head Coach Erik Spoelstra made waves this offseason by flying his entire staff to Eugene to learn more about Kelly's philosophy (apparently LeBron will be running the zone read in South Beach this season).

After navigating a wave of recruiting allegations last summer, the Ducks still managed a potent offensive game this season. Oregon rushed for just shy of 300 yards per game (5th in the nation), and have scored 42.6 points per game (3rd in the nation). Most of the media and fan attention is focused on Kelly's talented skill players, but they aren't the only players who deserve the spotlight. Although weapons like Darron Thomas and LaMichael James make defensive gameplans near-impossible, Kelly himself admitted in his Nike Coach of the Year Clinic talk that "the five offensive linemen are the key to your football team." The reason Oregon's offensive linemen are so important is Kelly's heavy reliance on zone reads and options.

Here's a look at how Oregon's offensive line executes the inside zone:

The video used in making this post is courtesy of ESPN.

This is how Oregon's offensive line sees the defense. In the above picture, Oregon has an inside zone called to the left against Stanford's 4-2 defensive look. The offensive line has been told to account for 5 defenders. In Kelly's offense it's the center's job to "set the point," meaning he identifies the "0" defender. This player is the A-gap playside defender, which in this case is the noseguard in between the center and the playside guard. From this decision, the offensive line follows their blocking rules.

Since there are 6 defenders in the box, the #3 player to the right is the quarterback's man. He must be "blocked" by the quarterback's decision to hand off the ball or keep it; he is not truly "blocked" because the quarterback is too small to physically block a defensive lineman. Rather, if the quarterback can make the edge player respect him as a runner, he is doing his job. I won't go into the quarterback's job in too much detail here, because Chris Brown already did a great job of that over at Grantland.

Although the quarterback's decision is crucial to the play's success, the offensive line's work is by far the most important. Since the center's job is to block the "0" defender he identified, the rest of the offensive line works around his block.

The left guard is essentially responsible for the left-side linebacker, but it would be stupid to run straight at him and leave the center to deal with the nose by himself. This would affect the timing of the play, and the backer would most likely shed the guard's block before the running back even got there.

Instead, the offensive line works double teams in order to more effectively create running lanes. The left tackle will attempt to kick out the wide 5-technique to his left, and the other four linemen will double the remaining defensive linemen up to the inside linebackers.

Double-teams are one of the most drilled blocks in virtually any college program, because it takes work to learn it properly. Ideally the offensive linemen should be able to block butt-to-butt with synchronized footwork so that the defender cannot split them and wreak havoc in the backfield. Most of the time when you see a defensive lineman split a double team, it is due to a lack of synchronicity between the blockers rather than the d-lineman's amazing skills.

The double team is also practiced intensively because it requires two blockers to share the same vision. Although the o-linemen are working to drive a player backwards, their eyes are on the linebackers. If the block is executed perfectly they will be able to drive the d-lineman straight into the backer, but most of the time this does not happen. They will instead attempt to decide where the linebacker is flowing based on their block, and one of them will come off to block the backer.

The double teams are executed well on this play. The linemen make a unified six-inch step with their left foot at a 45-degree angle to the left, followed by the same directional step with their right foot. Once they reach the defender, they attempt to move him, or as Kelly describes it, "we want them handling the defender as if they were a bouncer in a bar throwing him out of the bar."

 You can see that the linemen are creating movement while watching the linebackers. The right guard is already on his way to the mike backer.

The quarterback chooses to keep the ball because the #3 defender stunts hard inside to tackle the running back. The right guard has made it to the mike backer, and the center is disengaging from his double team to block the will. The quarterback has a free running lane, but he would not be one-on-one with the safety if the offensive line's double teams were not executed properly. The offensive line does not particularly care where the ball goes; their blocking scheme is designed to adapt to where the defenders flow, and if the o-line adjusts properly, Oregon's skill players are given space to make plays.

Chalk Talk: Dion Jordan's Free Shot Sack

UCLA entered this year's Pac-12 Championship in dire straits; the team was coming off a 50-0 loss to USC, and had just been informed that Rick Neuheisel would be fired after the season. The Bruins practically admitted defeat before the game even started by filing paperwork with the NCAA that would allow them to play in a bowl game with a 6-7 record (which they expected to have after playing Oregon). Matters would only get worse after kickoff.

With 1:55 remaining in the first half and a 28-point deficit looming, Kevin Price lined up his offense in a trips formation with tight end Joseph Fauria slotted out to the right. Price looked to make a quick throw to his left, only to get smoked by an untouched Dion Jordan. Online discussions seemed centered on blaming the right tackle for such an egregious error in pass protection. However, Mike Harris was in the wrong here. If the blame for that sack should be placed on anyone, it should be on Price. Here's why:

The video used in making this post is courtesy of winesfamily.blogspot.com and Fox Sports.

Above is the diagram for the protection UCLA called on this play. Going into halftime against the Ducks with only a 14-point deficit would be a dream come true for most schools. It's 3rd & 6, so, the Bruins are looking to use their 3-step passing game to get a quick first down and keep driving into Oregon territory. Most 3-step protections call for the offensive line to slide one way or the other; this allows the unit to stay together and keep defenders from getting any run-through to knock down a pass.

The only problem is that Price is passing out of an empty set. Above is a spot that marks where the running back should be in order to use this slide protection. The running back's job (if he were in the formation) would have been to pick up Dion Jordan.

This is the blitz scheme Oregon has called. They only have one down lineman, which is typically referred to as a Psycho package. The rest of the stand-up defenders are assigned to cross the offensive line's faces in order to create pass rush lanes. The backer outside the left hash is designed to rush outside Jordan, but he won't get there in time because of the quick throw price will make.

With their protection call, the offensive line is accounting for the four left-most defenders in the box, and leaving Jordan one-on-one with what should be a tight end or running back. Unfortunately for UCLA, this formation doesn't have anyone to account for Jordan.

As you can see from the above view, Fauria is flexed out too far to block Jordan, so without a running back there is a free shot at the quarterback.

Price looks left immediately for one of his receivers to get open, which doesn't happen quickly enough for him to make the throw before Jordan gets there. At the bottom, you can see Fauria open with the safety coming down to cover him. If Price had thrown to Fauria immediately, it would have been an easy 4 or 5-yard gain.

Only UCLA players and coaches really know why this protection was called in an empty set, but I can offer a few theories:

1. If the o-line calls their own protections (as is common, especially in 2-minute situations), they might have called the slide left without knowing that they were in an empty formation.
2. Price didn't know which protection was called, so he didn't know that Jordan would be the hot defender (meaning that Jordan is unaccounted for, so Price would have to make a quicker throw).
3. Price did know which protection was called but didn't expect Jordan to blitz, or thought he would be able to make the throw before Jordan got to him.
4. Rick Neuheisel was on his way out and just wanted to watch his players suffer a little.

I'm going to assume that #4 isn't true, so my best guess is a combination of 1 and 2. It doesn't appear that Price knows Jordan is coming hot off the right side, so he takes at least part of the blame. The problem with running a 2-minute offense (especially when you're down a bunch of points) is that players get flustered while trying to run the plays quickly and efficiently. As a result, communication between the offensive line and the skill players often breaks down. Most likely, the offensive line didn't know the formation was empty and Price didn't know the o-line would be sliding left. 

These situations are exactly what Oregon intended to create by using a fast-paced offense and a complex blitz defense. Any time an All-Pac 12 defensive end comes unblocked, mayhem is the result. Look for Oregon to try and create similar panicked situations for Russell Wilson and Wisconsin's offense in the Rose Bowl.

Understanding Illegal Stemming

In last night's New Orleans Bowl, Louisiana-Lafayette lined up for a potential 55-yard game-winning field goal with seconds left. It would be a career long for Brett Baer if he made it, but the field goal unit had been struggling all night long. Unable to convert on an earlier field goal and even an extra point, the Ragin' Cajuns seemed doomed.

Until a ref threw a flag for "Illegal Stemming," that is.

The UL-L field goal unit had earlier been called for a false start, but this time the penalty was on a San Diego State defensive lineman. As a former offensive lineman, I was amazed that the refs actually made the right call here; due to the internet's swarming with questions about the penalty this morning, I thought I would clarify.

"Stemming" is a commonly used term for offensive and defensive linemen to describe a d-lineman's pre-snap movement. Many defenses will attempt to disguise their front in order to confuse offensive linemen so that a defender comes through unblocked. 4-3 defenses are the most apt to do this, as they can't bring pressure from as many places as a 3-4; therefore, they need to create confusion in another way.

Let's say for example we have a base 4-3 with a strong-side 5-technique (on the tackle's outside shoulder) and 3-technique (guard's outside shoulder), and a weak 1-technique (center's backside shoulder) and 5-technique (tackle's backside shoulder). If the offense has an inside zone run called, the quarterback might initially see this front and audible to the other side, because the 1-tech and 5-tech have more space between them for a running lane.

After his audible, the quarterback begins his cadence. At the last second, the 3-tech and 1-tech stem; the strong 3 comes down to a strong 1, and the weak 1 moves to a weak 3. The defensive front has now baited the offense into running away from the formation's strong side. It's a small victory, but small games like this on the offensive and defensive line are often crucial to the game's outcome. Stemming is completely different from stunting, but we'll save that topic for another time.

Stemming is a perfectly legal part of football because the defensive linemen are moving sideways before the snap. "Illegal Stemming," however, is when a defensive lineman moves with the express purpose of causing the offensive lineman to false start. That's exactly what the Aztec d-lineman was doing before Baer's 55-yard attempt; rather than trying to get into a different position, he kept flinching like he saw the ball being snapped. This caused the right tackle to flinch, but San Diego State got hit with the 5-yard move. Then this happened:

I'm still amazed that the referee called illegal stemming, because as 99% of the time the offensive lineman gets called for that even though it's the defense's fault. Plenty of coaches might say that the lineman should have been able to hold his water with the defense flinching like that even if it meant coming off the ball a hair slower; however, with a game-winning kick on the line after having a kick blocked earlier, every fraction of a second counts.

This is a penalty that has been called much more often in the last two years, and I'm glad that's the case. For too long offensive linemen have had the burden of remaining perfectly still while defensive linemen have a bag full of tricks to lure them into false starting. I'm glad the kick got moved forward here, and I'm glad Baer made it (even though I picked SDSU). Why, you ask?

A victory for one offensive lineman is a victory for all.