Ad Disclosure
Texas A&M’s freshman quarterback Kyle Allen played a solid game and was accurate throughout. But I’m going to look at the pick-six he threw midway through the first quarter.
A&M lined up in a three-receiver bunch formation. Let me start by saying that I dislike this formation wholeheartedly. The Aggies have three receivers bunched up to the field on the hash mark, while the running back and other receiver are lined up to the boundary.
West Virginia appears to be in a two-high safety look pre-snap. Once the ball is snapped, you can see that the boundary safety is hauling butt to the middle of the field to confuse Allen into thinking the Mountaineers were in a cover 3.
The receivers in the bunch formation ran a streak, an in route, and an out route. You can notice the middle linebacker getting depth here and getting into the middle of the field. You can also see that the corner is planted and watching the out route. He knows he has help over top with the field safety. The nickelback has his eyes on the in route, but stops as he see Allen just starring at the out.
Here’s one of the most frustrating things as a quarterback. When the running back completes his blitz scan and he doesn’t have to block anyone, he’s taught to run a check-down, typically away from any route coming toward him. Here, the running back does his blitz scan, and decides to get directly in the throwing lane and view of Allen. He is almost stepping on Allen’s toes. If he isn’t right on the toes of Allen, that pocket is clean, and Allen has a clear view of the defensive backs.
Allen made the wrong read regardless, but having your own player just standing in front of you doesn’t help.
Here’s what’s disappointing. You can see here that after Allen throws the pick, he just puts his head down and walks. Players are never allowed to walk on the “big field.”
Look at all of Allen’s teammates. They’re all running and trying to tackle the guy. As a quarterback you can never put you head down and just walk during a live play. That’s a terrible look. It is also a way for a defensive player to absolutely take your head off.
I was glad to see him shake off that early pick-six and really have a strong game. I believe he solidified his starting role heading into the offseason and will be a much-improved player next year.
The Man. The Myth. The Legend.
