Dein erstes Forum » and against Fiji we know that

This story appears in ESPN The Magazines November 28 Tall Ball Issue. Subscribe today!WITH NFL TEAMS firing offensive coordinators almost as frequently as the Raiders commit penalties these days, I have some advice for teams looking to amp their scoring: Add more play-action to your repertoire.Yes, the trend in todays game is for quarterbacks to get rid of the ball quickly, not to take extra time to fake a handoff before passing. This season starting QBs are spending two seconds or less in the pocket on 37.4 percent of their attempts, a figure that has jumped by more than 5 percentage points in just the past four years. As Ive written before, thats understandable and even laudable, given the trouble so many clubs are having developing cohesive offensive lines. But the numbers are loud and clear: Misdirection still pays.QBs threw for 9.23 yards per attempt on play-action through Week 9 this season, compared with 6.9 ypa on all other passes, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Thats a huge gap. ?Its the difference between Tom Brady and Marcus Mariota! Further, play-action passes lead to first downs on 44.3 percent of completions, versus 33.3 percent for non-PA, and result in fewer sacks despite QBs holding the ball longer (5 percent of dropbacks, versus 5.6 percent). Essentially, play-action is a way to grab extra rewards without incurring extra risk.Since Hank Stram pioneered the tactic some 50 years ago, several pairs of innovative coaches and cerebral QBs have elevated play-action to an art form: Stram and Len Dawson, Bill Walsh and Joe Montana, Sam Wyche and Boomer Esiason, Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson. But many teams cling to traditionalist beliefs that prevent them from taking full advantage of it.For some, the pure pocket passer is the beau ideal of quarterback play, and once a QB has established a high level of standard performance, its almost as if he shouldnt need to resort to anything so gimmicky. Other clubs still think you have to run to set up the pass and will use play-action only if they are already confident in their rushing game. Indeed, as Football Outsiders pointed out in July, four of the five teams that ran most often last season (as a percentage of plays) were also among the half a dozen that deployed play-action the most.?But analytics long ago debunked the idea that you need to run to set up the pass-and besides, even the worst teams in the league rush more than 20 times a game, so you especially dont need to run to set up fake handoffs.As far as I can tell, then, too many coaches call play-action by rote rather than looking at data to see whos actually effective at it. An extreme example: The Chargers have gone to play-action on just 10.3 percent of Philip Rivers pass attempts since the start of 2012, even though over that span he has hurled 22 TDs with just six picks on play-action and his completions have traveled 37 percent farther, on average, than his other throws. Overall, there is actually a slightly negative correlation between how often NFL teams use play-action and how well they use it (as measured by improvement in ypa): minus-0.19, on a scale of minus-1 to 1. ?Now, play-action is based on faking out the opposition. So if you use it more frequently, wont its effectiveness decline? Well, yes. Eventually, defenders will stop biting on false handoffs, and linebackers will keep clogging the middle of the field rather than rushing toward the line of scrimmage. But until the advantage of play-action erodes completely, it makes sense to keep trying. A team hasnt optimized its offense until the gains from various play types are equal-until theres no reason to switch from one to another.?Relentless play-action wouldnt suit every team-it does require an offensive line that can hold blocks and a QB with a deep touch. But I think Buffalo should consider it. Last year Tyrod Taylor crushed it on play-action, connecting on 69.5 percent of passes for a whopping 18.6 yards per completion, second in the league. This season offensive coordinator Greg Roman was running PA on 23.1 percent of Taylors pass attempts, but since replacing Roman after Week 2, Anthony Lynn has cut Taylors play-action usage by a third. Free Tyrod Taylor!I also think were sure to see Seattle bootleg and bomb a lot more off play-action in the second half of this season. Recovering from injuries, Wilson has gone to play-action on just 15.4 percent of passes this year, by far the lowest rate of his career. But when hes on his game, defenses literally cant believe their eyes. And the last time the Seahawks led the league in play-action, using PA on 34 percent of their passes in 2013? They won the Super Bowl.Custom Arizona Cardinals Jerseys . Its sharpness matched my mind. This was no night to go to sleep. Fake Custom Jerseys .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. http://www.jerseyscustom.us/ . The next step is a better finish. Bae played bogey-free Friday on another gorgeous day at Riviera for a 5-under 66, giving him a one-shot lead over Aaron Baddeley and Robert Garrigus going into the weekend. China Custom Jerseys Store . Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shootout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night. Custom San Francisco 49ers Jerseys . "Hes going to have hip surgery on Jan. 7, and hell be expected to rehabilitate for four to six months beyond that," Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said Friday in an interview.Nathan Hughes is expected to take part in Thursdays final training session as he prepares to replace Tom Wood in Englands back row against Fiji.Hughes has been struggling with a lower leg injury but the Wasps forward is on course to make his full Test debut in the second of four autumn internationals at Twickenham.Wood has been omitted from Eddie Jones squad for Saturdays clash with Fiji despite being praised by the head coach for his performance in the 37-21 victory over South Africa. Fiji-born Hughes, who came off the bench during the second half against the Springboks, is set to edge Teimana Harrison for the No 7 jersey in the only change to the pack that started last weekend. England vs Fiji November 19, 2016, 2:00pm Live on Get Sky Sports Get a Sky Sports pass Woody did exceptionally well, but we are just looking at it on a game by game basis. Nathan did well when he was on and we want to give him an opportunity potentially, scrum coach Neal Hatley said.Eddie has talked about wanting to make sure that we are looking across the spectrum of players.I think that Eddie has gone on record saying that Tom did really well during his match and worked exceptionally hard. Hughes frank over finances Fiji-born forward explains his decision to play for Englland He has trained very well this week, but we are looking at selection specifically game by game.ddddddddddddNathan brings a big ball carrying threat - weve seen what he can do in the Premiership. Hughes is on track to start for England against the country of his birth this weekend He hits hard and carries the ball well and against Fiji we know that they are going to carry the ball hard, so we need stopping power. It will be a brilliant opportunity for Nathan if he is involved.Hatley is aware of the threat posed by Fiji who gave England a scare in the 2015 World Cup opener at Twickenham before the hosts finished strongly to prevail 35-11. Six months half price Upgrade to Sky Sports to watch Man Utd v Arsenal on Saturday and get the first six months half price Weve done a lot of analysis on Fiji. They have a Kiwi coach in John McKee and have moved away from just flinging the ball around. Also, their set piece has improved immeasurably, Hatley said.Leone Nakarawa, who was at Glasgow and has now moved to France, hes an excellent lineout technician so theyre a lot more of a set piece threat than previous years.Upgrade to Sky Sports now to watch Man Utd v Arsenal this Saturday and get the first six months half price!Also See:Hughes frank over financesJones rings the changesEngland outclass SpringboksCockerill praises England deal ' ' '