ACC Fantasy Football Focus: False Starts Induced by Crowd Noise

by BirdGT on Jan 4, 2011 10:07 AM EST in Georgia Tech Football

One thing has kinda bugged me since the VT game. Georgia Tech drew 6 false starts in Blacksburg and I thought this was a particularly high count of false starts. After some investigation, it turns out this game was the second-worst performance with regards to false starts by an ACC road team since 2008 (Miami had 7 false starts in 2008 @ UVA). I am focusing on 2008-2010 because this is the Paul Johnson Era.

The announcers continually rattled on that Tech was undisciplined and should be able to cope with the crowd. I think there are more factors at play than mere discipline. An opposing defense, a backup quarterback, and the time of day appeared to be significant factors in Tech's penalty-laden effort. Want some proof? Check out this chart of induced false starts since 2008. VT and UVA lead the pack of ACC squads:

Virginia, whether you realize it or not, is a notoriously tough place to play for ACC teams. This is where FSU's ridiculous ACC winning streak was broken back in 1995. Plus, teams were always looking down the barrel of Al Groh's blitzing 3-4 defense from 2008-2009. I calculated the expected induced false starts based on the ACC offenses' tendencies to false start on the road. Certain teams showed more poise than others (e.g. VT).

Miami and Maryland were the dogs of the conference in this regard. It's interesting to see Wake, UNC, and Duke on the positive side of this chart. I think it shows that Cutcliffe, Davis, and Grobe really do practice what they preach. Expected false starts on the second chart are based on the road venues each offense played in from 2008-2010. Any thoughts or questions?

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So many variables here

I am wondering if you have settled on a hypothesis? Certain stadiums seem to have acoustic anomalies that make it hard to tell where sound is coming from in addition to being just plain loud. But I was wondering if these anomalies are being augmented by other factors. Do opposing crowds have any special noise makers that disturb snap count or are any opposing teams coached to make noises in a certain frequency range that disrupt the snap count?

Or are you saying that in the end it simply is a matter of lack of discipline by the visiting team?

Your analysis is intriguing and makes me want to know more.

by Atlanta's original team on Jan 4, 2011 3:07 PM EST reply actions

Were the false starts with Nesbitt or Washington?

Is it possible to tell how many false starts came when Nesbitt was in the game and when Washington was in the game? If the offense had trouble hearing Washington, you would have to expect that had something to do with it too.

Some defenses will shift around alot and I’m sure that comes into play as well. A lineman might find it hard to hold when the defense is jumping around. Do the teams with good performance at inducing false starts have defenses that tend to shift a lot prior to the snap? On the offensive side of the ball, do offenses with a lot of pre-snap motion tend to incurr higher levels of false starts? Both of these questions are probably unanswerable with the data we have and may be better suited to speculation rather than rigorous analysis. I just don’t know the various teams’ defenses and offenses well enough to speculate. Certainly, GT’s offense has pre-snap motion on nearly every play and that has gotten them in trouble a couple of times and turned some 4th&1’s into 4th&6’s when they botch the motion-into-a-wishbone-to-draw-them-offsides play.

by Dive Keep and Pitch on Jan 4, 2011 3:20 PM EST reply actions

Nesbitt had 2, Tevin had 4...

So perhaps not a factor with the QB.

I write stuff From the Rumble Seat.

by BirdGT on Jan 4, 2011 3:23 PM EST up reply actions

On the motion-into-a-wishbone-to draw-them-offsides play

Since that never worked as far as I can tell is it possible that this was not designed exclusively to draw them offsides? I keep hoping that CPJ is smarter than that and he was looking for a particular defensive alignment or shift which would call for an automatic hike by the quarterback. You know, perhaps one of those hikes where the quarterback does not actually call a count but pushes his hand against the center’s backside and the two of them take off before anyone is ready on defense, or some other tricky thing that would only work if the defense created just the right bubble for the play.

Anyway, I always hoped there was more going on here than just an attempt to draw the other team offsides because whenever Tech ran this I knew the other team was not going to fall for it because they never had before.

by Atlanta's original team on Jan 4, 2011 4:05 PM EST up reply actions

As for defenses causing the false start

I could see that if you were a passing team and the other team was trying all kinds of stunts and blitzes. With a running team there should never be any reason for a lineman to flinch prior to a snap, though this does happen sometimes if the linemen is keen about blocking someone who has been beating them all during the game and now the play is called over their hole.

by Atlanta's original team on Jan 4, 2011 4:08 PM EST up reply actions

one thing I noticed was that

particular OL names pop up a lot in the false start category. Just seems like some dudes are more inclined to flinch than others under pressure.

I write stuff From the Rumble Seat.

by BirdGT on Jan 4, 2011 4:36 PM EST up reply actions

That is telling. Can players like that be coached out it?

by Atlanta's original team on Jan 4, 2011 10:31 PM EST up reply actions

I believe we've run plays from the wishbone before

If memory serves me correctly, in the 2009 season we motioned into the wishbone and ran a play and we also motioned into a “half wishbone” (BB+1 AB) and ran a play out of that formation as well. I think both times the plays were stopped at the LOS. I agree that I don’t think a team has ever been drawn offsides by it. All in all, it is probably GT’s least productive play.

As to the true purpose of the play, I don’t know. Maybe you’re right and the purpose is to try to lull the defense asleep or into creating an exploitable hole and then run a play. Drawing them offsides, if it happens, may just be a bonus. I’ve seen Navy run a variation of it. In the Navy variation I’ve seen, they don’t form the wishbone, or half wishbone for that matter, the AB runs to the BB, freezes, and then returns to his original position. I wonder if Monken has it in the playbook at GA Southern.

by Dive Keep and Pitch on Jan 4, 2011 4:56 PM EST up reply actions