What really made this play interesting was the fact that it appeared to be
either a bubble screen or a downfield pass from the formation pre-change,
but then Barkley changed the play to a bubble screen with a zone read fake
based on how the Cal defense was lined up. The zone read fake was critical
in creating an even bigger bubble area for the WR. Overall, this is an
excellent example of the pre-snap chess match between the QB and defense.

Many teams, including Cal, run plays (similar to the one above) which have
the zone read slash bubble screen option (the QB can either hand off the
ball or throw the bubble screen). It's not a totally uncommon play and it
works really well because it puts the defender between the offense line and
the bunch (such as Eddie Young in the play above) in a bind because he has
to beware of the zone read run which pulls him away from the bunch, and he
also has to be aware of the bubble screen which if he chooses to defend the
screen then that pulls him away from the zone read run. So either way,
Eddie Young was pretty screwed on this play and it wasn't his fault - it was
just really good chess by USC's Matt Barkley.

Download File Size:4.42 GB

---