ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, November 28, 1996 TAG: 9611290031
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: HOLIDAY
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
SCORING PRODUCTION inside the opponent's 20-yard line can make the difference between a good team and a bad one.
No one knows where the term originated. Not all football coaches have the same definition for it. However, there is little disagreement on the significance of the ``red zone.''
Generally speaking, it's that area of the field inside an opponent's 20-yard line, and, if an offensive team gets there and doesn't score at least 75 percent of the time, it's in trouble.
But, sometimes, scoring isn't enough. As Virginia coach George Welsh has said on more than one occasion, ``You can't keep kicking field goals.''
Virginia and Virginia Tech, set to square off at 2:47 p.m. Friday at Lane Stadium, both have scored on 84 percent of their possessions inside the 20. The difference is, Tech has scored touchdowns on 63.8 percent of its red-zone possessions, compared to 53.8 for the Cavaliers.
``I'm disappointed most of the time if we don't score a touchdown,'' Tech offensive coordinator Rickey Bustle said. ``That is, unless we're playing for a field goal. You hate to work your tail off getting down the field that far and come away with three points.''
What's good? It's hard to say. There's no uniformity in how the statistics are kept.
``I take it out five yards and compute everything from the 25,'' UVa offensive coordinator Tom O'Brien said. ``That translates into a 42-yard field-goal attempt, which your kicker should be able to make.''
The 25-yard line has taken on more importance this season with the institution of overtime for all levels. Teams are given the ball at their opponent's 25 and maintain possession until they score or fail to make a first down.
In O'Brien's opinion, it's almost impossible to spend too much time on red-zone offense.
``We practice it Tuesday and Wednesday in segments with the quarterbacks and receivers,'' O'Brien said. ``On Wednesday, we have a red-zone run period. By Thursday, when we have our gameplan put together, we've chosen our five best plays - three runs and two passes, or two runs and three passes.
``That's an awful lot of work.''
Television commentators are fond of saying that the closer an offense gets to the goal line, the harder it is to complete a pass because there is less territory to defend. That's one reason the Hokies have been so successful; nine of quarterback Jim Druckenmiller's 15 touchdown passes have come in the red zone.
That's the main difference between the teams, at least in the red zone. Of Virginia's 21 touchdowns in the red zone, only two have come via the pass and they were in the same game, the Cavaliers' 62-14 rout of N.C. State.
``That's what's killed us,'' O'Brien said. ``In the last two weeks, we've thrown six passes into the end zone and not completed one of them.''
O'Brien was not enamored of the nickname he received a couple of years ago, Red Zone Red, but he says the media isn't as hard on him as he is on himself.
``It isn't frustrating when I catch flak,'' O'Brien said. ``What can be frustrating is the execution. There have been times when we were pretty good. You don't have to go back too far to the year [1992] when Bobby Goodman tied Shawn Moore's school record.
Goodman threw 21 touchdown passes that season, including 13 in the red zone and another three from the 20.
``That's one thing, whenever we visit [other schools], that we ask about,'' O'Brien said. ``You know, `What's your best run? What's your best pass?' Maybe you'll come away with one idea, but it's worth it if you score a touchdown.''
In watching Virginia Tech this week, the Cavaliers might have come up with a few ideas.
``You look at the cut-ups of the other team, put it all on one tape and see exactly what they do and what they've shown in that zone,'' Bustle said. ``Because of what the defense does down there, you might add a play or take one out, but it doesn't change much from week to week.
``It's a little bit of a chess match, but I don't think it's a big, big mystery when you break down each other that way.''
Bustle doesn't have statistics on Tech's yearly performance, not that he wouldn't do the research if the Hokies ever started to bog down.
``I'm not a big stat person,'' Bustle said. ``I'm that way with the kids. You guys [in the media] tell me more than I even know sometimes. I don't know what our percentage is down there, but my guess is we've been pretty successful.''
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. GENE DALTON STAFF Virginia Tech, shown running aby CNBred-zone play against West Virginia last Saturday, has scored
touchdowns on 63.8 of its possessions in the red zone. color
2. chart - In the Red color STAFF KEYWORDS: MGR