confusing coaching strategies

[Jimmy Chitwood]

i've noticed a trend with teams that run the spread, or rather run the spread with very inconsistent results. and they seem to have a common tendency: struggling to define their running game.

take for example Kansas today. Jake Sharp was tearing off huge chunks of yardage (averaging over 6 yards-per-carry for the game), yet he only had 13 carries. land-walrus head coach Mark Mangino's offense got down a couple of scores early in the game and seemed to completely forget the running game. erego, Kansas' offense became one-dimensional and very predictable. which, in turn, led to less productivity and a larger deficit on the scoreboard.

this happened last week in Kansas' disappointing loss, too.

the same thing happened today with Kansas State against Oklahoma. KSU seemed to completely forget about the running game early on in the first quarter, and became one-dimensional. predictably, their offense disappeared as the Oklahoma defense keyed on the quarterback, and consequently they couldn't maintain possession of the ball. nor could they score.

KSU tailback, Logan Dold, had just 14 carries scattered irregularly throughout the game and never got in a rhythm, with the exception of one drive in the 3rd Quarter. on that drive, Dold carried the ball5-6 times and picked up roughly 2/3 of his total yards and a touchdown.

the opposite side of the spectrum is Northwestern. they often run the ball despite a complete lack of productivity, and don't take advantage of their speed at wide receiver. take for example their game today: tyrell sutton had 27 carries but averaged just 2.9 yards-per-carry. yuck.

likewise, they continued a trend from all year where their quarterback throws over 2/3 of his passes within 5 yards or less of the line of scrimmage, with nearly half coming at or behind the los. these are basically just running plays themselves and don't serve to stretch or threaten the defense downfield. hense, on 35 pass attempts (and 22 completions) Northwestern only picked up 164 yards through the air. ouch.

and they all three lost today.

the old maxim is dance with the one that brought you, yet all three of these examples show that coaches seem to be ignoring very effective aspects of their offenses.

so my question is this: why do coaches like this struggle so much to find a balance with their offenses?

there are other confusing coaching tendencies i've noticed this year, too. and if this thread gets input from feloower CFers, then i'll address those, as well.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

wow. am i the only guy who watches games this closely?

another team that suffers from this dilemma is Vanderbilt. they routinely forget about their best runner, Jared Hawkins. strangely, it isn't uncommon for the Commodores to give him less than 10 carries per game. not so strangely, their offense struggles when this happens.

as a result of this bizarre coaching strategy, they've lost their last three games in a row.

in those three losses, their best tailback (Hawkins) has averaged a mere 10 carries per game. not coincidentally, their offense has averaged a woeful 11 points per game.

u-g-l-y.

Edited by: Jimmy Chitwood

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Despite my very limited viewing choices right now, I have noticed it as well JC. The Kansasgame was really baffling to me. They were rolling along and keeping up with Texas Tech, then its like they just forgot what to do. I mentionedthis to my wife yesterday. I have seen this with Vandy a couple of times this year as well. I wish I could provide a good answer to the question of why these coaches struggle with balance. Maybe it is arroganceorthe unwillingness totrust certain players, or even a conflict with other coaches. Then again, maybe they just aren't very smart, or aren't as good at coaching as we sometimes give them credit for.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

i guess i'm the only person on the boards who pays such close attention. oh well, i'll go mutter to myself somewhere.

 

[jaxvid]

i've noticed a trend with teams that run the spread, or rather run the spread with very inconsistent results. and they seem to have a common tendency: struggling to define their running game.
.

Yes, that exactly explains problems Michigan has had this year on offense. I hate the spread I think it hurts a teams running game. Has there ever been a great RB come from a spread offense? It seems to be built solely around a running (usually black) QB. In fact I think the offense is designed for black QB's. Every snap is taken out of the shotgun which helps the QB get a look at the defense and check out if there is an open lane to run to. It hurts the running back as the defense can clearly see when the RB is going to get the ball. The offense seems like a gimmick to me and I much prefer the pro set with an occasional drop to the shotgun on obvious passing downs.