Jimmy Chitwood
Hall of Famer
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.
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.