Does anyone recall the play we ran right before our reverse to Horne for the TD yesterday?
Jarvis West, I believe it was, came around in motion prior to the snap. Barnett faked the read play up the middle to White, and then ran with it around the end, but he had West there with him for the option pitch if he needed it. It turned out that the defender went with West and so Barnett took it for about a 20 yd gain.
So why in the world do we not run this more often? It just gives us one more option for the defense to have to defend. Basically a triple option.
And you could still easily pass out of this as well. Fake it to both White up the gut and fake it to West coming around, and then throw it. Or, fake it to White up the gut, and hand it to West coming around.
I just think we'd be so much more succesful on offense if we could mix it up a bit. Defenses right now just have to key on White and Barnett. That's it. Especially in windy conditions when we're no threat to throw it at all.
We used to always bring JJ Moses or Lane Danielson around in motion. It made the defense respect the fact that we could give it to them at any time on a counter or reverse type play. It really put the pressure on the DE's to stay home, which opened up the middle that much more in the run game. I remember numerous times watching JJ and Lane take that play to the house. And it does not take away that WR in motion out of play. He can still run a passing route if we don't give them the ball on the end around. In fact, he can be a good safety valve out in the flat if the QB can't find anyone else open OR they can go deep on a wheel route type play.
It just seems we find a lot of success the few times we mix it up a bit. We just seem so vanilla 99% of the time. Numerous times yesterday I saw us run that read option play 3 times in a row for hardly any yards and then punting. It isn't too hard for defenses to key on your one RB and your QB. But it puts a lot more pressure on a defense if the QB keeps it, but he also then has the option to pitch it if the DE is right on top of him. Or if the DE crashes and the QB keeps it, it sure puts a lot of pressure on the CB or LB on that side of the field if he has to cover two guys, the QB and the pitch guy coming at them around the end.
I was just so excited to see that play yesterday, especially when Rhoads says we need to get the ball in the hands of Jarvis West more.... which is true. And then to follow that up with the reverse for the TD on the very next play... I was thinking that Herman finally was mixing it up a bit. And last week we ran that counter type running play a LOT for success against TT, and barely saw it at all yesterday?
If the "spread" is really an attempt to make a defense cover the entire field, as Herman says it is, then why don't we make them cover the entire field? KU had everyone on defense crashing on our RB and QB all game long in over pursuit. You cannot just continue to run in right into that over pursuit all the time and expect to get different results.
We're just too easy to defend right now IMO.
Jarvis West, I believe it was, came around in motion prior to the snap. Barnett faked the read play up the middle to White, and then ran with it around the end, but he had West there with him for the option pitch if he needed it. It turned out that the defender went with West and so Barnett took it for about a 20 yd gain.
So why in the world do we not run this more often? It just gives us one more option for the defense to have to defend. Basically a triple option.
And you could still easily pass out of this as well. Fake it to both White up the gut and fake it to West coming around, and then throw it. Or, fake it to White up the gut, and hand it to West coming around.
I just think we'd be so much more succesful on offense if we could mix it up a bit. Defenses right now just have to key on White and Barnett. That's it. Especially in windy conditions when we're no threat to throw it at all.
We used to always bring JJ Moses or Lane Danielson around in motion. It made the defense respect the fact that we could give it to them at any time on a counter or reverse type play. It really put the pressure on the DE's to stay home, which opened up the middle that much more in the run game. I remember numerous times watching JJ and Lane take that play to the house. And it does not take away that WR in motion out of play. He can still run a passing route if we don't give them the ball on the end around. In fact, he can be a good safety valve out in the flat if the QB can't find anyone else open OR they can go deep on a wheel route type play.
It just seems we find a lot of success the few times we mix it up a bit. We just seem so vanilla 99% of the time. Numerous times yesterday I saw us run that read option play 3 times in a row for hardly any yards and then punting. It isn't too hard for defenses to key on your one RB and your QB. But it puts a lot more pressure on a defense if the QB keeps it, but he also then has the option to pitch it if the DE is right on top of him. Or if the DE crashes and the QB keeps it, it sure puts a lot of pressure on the CB or LB on that side of the field if he has to cover two guys, the QB and the pitch guy coming at them around the end.
I was just so excited to see that play yesterday, especially when Rhoads says we need to get the ball in the hands of Jarvis West more.... which is true. And then to follow that up with the reverse for the TD on the very next play... I was thinking that Herman finally was mixing it up a bit. And last week we ran that counter type running play a LOT for success against TT, and barely saw it at all yesterday?
If the "spread" is really an attempt to make a defense cover the entire field, as Herman says it is, then why don't we make them cover the entire field? KU had everyone on defense crashing on our RB and QB all game long in over pursuit. You cannot just continue to run in right into that over pursuit all the time and expect to get different results.
We're just too easy to defend right now IMO.