[washingtonismoney]

I do think tonight's success in the first half probably made him more conservative in the second half. 

So I had the perception that Shaw could've called more passes on first and second down, which I think fits in with your (and others') critique. Does that really stand up?

In the three drives immediately after halftime,* there was roughly a 66-33 split in favor of the run on first and second down. That compares to last year's average of 70.3% (http://www.sbnation.com/college-football...ule-roster), so not markedly different.

Of course, it's a different team and a different situation this time around -- I think there were some strong reasons to prefer throwing more (K-State's seeming determination to all-out run blitz, etc.) but also some reasons to prefer running (Burns's relative inexperience, Christian McCaffrey being Christian McCaffrey, etc.) And keep in mind that Burns did miss some makeable throws -- it wasn't as if, during the second half, he was deadly but disused. Still, I think we'll need to get into a state where we feel comfortable letting the QB put up 30+ passes if the offensive situation begs for it.** Something to watch out for.

* I counted the first three drives because time wasn't a brobdingnagian factor. But once you have 5:00 or so minutes left, leading by double digits, it's fair to start thinking about running down the clock.

** I was going to say, "like Hogan's game against N.D. last year.' But he only threw 21 times! I thought that was an error on Shaw's fault at the time.

[washingtonismoney]

I do think tonight's success in the first half probably made him more conservative in the second half. 

So I had the perception that Shaw could've called more passes on first and second down, which I think fits in with your (and others') critique. Does that really stand up?

In the three drives immediately after halftime,* there was roughly a 66-33 split in favor of the run on first and second down. That compares to last year's average of 70.3% (http://www.sbnation.com/college-football...ule-roster), so not markedly different.

Of course, it's a different team and a different situation this time around -- I think there were some strong reasons to prefer throwing more (K-State's seeming determination to all-out run blitz, etc.) but also some reasons to prefer running (Burns's relative inexperience, Christian McCaffrey being Christian McCaffrey, etc.) And keep in mind that Burns did miss some makeable throws -- it wasn't as if, during the second half, he was deadly but disused. Still, I think we'll need to get into a state where we feel comfortable letting the QB put up 30+ passes if the offensive situation begs for it.** Something to watch out for.

* I counted the first three drives because time wasn't a brobdingnagian factor. But once you have 5:00 or so minutes left, leading by double digits, it's fair to start thinking about running down the clock.

** I was going to say, "like Hogan's game against N.D. last year.' But he only threw 21 times! I thought that was an error on Shaw's fault at the time.