11-06-2023, 11:51 AM
Stanford ranks 19th nationally in time of possession, averaging a few ticks over 32 minutes per game. This is a surprise to me given Taylor's talk before the season about how playing fast gives the offense an advantage.
I've been thinking lately about the contrast in styles this season between Taylor and USC's Lincoln Riley. Both Stanford and SC have subpar defenses, but USC's potent offense definitely does not possess the ball as much as Stanford: the Trojans average 27:57 TOP per game.
The reason I bring this up at all is because Taylor frequently comments about how the offense needs to hold the ball to complement the defensive effort. The unstated context is that Stanford's defense isn't great. I don't tune into Riley's press conferences, but the data leaves me skeptical that Riley cares one bit about TOP.
We now see that SC is in what I'd call a mini-meltdown, with Riley unceremoniously ditching his longtime defensive coordinator, Alex Grinch, and the Trojans nowhere near in contention for the conference title. It's a disappointing year for SC.
I'm wondering if Riley might have been better served to make more of an effort to boost time of possession, as Taylor has done. Or, do people think that Stanford's TOP has not really been a factor at all in Stanford's limited defensive success?
I think the game plan in the first half of the Oregon game to emphasize time of possession clearly worked, with Stanford still in the game at halftime, a feat accomplished by few teams this year. But I also think this approach, albeit as an endgame strategy, hurt the team in the loss to UW, when Taylor called plays to gain just a few yards rather than attempting more downfield passes on a night that Daniels had nearly 400 yards passing.
Zooming out, I think Taylor constantly referring to helping out the defense in his media comments probably helps with team building, and I think it shows some flexibility in his coaching that is an admirable trait. The slowed pace for Stanford probably also has to do with having a first-year starter at quarterback. But, it is all debatable, and I'd also be interested in arguments that Stanford's TOP is an essentially meaningless metric, at least this year, no matter what Taylor has said.
I've been thinking lately about the contrast in styles this season between Taylor and USC's Lincoln Riley. Both Stanford and SC have subpar defenses, but USC's potent offense definitely does not possess the ball as much as Stanford: the Trojans average 27:57 TOP per game.
The reason I bring this up at all is because Taylor frequently comments about how the offense needs to hold the ball to complement the defensive effort. The unstated context is that Stanford's defense isn't great. I don't tune into Riley's press conferences, but the data leaves me skeptical that Riley cares one bit about TOP.
We now see that SC is in what I'd call a mini-meltdown, with Riley unceremoniously ditching his longtime defensive coordinator, Alex Grinch, and the Trojans nowhere near in contention for the conference title. It's a disappointing year for SC.
I'm wondering if Riley might have been better served to make more of an effort to boost time of possession, as Taylor has done. Or, do people think that Stanford's TOP has not really been a factor at all in Stanford's limited defensive success?
I think the game plan in the first half of the Oregon game to emphasize time of possession clearly worked, with Stanford still in the game at halftime, a feat accomplished by few teams this year. But I also think this approach, albeit as an endgame strategy, hurt the team in the loss to UW, when Taylor called plays to gain just a few yards rather than attempting more downfield passes on a night that Daniels had nearly 400 yards passing.
Zooming out, I think Taylor constantly referring to helping out the defense in his media comments probably helps with team building, and I think it shows some flexibility in his coaching that is an admirable trait. The slowed pace for Stanford probably also has to do with having a first-year starter at quarterback. But, it is all debatable, and I'd also be interested in arguments that Stanford's TOP is an essentially meaningless metric, at least this year, no matter what Taylor has said.