(12-29-2017, 09:17 PM)JustAnotherFan link Wrote:We do have a predictable offense.
I basically agree.
Quote:The predictability comes in the personnel groupings and formations. Having played college ball myself, and having been a defensive coordinator for high school football, there is nothing I loved more than when opponents only ran a certain set of plays from specific formations and personnel groupings. As fans we know far more often than not what play is coming by the personnel on the field and the formation. We make it too easy for defenses to prepare for us.
Not sure I agree here. I think we are pretty predictable no matter who is out there. :) As I see it, if Love is in the game, and pretty much for sure if Marx is also in the game, Love is probably going to get the ball and probably run some kind of a play off left tackle. It may be a handoff, it may be a pitch, but that is what you will get. We sometimes will run basically right up the middle, but not often. This play often works pretty well because it is more unexpected. We also do run to the right, but not nearly as often. If we are in Ogre, we are going to run for sure if the game is still in doubt. If it is third and long, we probably will pass (Duh!). Basically, that sums it up. Do we do other things from time to time? Yes, but not real often. We sometimes pass on first or second down. As has been pointed out on this board, we generally have a better YPA by running. We don't run many true sweeps. There are probably reasons for that.
Our predictability is intentional. These are the plays we run best. Stop us if you can. Some people here do not like this philosophy, but I think that has been the philosophy certainly this year.
With CMac, we would run a few more "stretch" plays, but that may have been OL related. We certainly threw to the running back more, so we were a bit less predictable. However, in 2016, it could be argued that we weren't "better" because of it.
The above may be somewhat oversimplified, but I submit that it is basically accurate.
Next year, if Love does not return, all bets are off. I expect we will look more like Gaffney's year as the feature back, with Scarlett as Gaffney. We may have more talent than that team did, and the result may be correspondingly better. We will be less predictable, for sure.