[OutsiderFan]

The injury situation plaguing the OL is nothing other teams haven't faced before.  I remember a few years ago Oregon was forced into starting a True Frosh LT and a walk-on Center.  These things can and do happen.  Good teams find a way to overcome it.  I find it odd to put Herbig at RT. He will be annihilated in pass protection, and Stanford will give up a great player at RG, so you weaken two positions this way.  The simplest answer if Hall can't play would be to replace him with Hattis. Even if Hattis isn't great, you can always put the TE on his side, and run plays to the opposite direction.  

Putting aside the DEFCON 1 state of OL health and depth, that Rivals article sure was fascinating.  Shaw admits to being stubborn about running on first down, and admits defenses are basically saying "we know what you are doing and we are going to stop it." Shaw even says they may need to pass more on first down to get defenses to back off.  It's like he's reading the Cardboard or something.

What is most amazing about this is the backdrop of how Stanford's only converting 33% of 3rd down attempts because they are basically averaging 3rd and 10 for the season as a result of defenses loading up to stop first down runs. This is insane.  When even UC Davis can stop first down runs, the offensive philosophy needs to be re-evaluated.

If I was them, I would open the Oregon game with 10 straight play action passes off run blocking actions out of 22 personnel. Use Love as an outlet receiver on those plays, and get Heimuli (who has shown he is a good receiver) some swing passes. Give defenses some different looks, more to think about, and get those Safeties to back off on first down!

[OutsiderFan]

The injury situation plaguing the OL is nothing other teams haven't faced before.  I remember a few years ago Oregon was forced into starting a True Frosh LT and a walk-on Center.  These things can and do happen.  Good teams find a way to overcome it.  I find it odd to put Herbig at RT. He will be annihilated in pass protection, and Stanford will give up a great player at RG, so you weaken two positions this way.  The simplest answer if Hall can't play would be to replace him with Hattis. Even if Hattis isn't great, you can always put the TE on his side, and run plays to the opposite direction.  

Putting aside the DEFCON 1 state of OL health and depth, that Rivals article sure was fascinating.  Shaw admits to being stubborn about running on first down, and admits defenses are basically saying "we know what you are doing and we are going to stop it." Shaw even says they may need to pass more on first down to get defenses to back off.  It's like he's reading the Cardboard or something.

What is most amazing about this is the backdrop of how Stanford's only converting 33% of 3rd down attempts because they are basically averaging 3rd and 10 for the season as a result of defenses loading up to stop first down runs. This is insane.  When even UC Davis can stop first down runs, the offensive philosophy needs to be re-evaluated.

If I was them, I would open the Oregon game with 10 straight play action passes off run blocking actions out of 22 personnel. Use Love as an outlet receiver on those plays, and get Heimuli (who has shown he is a good receiver) some swing passes. Give defenses some different looks, more to think about, and get those Safeties to back off on first down!