Beasts on Offense

I started this blog later than I wanted, but there are no rules as what to write. So I will go back a couple of months and write about something that impressed me in the Blue White game.

I'm a fan of smash-mouth football. Delicate receivers snagging tight spiral pass like a ballet dancer … well that is pretty and I can appreciate that, but it doesn't make me jump from my seat, pump my fists and let loose a guttural yell the way a big bruising player knocks over cornerback or safety as he rumbles through the secondary.

Let's talk about big bruising players:

Andrew Szczerba (pronounced like slurring and 's' and 'z' after two six packs with 'erba' on the end) really caught my attention at the Blue White game. Szczerba lead the team (Blue & White) in receiving with five catches for 65 yards. What's going on here? A tight end leading in receiving? Szczerba is 6'6", 252 lbs and a beast on the field. And he was catching passes up the middle.

Now that Andrew Quarless (6'4", 252lbs) is finished with his legal problems there are two beasts at tight end. We didn't see Quarless at the Blue White game, but we know what he can do (last season: 11 games, 14 rec. for 205 yds, 14.6 avg.). After Quarless there is the legacy player, Mickey Shuler (6'4", 241lbs), who had one catch in the Blue White game for 22 yards. I think too many Sad Jacks inappropriately knock Shuler. He is a talented, hard worker and deserves to get the ball. There is more to TE than blocking, Shuler should get some passes. And the same goes for fullback – yet another area that State has two bruisers.

Danny Lawlor (6'2", 244 lbs) and Larry Federoff (5'11", 237) will be first and second string at fullback this year. Federoff is just shy of being a really big bruiser when compared to Quarless, Szczerba, Shuler, and Lawlor. So what does an offensive coordinator do with big bruisers? Of course, make them block. But these guys are more talented to be left just to block.

There is one thing that I believe in when it comes to offense – go against the trends. Nearly every team is jumping on board with some form of spread offense. The problem with that is teams have learned how to defend a spread offense. Why did the wishbone go out of favor? Teams learned how to defend it. Minor note: Navy has lead college football for the past two years running an option offense, sometimes running the 'bone. Teams rarely see a multiple option offense these days, and it is going against the trend. What teams are seeing is a lot of spread offense. What would be the opposite of a spread offense? The compact offense.

Hmmm, so it gets me to thinking. There is a trend in pro football, where a double tight end formation is used with the shotgun to defend against a blitz. Yes, that is more blocking. Start with a double TE set, (tight ends on left and right side), then put Lawlor in the backfield as the lone running back, as he will be adding more pass protection. The QB will be in the shotgun. On the surface that looks like some sturdy pass protection for Clark, where there's an already good offensive line, two hunkin' TEs, and a fullback. Now the fun begins. Put a TE into motion. At this point a few of things can happen. The TE can overload one side, and handoff to Lawlor takes place. Or the TE can overload one side, Clark fakes a hand off to Lawlor, where Lawlor further overloads one side and Clark carries the ball. Or Lawlor takes a hand off from Clark, Clark trails for a pitch from Lawlor, with Lawlor blocking. Or from the same double tight end, QB in shotgun set, put one TE into motion and run a jet sweep. Once a jet sweep is recognized by the defense, then there are all kinds of other plays from the same formation including some beautiful traps and draws.

Does this put the beasts into more action? Yes, so the FB gets to run the ball some more, tight ends get to run the ball some more (like they had any carries to begin with), but what about passing? The same formations also lead to screen plays, and a TE can always cut loose up the middle for a pass. While everyone is spreading, bring those tight ends in, bunch things up, and let a fast wide-out go one-on-one. Defenses won't know what hit them.

My inspiration for this idea came from researching Oregon State (yes, I'll do a team-by-team analysis as the summer goes on) and the things I saw at the Blue White game. Oregon State runs a fly sweep, more as a trick play, but it's no longer is a trick play when it gets used consistently. I'm not a big fan of the fly sweep unless it develops quickly. A Jet sweep on the other hand, especially with a QB in the shot gun, can develop very quickly. While there is a speed element to a sweep, the big bruisers blocking up front make a big difference. I'll take a Jet sweep with meat for four yards and a cloud of dust, then add in some traps and draws for bigger gains. The real big gains come when you let loose a TE up the middle for a pass. The jet sweep will draw in the line backers, which leaves the secondary to deal with 6'4", 250lbs+ of pure muscle. Dang, the TE can just drag that 180lb cornerback into the end zone.