Offensive plays and clock management

quote:

---

Play calling was not great last night.

---

I thought it was until we got to 24. Unfortunately, it meant we were running too much.

Then we got too conservative, Tech picked up on that and we sputtered for a quarter and half.

I'm not going to say the playcalling was outstanding, but frankly we're in that awkward experimental phase with Burrow - and he is a streaky QB. That is compounded by the fact that he sometimes throws perfect passes that a receiver gets 2 hands on and drops. LOTS of first downs and even points not recorded because of these. Certainly killed some drives this season - I figure about 10 to this point.

Now, would we have gotten points? Not sure - but Burrow has played well enough for the offense to have scored 5 to 10 more points in each game - IMHO. The receivers, also streaky, need to get better. Their (the WRs) best game was Auburn, so the potential is there for big games.

quote:

---

So getting first downs and controlling the clock is a bad thing?

---

Miles was fired for that. I don't think we're that far apart.

But, we're either becoming a spread team or we're not. If you can't "work on" your passing game against Louisiana Tech, you have to try something else.

quote:

---

The pass game was misfiring

---

It is as much a timing and chemistry thing as anything else. I think we're making strides, but reps (and game reps are more valuable than any other) are required to develop proficiency.

quote:

---

As soon as he was given the permanent job he went right back into the Les Miles playbook.

---

I don't see it is a playbook issue. I see it like this: defense adjusts, where did they adjust from, attack that. If you do that the playbook and play calling "adjusts itself".

When they started stuffing the runs on the left side they did it by run blitzing LBs into the B gap and bringing S, sometimes DB, to edge for leverage. We should have attacked the weak side intermediate with a pass, because they were crashing LB (intermediate open) and if S was out of position with unbalanced there's a chance that short pass goes a long way. At the very least, they would pull back and then we could go back to running it and controlling the clock.

That's attacking. We don't attack. We don't use their weaknesses against them. If you are attacking, the playbook opens itself up.

quote:

---

Canada wanted an uptempo offense,

---

not true. Not opposed to the HUNH, but that's not what Canada does. He relies on misdirection and mismatches. Something we sorely lack right now.

quote:

---

What is Ensminger running, a ball control- keep the defense off the field style of offense.

---

The best way to eat clock is first downs. However you have to get them, get them.

quote:

---

For the first time in more than 8 years, I have confidence that we can run more than 50 offensive plays per game

---

You’re really going out on a limb. In the last 8 years we ran less than 50 offensive plays 5 times, and one of those was with Ensminger.

quote:

---

So getting first downs and controlling the clock is a bad thing? The pass game was misfiring, yet you want to continue doing it?

---

We must have been watching two separate games. In the second half LSU was not getting first downs and controlling the clock.

I also don't recall the passing game "misfiring." Sure, there were a few drops, but they pretty much did whatever the wanted throwing the ball. LSU didn't do it near enough if you ask me.