I do a decent job of keeping up with the lingo/terminology of football as it evolves, but this bit of "coach speak" that Clark has repeated a lot the last week has me stumped. I can see how the coaches, with playcalling, can take advantage of our offenses tempo to hurt the opposing defense, but aside from getting lined up quickly for the next play what is it Clark is asking the players to do here...or avoid doing? How can a player take advantage of tempo against a defense?
Quote:“I tell the offense all the time, we give you a gift,” Clark said. “We give you the gift of tempo, you better use it. If not, you’re going hurt us. If you don’t take advantage of how hard it is on the defense then you’re hurting our defense.”
He's asking them to avoid going three-and-out constantly and throwing our defense back out there, wearing them out and giving the opposing offense the advantage instead.
Thus sayeth the armchair quarterback.
Tempo gets their defense tired quicker. The more tired their defense the longer the offense stays on the field and gives our defense a chance to get ready to go for the next drive.
Clark believes tempo means sustained drives. It also means we have good conditioning. It really is that simple.
That's it exactly. It takes more physical effort to play defense than it does offense. If you run 3 plays in a minute (very fast pace) on offense and then punt, you are going to run your defense out of gas in a hurry.
A successful fast paced offense puts a lot of pressure on their own defense. Say the defense makes a stand and gets a turnover. They go to the sideline to rest. If the offense is moving at a fast pace and goes three and out, the defense gets very little time to catch a breather. If the offense pops a big play and scores quickly, same thing.
The defense appreciates those long, time eating drives. They keep the ball out of the hand of the other team who can't score, and it gives the defense some time to rest. This was always a factor when the Run 'n Shoot was big at Houston and later with the Oilers. I remember a sixty-something Buddy Ryan at DC punching Kevin Gilbride (the OC) on the sidelines over exactly this. The Oilers turned the ball over when the defense had gotten no time to rest and they had words over it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO3ZfrIldG0
So is the consensus that -- although he likes fast-paced/no-huddle -- BC might be at least a LITTLE concerned about wearing his defense down too much, so he'll slow down some drives with that in mind? Also, any idea what the run/pass ratio of this offense might be? I know he was very run-heavy last year.
My guess (and hope) is that he'll stick with whatever is working. If a slower run-based series is moving the chains and eating up the clock, why switch to a pass? On the other hand, if the QB is hot and the receivers are getting open, quick strikes and hot tempo are fantastic for wreaking havoc on the opposing defense.
I think the last couple of years, McGee was more interested in sticking to his script than adjusting to the realities of the game in front of him, so the team would go three and out via the pass without ever considering a run. Or he'd run up the middle three times for a total of 2 yards even if the receivers were running wide open. He was a shining example of a playstation coach - you can get away with that mess when you set the defensive mode to easy on a video game, but not when there's someone across the field that's actually adjusting to what you do.
I think Clark will take his lumps as well, but at least it shouldn't be for the same reason - mind-numbingly bad play calling every game.
(08-27-2014 09:34 AM)KSUBlazer Wrote: [ -> ]My guess (and hope) is that he'll stick with whatever is working. If a slower run-based series is moving the chains and eating up the clock, why switch to a pass? On the other hand, if the QB is hot and the receivers are getting open, quick strikes and hot tempo are fantastic for wreaking havoc on the opposing defense.
I think the last couple of years, McGee was more interested in sticking to his script than adjusting to the realities of the game in front of him, so the team would go three and out via the pass without ever considering a run. Or he'd run up the middle three times for a total of 2 yards even if the receivers were running wide open. He was a shining example of a playstation coach - you can get away with that mess when you set the defensive mode to easy on a video game, but not when there's someone across the field that's actually adjusting to what you do.
I think Clark will take his lumps as well, but at least it shouldn't be for the same reason - mind-numbingly bad play calling every game.
+1
I agree, the stubborn play-calling was maddening to watch. "Playstation coach" is a perfect description!
Like the game when he ran the ball like 90% of the time after everyone was complaining that he passed it too much. That was crazy.
It was like McGoof was saying "I'll show you know it all's"
That was the MTSU game.......it almost worked though.
A play action once in a while would have broken that game open for us.
(08-27-2014 10:54 AM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote: [ -> ]A play action once in a while would have broken that game open for us.
Big +1 on that. It was there all game.
(08-27-2014 10:54 AM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote: [ -> ]A play action once in a while would have broken that game open for us.
That used to totally pi$$ me off- You run a pro style offense you can't even run a simple play action?????? Geeeeesh.....
Ok, Ok... Those days are over, and will hopefully be a smudge in my bitter-memory banks.
Back to the OP, remember when Buddy Ryan called the Run and Shoot "Chuck and Duck"?
Running a fast pace puts all kind of pressure on the other defense (good).
Running 3-and-out at a fast pace puts all kind of pressure on your own defense (bad).
Running 3 times between the tackles, at the bottom of the play clock, will run upward of 3 minutes off the clock.
Throwing three incomplete passes at the top of it will run maybe as little as half to a third of that.
Sometimes when your offense is hitting on all cylinders at a fast pace the other team tries to duplicate that on offense.
When they can't, your defense can stay off the field.
(08-27-2014 10:49 AM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote: [ -> ]It was like McGoof was saying "I'll show you know it all's"
Exactly. It was one of the most bizaare things I've ever seen in football. It tells you a lot about the person doing it that he was so temperamental that he would change a game plan on the whim of angry fans
I knew the uptempo puts pressure on the defense if the offense racks up 3 & outs. So, basically, Coach is saying, "We're going uptempo and we're going to call plays for that tempo. It's on you, players, not to go 3 & out which nullifies the pressure you could put on the other defense and hurts our own. Go 3 & out, and you're just hurting yourselves."
Obviously, every team tries to avoid 3 & outs. I guess this is a slogany, "Win the Day" way that Clark emphasizes that to his players?
My take is telling the players to hustle back to the line after the play to keep the tempo moving at a rapid pace...