SWC75
Bored Historian
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The Offense
Many people, (including me), had long thought that the Carrier Dome was under-used through most of its history. It seemed the ideal place for a wide-open offense based on speed and tempo, one that would spread the field and use all of its weapons to force the defense to cover everybody and everything, which it could not do. Instead, we had too often tried to grind out victories on the ground, as if we were still playing outdoors in Archbold Stadium. Both Art Briles’ Baylor teams, (with Dino Babers as his assistant through 2011) and Dino’s teams at Eastern Illinois and Bowling Green ran the ball amazingly well but they did it by passing the ball amazingly well first and then hitting the gaps that would open up in the defense as a result and playing at a tempo that the other team couldn’t keep up with. Now we were going to have a state-of-the-art offense that sped past our opposition and wore them out trying to cover everything and play at the pace we would set.
Let’s take a look at the numbers Briles’ teams put up at Baylor and Dino’s at EIU and BG and compare them to what we’ve gotten at Syracuse since Dino came here and see what they can tell us. Briles’ inherited a team that hadn’t had a winning season in 13 years and went 4-8 his first two years just as Dino did. His first year was 2008:
2008 BAYLOR 4W 8L 28.0ppg 195.8 rushing 180.7 passing 376.4 total yards
QB: (with at least 10 throws) Robert Griffin III 160/267 (59.9%) 2,091 yards 15TD 3int 173c 843yds 13TD (I don’t have gross/net or sacks yet)
RB: (with at least 10 carries) Jay Finley 149/865/7, Jacoby Jones 52/203/6, Jeremy Sanders 34/128/1, Ray Sims 31/133/1, Kendall Wright 29/168/1
REC: (with at least 10 receptions) Wright 50/649/5, Thomas White 35/385/2, David Gettis 29/391/0, Justin Akers 14/167/2
Comment: Briles started off with a star quarterback, and Babers did, although RG III was on a level higher than our beloved Eric.
2009 BAYLOR 4W 8L 20.8ppg 100.6 rushing 242.3 passing 342.8 total yards
QB: Nick Florence 165/266 (62.0%) 1,786 yards 6TD 9int 57c/62y/3td Blake Szymanski 55/89 (61.8%) 605y 1TD 5int, 21c/32y/1TD, Griffin 45/69 (65.2%) 481y 4TD 0int 27c/77y/2TD (he tore his ACL in the third game)
RB: Finley 79/370/7, Terrance Ganaway 68/200/5, Jarred Salubi 50/298/2, Wright 28/132/1
REC: Wright 66/740/4, David Gettis 52/675/3, Ernest Smith 39/360/0, Lanear Sampson 29/297/2, Justin Akers 27/249/1, Salubi 19/153/1, Brad Taylor 13/166/1
Comment: It’s interesting that Griffin’s absence impacted the running game much more than the passing game. Also that Briles started out exactly as Babers did here: 4-8, 4-8 and then a big improvement.
2010 BAYLOR 7W 6L 31.2ppg rushing: 194.6 passing: 280.7 total yards: 475.3
QB: Griffin 304/454 (67.0) 3,501 yards 22TDs 8 int 149c/635y/8TD Florence 6/12 (50%) 55y 0TD 0int 2c/7y/0TD
RB: Jay Finley 195/1218/12, Terrance Ganaway 46/295/2, Salubi 26/215/2, Isaac Williams 24/93/0
REC: Kendall Wright 78/952/7, Tevin Reese 45/401/0, Terrence Williams 43/484/4, Josh Gordon 42/714/7, Sampson 42/390/0, Taylor 20/269/2
Comment: they got away from the end-arounds as Wright had only 8 carries for 72 yards. Finley’s big year made them unnecessary.
2011 BAYLOR 10W 3L 45.3ppg rushing: 235.6 passing: 351.5 total yards: 587.1
QB: Griffin 291/402 (72.4) 4,293 yards 37TDs 6 int 179c/699y/10TD Florence 9/12 (75.0%) 151y 2TD 0int, 7c/14y/1TD
RB: Ganaway 250/1,547/21, Salubi 58/331/3, Glasco Martin 40/268/2, Williams 12/29/0, Wright 10/72/0
REC: Wright 108/1,663/14, Williams 59/957/11, Reese 51/877/7, Sampson 42/572/3, Jordan Naivar 15/146/2
Comment: This was Griffin’s Heisman year. It’s interesting that he passed the ball less than in 2008 but did so more efficiently. He actually ran forward for 906 yards but lost 207. Baylor QBs were sacked 29 times for 175 yards. Again, their leading rusher had a huge season, almost as impressive as Griffin’s.
2012 BAYLOR 8W 5L 37.2ppg rushing: 231.7 passing: 340.5 total yards: 572.2
QB: Florence 286/464 (61.6%) 4,309y 33TD 13int, 139c/568y/10TD, Bryce Petty 7/10 (70%) 97yards 1TD 0 int. 10c/13y/1TD
RB: Martin 179/889/15, Salubi 116/464/3, Lache Seastrunk 131/1012/7
REC: Williams 97/1,832/12, Reese 53/957/9, Sampson 52/646/6, Levi Norwood 40/487/1, Antwan Goodley 17/171/2, Naivar 10/80/2
Comment: This was the follow-up year we should have had in 2019. Florence started out as a pocket passer but made himself into a running threat after Griffin had had such success. He had 698 forward yards and 130 backwards. Baylor QBs were sacked only 19 times for 92 yards. While he wasn’t quite as efficient, his passing numbers were comparable. Of course, it helped to have talents like Seastrunk and Williams available.
2013 BAYLOR 11W 2L 52.4ppg rushing: 259.7 passing: 359.1 total yards: 618.8
QB: Bryce Petty 250/403 (62.0%) 4,200yards 32TD 3 int. 94c/209y/14TD, Seth Russell 26/43 (60.5%) 427y 3TD, 3int, 24c/147y/3TD
RB: Seastrunk 158/1177/11, Shock Linwood 128/881/8, Martin 120/509/7, Devin Chafin 51/295/4, Anthony Webb 27/150/0
REC: Goodley 71/1,339/13, Levi Norwood 47/733/8, Reese 38/867/8, Corey Coleman 35/527/2, Clay Fuller 32/512/3, Jay Lee 22/309/1, Robbie Rhodes 10/157/0, Naivar 10/85/0
Comment: Bryce Petty, another guy who was basically a pocket passer, took over. He had another great year passing, (32/3 is amazing). He rushed for 339 forward yards and lost 130. Baylor suffered 22 sacks for 113 yards. (‘Shock’ Linwood?!?)
2014 BAYLOR 11W 2L 48.2ppg rushing: 215.5 passing: 365.9 total yards: 581.5
QB: Bryce Petty 270/428 (63.1%) 3,855yards 29TD 7 int. 84c/(268-167=)101y/6TD, Seth Russell 48/85 (56.5%) 804y 8TD, 1int, 32c/185y/3TD
RB: Shock Linwood 251/1,252/16, Johnny Jefferson 100/524/6, Devin Chafin 80/383/8, Silas Nacta 31/191/3, Coleman 11/53/1
REC: Coleman 64/1,119/11, Goodley 60/830/6, KD Cannon 58/1,030/8, Jay Lee 41/633/6, Levi Norwood 35/319/2, Reese 38/867/8, Davion Hall 15/210/1, Lynx Hawthorne 14/165/2, Clay Fuller 13/194/0
Comment: Bryce Petty, had another great year passing but still wasn’t a big running threat. Baylor suffered 20 sacks for 113 yards. (Lynx Hawthorne ?!?)
2015 BAYLOR 10W 3L 48.1ppg rushing: 327.2 passing: 289.5 total yards: 616.7
QB: Seth Russell 119/200 (59.5%) 2,104y 29TD, 6int, 49c/402y/6TD, Jarrett Stidham 75/109 (68.8%) 1,265y, 12TD 2int, 36c/70y/2TD, Chris Johnson 22/50 (44.0%) 302y 12TD 2int, 34c/116/1TD, Lynx Hawthorne 11/23 (47.8%) 66y 0TD 2int, 17c/179y/2TD
RB: Shock Linwood 196/1,329/10, Johnny Jefferson 136/1,000/8, Devin Chafin 121/578/9, (a different) Terence Williams 88/556/3, Coleman 22/111/1, Hawthorne 17/129/2
REC: Coleman 74/1,363/20, KD Cannon 50/868/6, Lee 38/758/8, Chris Platt 11/155/1, Hawthorne 10/95/1
Comment: Russell suffered a broken neck, (augh!) in game 7 and Stidham took over. Russell had 402 positive yards and just 20 negative yards. Stidham was 121-50=71, Johnson 136-25 = 111 and Hawthorne 148-19 = 129. Baylor had suffered only 15 sacks for 86 yards. This was Briles’ swan song before the off-the-field problems surfaced. In Briles’ last game, the Bears rushed for an incredible 645 yards against North Carolina in a bowl game. Their running game in this season increased by 52%, more than making up for the QB injuries. It’s obvious that Baylor in the Briles Era had very strong offensive lines. That’s why everything worked so well.
Dino Babers inherited what had been a strong DII and then FCS program under Bob Spoo but which had fallen on hard times with consecutive 2-9 seasons.
2012 EASTERN ILLINOIS 7W 6L 36.5ppg rushing: 136.0 passing: 334.9 total yards: 470.9
QB: Jimmy Garoppolo 331/540 (61.3%) 3,823yds 31TD 15int 83 carries for ZERO yards, (gained 221, lost 221: EIU had 29 sacks for 179 yards)
RB: Jake Walker 232/1,153/12, Taylor Duncan 117/481/8
REC: Erik Lora 136/1,664/12, Chris Wright 53/888/11, Chavar Watkins 49/537/4, Sam Hendricks 37/306/2, Von Wise 19/168/1, Jake Walker 18/120/1
Comment: Walker had a nice year but Dino came out passing with Jimmy. The team had obvious #1 guys at both running back and receiver.
2013 EASTERN ILLINOIS 12W 2L 48.9ppg rushing: 219.2 passing: 376.3 total yards: 595.5
QB: Garoppolo 375/568 (66.0%) 5,050yds 53TD 9int 70 carries for 62 yards, (gained 209, lost 147: EIU had 17 sacks for 110 yards), Ben Krol 16/27 (59.3%) 140 yards 0TD/0int, 5carries 15 yards, (24-9=15)
RB: Shepard Little 217/1,551/12, Duncan 217/988/10, Jimmy Lera 64/369/4, AJ Woodson 10/33/0
REC: Lora 123/1,544/19, Adam Drake 85/1305/13, Jeff LePak 51/723/8, Keiondre Gober 48/894/9, Duncan 31/243/0, Little 21/182/2, Ryan Meyer 10/79/2
Comment: This team was Dino’s masterpiece. Will we ever have numbers like that here? 53TD 9int? There were plenty of passes to go around. Jeff Lepak was a 6-6 232 pound tight end. Shepard Little, (a Floyd-like 5-10 197), and Taylor Duncan, (a Csonka-like 6-3 225), both carried the ball 217 times. I asked Dino on his show if they played in tandem: they did not. They alternated for 434 carries, which seems amazing. That’s what happens when you are a first down machine.
Bowling Green has a pretty strong football history at the MAC level and the program had been in good hands with Dave Clawson, now the Wake Forest coach, who went 10-4 in his last year there.
2014 BOWLING GREEN 8W 6L 30.0ppg rushing: 173.0 passing: 259.9 total: 432.9
QB: James Knapke 280/483 (58.0%) 3,173 yards 15TD 12int, 66 carries for (279-129) = 150 150 yards 2TDs, Matt Johnson 25/36 (69.4%), 313 yards 1TD 0 int. 6 carries for (5-26) = -21 yards 6TDs, Cody Callaway 12/26 (46.2%) 153 yards 1TD 1int. 12c (8-34) = -26 yards 0TDs. BG suffered 28 sacks for 171 yards.
RB: Travis Greene 180/985/12, Fred Coppet 141/785/6, Andre Givens 101/495/8, Ronnie Moore 21/145/2, Chris Pohlman 11/24/0
REC: Roger Lewis 73/1093/7, Ryan Burbrink 64/758/3, Moore 56/690/5, Gehrig Dieter 35/460/1, Heath Jackson 34/270/0, Greene 27/175/1
Comment: Johnson was the real starter at quarterback but got injured in the first game. He was clearly not a running quarterback. I like the distribution of the ball to the receivers.
2015 BOWLING GREEN 10W 4L 42.2ppg rushing: 180.0 passing: 366.8 total: 546.8
QB: Johnson 383/569 (67.3%), 4,946 yards 46TD 9 int. 113 carries for (408-249) = 159 yards 4TDs, Knapke 14/20 (70.0%) 173 yards 1TD 0int, 2 carries for (5-1) = 4 yards 0TDs. BG suffered 36 sacks for 224 yards.
RB: Greene 222/1,298/15, Coppet 146/826/9, Donovan Wilson 36/78/7
REC: Gehrig Dieter 94/1,033/10, Lewis 85/1544/16, Moore 72/951/6, Burbrink 56/627/4, Greene 27/237/2, Derek Lee 18/108/3, Teo Redding 13/222/3
Comment: Johnson put up Garoppolo numbers in his second year: 46TD 8 int. Again, there was good distribution among the receivers. The rushing numbers were better, but not on the level of what Baylor was doing in the same year. The sack totals indicate that Dino’s BG lines were not as good as the ones he had at EIU or Briles had at Baylor.
So Dino came here to take over a program than had had three winning seasons in 14 years and had gone 3-9 and 4-8 in the last two years under Scott Shafer.
2016 SYRACUSE 4W 8L 25.7ppg rushing 119.6 passing 321.3 total 440.8
QB: Eric Dungey 230/355 (64.8%) 2,679 yards 15TD 12 int 125 carries (473-180 =) 293 yards 6TDs, Zach Mahoney 82/135 (60.7%) 943 yards 8TD 4int 44 carries (137-90=) 47 yards 2TDs, Austin Wilson 17/27 (63.0%) 0TD 2int, 2 carriers (0-7 =) -7 yards. We gave up 38 sacks for 220 yards.
RB: Dontae Strickland 162/588/4, Moe Neal 68/376/2, Jordan Fredricks 28/148/0
REC: Amba Etta-Tawo 94/1,482/14, Ervin Phillips 90/913/8, Steve Ismael 48/558/1, Brisly Estime 48/518/3, Strickland 21/132/0, Sean Riley 11/109/0
Comments: Our first offense of the Babers Era was better than I remember. Dungey’s numbers are similar to Knapke’s in Dino’s first year at BG and Dungey could run the ball much better than Knapke. We lacked the running game Baylor, EIU and BG generated but had some fabulous receivers. I wish we had those guys now.
2017 SYRACUSE 4W 8L 27.4ppg rushing 161.5 passing 294.8 total 456.3
QB: Dungey 225/377 (64.8%) 2,495 yards 14TD 9 int 143 carries (787-192 =) 595 yards 9TDs, Mahoney 46/90 (51.1%) 471 yards 3TD 4int 15 carries (59-15=) 44 yards 0TDs, Rex Culpepper 45/75 (60.0%) 518yards 2TD 3int 21 carries (88-34 =) 54 yards 0TDs We gave up 32 sacks for 194 yards.
RB: Strickland 128/482/4, Neal 92/488/1, Pierre 25/89/0 Chris Elmore 23/56/1, Phillips 11/79/3
REC: Ismael 105/1,347/7, Phillips 89/904/4, Devin Butler 33/327/1, Ravian Pierce 29/263/4, Strickland 18/142/2, Neal 12/170/1
Comments: Dungey had another good year by SU standards but was far short of the standards set by Dino’s previous quarterbacks. His running numbers were close to those of Griffin’s. But all those catches by Ismael and Phillips didn’t produce very many touchdowns. We still didn’t have much of a running game and were giving up too many sacks. Dino started at SU the same way Briles started at Baylor: 4-8, 4-8 and then a breakthrough.
2018 SYRACUSE 10W 3L 40.2ppg rushing 199.2 passing 264.7 total 463.9
QB: Dungey 226/371 (60.9%) 2,868 yards 18TD 9 int 184 carries (949-195 =) 754 yards 15TDs, Tommy DeVito 44/87 (50.6%) 525yards 4TD 3int 23 carries (62-79 =) -17 yards 1TD. We gave up 37 sacks for 243 yards.
RB: Neal 155/878/5, Strickland 121/606/6, Howard 68/327/7
REC: Riley 64/756/3 Jamal Custis 51/906/6, Nykeim Johnson 41/565/4, Taj Harris 40/565/3, Pierce 16/105/3, Strickland 15/94/0, Butler 14/126/0, Neal 13/128/0
Comments: Dungey’s passing was about the same as the previous two years. He never turned into Jimmy Garoppolo or Matt Johnson. His running became a powerful force, (he didn’t scramble: he looked to run people over like a fullback). In fact SU’s improved running game was the big reason the offense was more productive, although it still didn’t reach Baylor/EIU/BG levels. I like the way our passing game spread the ball around with four guys with 40+ catches. Ravian Pierce went from 29 catches to 16 because he missed three games.
2019 SYRACUSE 5W 7L 28.3ppg rushing 154.0 passing 240.6 total 394.6
QB: DeVito 213/337 (63.2%) 2,360 yards 19TD 5 int 112 carries (396-274 =) 122 yards 2TDs, Clayton Welch 36/68 (52.9%) 523 yards 4TDs 2int, 20 carries (94-36 =) 58 yards 0TDs. We gave up 50 sacks for 297 yards.
RB: Neal 170/846/7, Adams 87/346/3, Howard 76/352/3, Jawhar Jordan 15/108/1
REC: Triston Jackson 66/1023/11, Harris 37/559/2, Riley 36/275/2, Neal 29/242/0, Hackett 23/205/6, Nykeim Johnson 19/99/0, Adams 15/141/0 (Luke Benson had 8/176/3, including a 70 yarder)
Comments: We did pretty well, considering the 50 sacks, which was 127th in the country, (of 130 teams). Neal had another good season and Adams/Howard taken together had a decent year. Tommy had 19TD/5int, which was better than Dungey ever did. But he was supposed to be the Garoppolo/Johnson of Dino’s Syracuse tenure and he wasn’t, primarily due to the 50 sacks.
2020 SYRACUSE 1W 10L 17.8ppg rushing 92.0 passing 173.2 total 265.3
QB: Culpepper 94/190 (49.5%) 1,028 yards 9TD 8 int 26 carries (28-92 =) -64 yards 0TDs, Tommy DeVito 48/96 (50.0%) 593 yards 4TD 2int, 43 carries (135 -112 =) 23 yards 0TDs JaCobian Morgan 31/49 (63.3%) 285 yards 2TDs 2int. 12 carries (16-44) = -25 yards. We gave up 38 sacks for 297 yards.
RB: Sean Tucker 137/674/4, Cooper Lutz 43/255/1, Jawhar Jordan 29/77/0, Pierre 21/52/0
REC: Harris 58/733/5, Anthony Queeley 37/378/2, Nykeim Johnson 20/323/4, Courtney Jackson 10/69/0, Hackett 10/63/2 (Luke Benson had 6/63/2, including a 59 yarder)
Comments: I often jokingly tell people that I was glad my dreams are so weird that I won’t waste a moment of my life trying to figure them out. That’s the way I feel about the 2020, which was such a parade of ridiculously bad news that you really can’t judge the team or the program based on this year. But judgements will be made and we need to bury this year under an avalanche of victories. Covid opt-outs, a re-drawing of the schedule to our disadvantage, a wave of injuries including a back-up wide receiver bumping into a first team All-America safety, ending his season and his career here. Any time Rex Culpepper becomes your leading passer, (God bless you Rex), you are in trouble. The numbers are just so bad you can’t do anything meaningful with them.
Looking at these numbers, I don’t think we’ve seen the full Dino Babers offense here. The big thing that’s held it back is obvious: we haven’t had a good offensive line. That group may have been adequate in 2018 but even then they weren’t dominant. Really, any offensive scheme is going to work behind a dominant line: all the plays look like they are diagramed on a blackboard. But with this offense, the quarterback can really pick a defense apart and the running backs have room to roam in the resulting gaps that appear in the defense. The team can manufacture first downs consistently, which enables them to run huge numbers of plays, (including two running backs who alternate both having 217 carries) and wear the defense down while building up leads that enable the defense to play aggressively. Your place kicker will win awards while the punter will be a ”break glass in case of emergency” guy. Your quarterback doesn’t need to be a dual threat guy and he isn’t going to have to scramble and throw on the run.
But if you’ve got problems on the line, you need a dual threat quarterback who can get away from a rush and act like a basketball point guard on the break when the play breaks down, a guy with the judgement to avoid turnovers but still make big plays when things have gone wrong. You need more than one running threat so the defense can’t key on the same guy. If you aren’t going to have two running backs, the quarterback is going to have to be your second running back.
I know it’s pointless, but if there was ever a time to have a scheme that allows us to have two running backs on the field at once, this is it for SU. The deepest area of the team at running back. Abdul Adams and Jarveon Howard are back after opting out of last year due to Covid and unrealized dreams of being drafted by the pros, (they also managed to skip a 1-10 season). Sean Tucker became a star even for a bad team. He seems to be our best combination of speed, power and moves. Cooper Lutz, a high school running back switched to wideout, switched back in the emergency, proved to be a versatile runner and pass catcher. And here comes Josh Hough a 6-3 255 monster who looked like Derrick Henry in high school, breaking away for long scores on seemingly every play. Hough as a traditional fullback running between the tackles and Tucker as a traditional halfback running to the outside or catching passes to get him on an island would be dynamic. Adams or Howard could probably play either position. But, of course, we will have them all in one position, like peas in a pod. Imagine if we took all of our receivers and put them at one position and whoever was in the game at that one position would be the only guy we would throw to. That would be Taj Harris, backed by Anthony Queeley, Damien Alford, Courtney Jackson and Luke Benson, etc. Would that be the best way to use those players? In one game last year, Tucker had a good game with 93 yards. SU’s rushing total? 93 yards. That’s a good game for a player but a lousy game for a team. We need to get running yards from another source. And if that source is our quarterback, we’re putting him at risk. Dino has said he doesn’t like running quarterbacks for that reason. But you can’t get all of your rushing from one spot any more than you can get all of your passing from one position – unless you have a dominant line that can make any play work.
I’ve been told that linemen can’t learn to block for two backs because it’s a completely different scheme. For years I saw offenses go with two running backs on 1st and 2nd down and pull one of them for third down passing plays or a two-minute offense. How did they block that? I’ve been told the game “has advanced”. But football strategy is cyclical. The middle linebacker and nose tackle appear, disappear and come back. So does the option. Defenses get geared to stop what offenses are doing. If you throw something at them they are not geared to stop, you gain an advantage over them. Remember the Wildcat? If we at least had the capability to use two backs at once, it would present defense with a challenge they aren’t prepared for. And halfbacks can catch passes as well as slot receivers, often on similar routes. How about these guys:
Lenny Moore Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com
Timmy Brown Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com
Abner Haynes Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com
Terry Metcalf Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com
Wilbert Montgomery Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com
Oh, and: Floyd Little Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com
All those guys played with fullbacks. Could Sean Tucker be that guy for us at this level?
One more consideration: the transfer portal. If Tucker, Adams and Howard get all the carries this year, is Josh Hough going to look elsewhere? With two running back spots, you can get more running backs more action. It’s a consideration in all sports at all spots. Use ‘em or lose ‘em. Enough of my annual rant. What do I know, anyway?
Update: What I didn’t know is that Josh was going to be seen on the sidelines at practice on crutches with a brace on his knee. Still Howard, Adams and Tucker could alternate in a two back set……
Let’s look at pass distribution. I want an offense that uses the whole field and all of their weapons, (4-5 different positions, not just one), to stretch the defense in every way, not just horizontally. That should be reflected in the number of catches by each of the receivers. I limited this to receivers with at least 10 catches but I totaled the number of catches by those guys and then figured out the percentage of each to factor out differences in the numbers of passes thrown to each each year.
Baylor 2008 39%/27%/23%/11%
Baylor 2009 27/21/16/12/11/8/5
Baylor 2010 29/17/16/16/16/7
Baylor 2011 39/21/19/15/5
Baylor 2012 36/20/19/15/6/4
Baylor 2013 27/18/14/13/12/8/4,4
Baylor 2014 19/18/17/12/10/4/4/4
Baylor 2015 40/27/21/6/5
E Illinois 2012 44/17/16/12/6/6
E Illinois 2013 33/23/14/13/8/6/3
B Green 2014 25/22/19/12/12/9
B Green 2015 26/23/20/15/7/5/4
Syracuse 2016 30/29/15/15/7/4
Syracuse 2017 37/31/12/10/6/4
Syracuse 2018 25/20/16/16/6/6/6/5
Syracuse 2019 29/16/16/13/10/8/7/
Syracuse 2020 43/27/15/7/7
This confirms my general impression that it’s best to spread the ball around. Dino says that he likes a “bell cow” receiver: a clear #1 guy for the QB to look for. I think that’s true if you have a truly exceptional talent like Amba Etta Tawo, (I still don’t why he didn’t make it in the NFL: he was a good as I’ve ever seen here). But if you don’t, you need to make the defense cover everybody -and everywhere. And that includes the tight end. In the Super Bowl, each team had a #87: Rob Gronkowski and Travis Kelce. They were their team’s leading receivers with a total of 16 catches for 200 yards and 2TDs. We have a #87, too, Luke Benson who in two years has 14/237/5. 36% of his catches have bene for touchdowns, including scores from 70 and 59 yards out. What is the purpose of throwing to the sidelines to stretch the defense if you are almost ignore a tight end who can catch the ball over the middle and take it the distance? Our tendency to try to spread the field with almost exclusively sideline passes reminds me of when Pasqualoni and DeLeone used to run the nearside option constantly to set up an occasional play to the opposite side. It might result in a big play from time to time but we need to make first downs and sustain drives and making easy-to-defend plays basic to your offense makes it hard to do that. The sideline is the greatest defender of all time. It can’t be blocked and anyone running a route along it can be double-teamed with one guy. Use all your weapons and the whole field. And your basic plays should be designed to consistently gain yardage, not just set up other plays that will do so.
Many people, (including me), had long thought that the Carrier Dome was under-used through most of its history. It seemed the ideal place for a wide-open offense based on speed and tempo, one that would spread the field and use all of its weapons to force the defense to cover everybody and everything, which it could not do. Instead, we had too often tried to grind out victories on the ground, as if we were still playing outdoors in Archbold Stadium. Both Art Briles’ Baylor teams, (with Dino Babers as his assistant through 2011) and Dino’s teams at Eastern Illinois and Bowling Green ran the ball amazingly well but they did it by passing the ball amazingly well first and then hitting the gaps that would open up in the defense as a result and playing at a tempo that the other team couldn’t keep up with. Now we were going to have a state-of-the-art offense that sped past our opposition and wore them out trying to cover everything and play at the pace we would set.
Let’s take a look at the numbers Briles’ teams put up at Baylor and Dino’s at EIU and BG and compare them to what we’ve gotten at Syracuse since Dino came here and see what they can tell us. Briles’ inherited a team that hadn’t had a winning season in 13 years and went 4-8 his first two years just as Dino did. His first year was 2008:
2008 BAYLOR 4W 8L 28.0ppg 195.8 rushing 180.7 passing 376.4 total yards
QB: (with at least 10 throws) Robert Griffin III 160/267 (59.9%) 2,091 yards 15TD 3int 173c 843yds 13TD (I don’t have gross/net or sacks yet)
RB: (with at least 10 carries) Jay Finley 149/865/7, Jacoby Jones 52/203/6, Jeremy Sanders 34/128/1, Ray Sims 31/133/1, Kendall Wright 29/168/1
REC: (with at least 10 receptions) Wright 50/649/5, Thomas White 35/385/2, David Gettis 29/391/0, Justin Akers 14/167/2
Comment: Briles started off with a star quarterback, and Babers did, although RG III was on a level higher than our beloved Eric.
2009 BAYLOR 4W 8L 20.8ppg 100.6 rushing 242.3 passing 342.8 total yards
QB: Nick Florence 165/266 (62.0%) 1,786 yards 6TD 9int 57c/62y/3td Blake Szymanski 55/89 (61.8%) 605y 1TD 5int, 21c/32y/1TD, Griffin 45/69 (65.2%) 481y 4TD 0int 27c/77y/2TD (he tore his ACL in the third game)
RB: Finley 79/370/7, Terrance Ganaway 68/200/5, Jarred Salubi 50/298/2, Wright 28/132/1
REC: Wright 66/740/4, David Gettis 52/675/3, Ernest Smith 39/360/0, Lanear Sampson 29/297/2, Justin Akers 27/249/1, Salubi 19/153/1, Brad Taylor 13/166/1
Comment: It’s interesting that Griffin’s absence impacted the running game much more than the passing game. Also that Briles started out exactly as Babers did here: 4-8, 4-8 and then a big improvement.
2010 BAYLOR 7W 6L 31.2ppg rushing: 194.6 passing: 280.7 total yards: 475.3
QB: Griffin 304/454 (67.0) 3,501 yards 22TDs 8 int 149c/635y/8TD Florence 6/12 (50%) 55y 0TD 0int 2c/7y/0TD
RB: Jay Finley 195/1218/12, Terrance Ganaway 46/295/2, Salubi 26/215/2, Isaac Williams 24/93/0
REC: Kendall Wright 78/952/7, Tevin Reese 45/401/0, Terrence Williams 43/484/4, Josh Gordon 42/714/7, Sampson 42/390/0, Taylor 20/269/2
Comment: they got away from the end-arounds as Wright had only 8 carries for 72 yards. Finley’s big year made them unnecessary.
2011 BAYLOR 10W 3L 45.3ppg rushing: 235.6 passing: 351.5 total yards: 587.1
QB: Griffin 291/402 (72.4) 4,293 yards 37TDs 6 int 179c/699y/10TD Florence 9/12 (75.0%) 151y 2TD 0int, 7c/14y/1TD
RB: Ganaway 250/1,547/21, Salubi 58/331/3, Glasco Martin 40/268/2, Williams 12/29/0, Wright 10/72/0
REC: Wright 108/1,663/14, Williams 59/957/11, Reese 51/877/7, Sampson 42/572/3, Jordan Naivar 15/146/2
Comment: This was Griffin’s Heisman year. It’s interesting that he passed the ball less than in 2008 but did so more efficiently. He actually ran forward for 906 yards but lost 207. Baylor QBs were sacked 29 times for 175 yards. Again, their leading rusher had a huge season, almost as impressive as Griffin’s.
2012 BAYLOR 8W 5L 37.2ppg rushing: 231.7 passing: 340.5 total yards: 572.2
QB: Florence 286/464 (61.6%) 4,309y 33TD 13int, 139c/568y/10TD, Bryce Petty 7/10 (70%) 97yards 1TD 0 int. 10c/13y/1TD
RB: Martin 179/889/15, Salubi 116/464/3, Lache Seastrunk 131/1012/7
REC: Williams 97/1,832/12, Reese 53/957/9, Sampson 52/646/6, Levi Norwood 40/487/1, Antwan Goodley 17/171/2, Naivar 10/80/2
Comment: This was the follow-up year we should have had in 2019. Florence started out as a pocket passer but made himself into a running threat after Griffin had had such success. He had 698 forward yards and 130 backwards. Baylor QBs were sacked only 19 times for 92 yards. While he wasn’t quite as efficient, his passing numbers were comparable. Of course, it helped to have talents like Seastrunk and Williams available.
2013 BAYLOR 11W 2L 52.4ppg rushing: 259.7 passing: 359.1 total yards: 618.8
QB: Bryce Petty 250/403 (62.0%) 4,200yards 32TD 3 int. 94c/209y/14TD, Seth Russell 26/43 (60.5%) 427y 3TD, 3int, 24c/147y/3TD
RB: Seastrunk 158/1177/11, Shock Linwood 128/881/8, Martin 120/509/7, Devin Chafin 51/295/4, Anthony Webb 27/150/0
REC: Goodley 71/1,339/13, Levi Norwood 47/733/8, Reese 38/867/8, Corey Coleman 35/527/2, Clay Fuller 32/512/3, Jay Lee 22/309/1, Robbie Rhodes 10/157/0, Naivar 10/85/0
Comment: Bryce Petty, another guy who was basically a pocket passer, took over. He had another great year passing, (32/3 is amazing). He rushed for 339 forward yards and lost 130. Baylor suffered 22 sacks for 113 yards. (‘Shock’ Linwood?!?)
2014 BAYLOR 11W 2L 48.2ppg rushing: 215.5 passing: 365.9 total yards: 581.5
QB: Bryce Petty 270/428 (63.1%) 3,855yards 29TD 7 int. 84c/(268-167=)101y/6TD, Seth Russell 48/85 (56.5%) 804y 8TD, 1int, 32c/185y/3TD
RB: Shock Linwood 251/1,252/16, Johnny Jefferson 100/524/6, Devin Chafin 80/383/8, Silas Nacta 31/191/3, Coleman 11/53/1
REC: Coleman 64/1,119/11, Goodley 60/830/6, KD Cannon 58/1,030/8, Jay Lee 41/633/6, Levi Norwood 35/319/2, Reese 38/867/8, Davion Hall 15/210/1, Lynx Hawthorne 14/165/2, Clay Fuller 13/194/0
Comment: Bryce Petty, had another great year passing but still wasn’t a big running threat. Baylor suffered 20 sacks for 113 yards. (Lynx Hawthorne ?!?)
2015 BAYLOR 10W 3L 48.1ppg rushing: 327.2 passing: 289.5 total yards: 616.7
QB: Seth Russell 119/200 (59.5%) 2,104y 29TD, 6int, 49c/402y/6TD, Jarrett Stidham 75/109 (68.8%) 1,265y, 12TD 2int, 36c/70y/2TD, Chris Johnson 22/50 (44.0%) 302y 12TD 2int, 34c/116/1TD, Lynx Hawthorne 11/23 (47.8%) 66y 0TD 2int, 17c/179y/2TD
RB: Shock Linwood 196/1,329/10, Johnny Jefferson 136/1,000/8, Devin Chafin 121/578/9, (a different) Terence Williams 88/556/3, Coleman 22/111/1, Hawthorne 17/129/2
REC: Coleman 74/1,363/20, KD Cannon 50/868/6, Lee 38/758/8, Chris Platt 11/155/1, Hawthorne 10/95/1
Comment: Russell suffered a broken neck, (augh!) in game 7 and Stidham took over. Russell had 402 positive yards and just 20 negative yards. Stidham was 121-50=71, Johnson 136-25 = 111 and Hawthorne 148-19 = 129. Baylor had suffered only 15 sacks for 86 yards. This was Briles’ swan song before the off-the-field problems surfaced. In Briles’ last game, the Bears rushed for an incredible 645 yards against North Carolina in a bowl game. Their running game in this season increased by 52%, more than making up for the QB injuries. It’s obvious that Baylor in the Briles Era had very strong offensive lines. That’s why everything worked so well.
Dino Babers inherited what had been a strong DII and then FCS program under Bob Spoo but which had fallen on hard times with consecutive 2-9 seasons.
2012 EASTERN ILLINOIS 7W 6L 36.5ppg rushing: 136.0 passing: 334.9 total yards: 470.9
QB: Jimmy Garoppolo 331/540 (61.3%) 3,823yds 31TD 15int 83 carries for ZERO yards, (gained 221, lost 221: EIU had 29 sacks for 179 yards)
RB: Jake Walker 232/1,153/12, Taylor Duncan 117/481/8
REC: Erik Lora 136/1,664/12, Chris Wright 53/888/11, Chavar Watkins 49/537/4, Sam Hendricks 37/306/2, Von Wise 19/168/1, Jake Walker 18/120/1
Comment: Walker had a nice year but Dino came out passing with Jimmy. The team had obvious #1 guys at both running back and receiver.
2013 EASTERN ILLINOIS 12W 2L 48.9ppg rushing: 219.2 passing: 376.3 total yards: 595.5
QB: Garoppolo 375/568 (66.0%) 5,050yds 53TD 9int 70 carries for 62 yards, (gained 209, lost 147: EIU had 17 sacks for 110 yards), Ben Krol 16/27 (59.3%) 140 yards 0TD/0int, 5carries 15 yards, (24-9=15)
RB: Shepard Little 217/1,551/12, Duncan 217/988/10, Jimmy Lera 64/369/4, AJ Woodson 10/33/0
REC: Lora 123/1,544/19, Adam Drake 85/1305/13, Jeff LePak 51/723/8, Keiondre Gober 48/894/9, Duncan 31/243/0, Little 21/182/2, Ryan Meyer 10/79/2
Comment: This team was Dino’s masterpiece. Will we ever have numbers like that here? 53TD 9int? There were plenty of passes to go around. Jeff Lepak was a 6-6 232 pound tight end. Shepard Little, (a Floyd-like 5-10 197), and Taylor Duncan, (a Csonka-like 6-3 225), both carried the ball 217 times. I asked Dino on his show if they played in tandem: they did not. They alternated for 434 carries, which seems amazing. That’s what happens when you are a first down machine.
Bowling Green has a pretty strong football history at the MAC level and the program had been in good hands with Dave Clawson, now the Wake Forest coach, who went 10-4 in his last year there.
2014 BOWLING GREEN 8W 6L 30.0ppg rushing: 173.0 passing: 259.9 total: 432.9
QB: James Knapke 280/483 (58.0%) 3,173 yards 15TD 12int, 66 carries for (279-129) = 150 150 yards 2TDs, Matt Johnson 25/36 (69.4%), 313 yards 1TD 0 int. 6 carries for (5-26) = -21 yards 6TDs, Cody Callaway 12/26 (46.2%) 153 yards 1TD 1int. 12c (8-34) = -26 yards 0TDs. BG suffered 28 sacks for 171 yards.
RB: Travis Greene 180/985/12, Fred Coppet 141/785/6, Andre Givens 101/495/8, Ronnie Moore 21/145/2, Chris Pohlman 11/24/0
REC: Roger Lewis 73/1093/7, Ryan Burbrink 64/758/3, Moore 56/690/5, Gehrig Dieter 35/460/1, Heath Jackson 34/270/0, Greene 27/175/1
Comment: Johnson was the real starter at quarterback but got injured in the first game. He was clearly not a running quarterback. I like the distribution of the ball to the receivers.
2015 BOWLING GREEN 10W 4L 42.2ppg rushing: 180.0 passing: 366.8 total: 546.8
QB: Johnson 383/569 (67.3%), 4,946 yards 46TD 9 int. 113 carries for (408-249) = 159 yards 4TDs, Knapke 14/20 (70.0%) 173 yards 1TD 0int, 2 carries for (5-1) = 4 yards 0TDs. BG suffered 36 sacks for 224 yards.
RB: Greene 222/1,298/15, Coppet 146/826/9, Donovan Wilson 36/78/7
REC: Gehrig Dieter 94/1,033/10, Lewis 85/1544/16, Moore 72/951/6, Burbrink 56/627/4, Greene 27/237/2, Derek Lee 18/108/3, Teo Redding 13/222/3
Comment: Johnson put up Garoppolo numbers in his second year: 46TD 8 int. Again, there was good distribution among the receivers. The rushing numbers were better, but not on the level of what Baylor was doing in the same year. The sack totals indicate that Dino’s BG lines were not as good as the ones he had at EIU or Briles had at Baylor.
So Dino came here to take over a program than had had three winning seasons in 14 years and had gone 3-9 and 4-8 in the last two years under Scott Shafer.
2016 SYRACUSE 4W 8L 25.7ppg rushing 119.6 passing 321.3 total 440.8
QB: Eric Dungey 230/355 (64.8%) 2,679 yards 15TD 12 int 125 carries (473-180 =) 293 yards 6TDs, Zach Mahoney 82/135 (60.7%) 943 yards 8TD 4int 44 carries (137-90=) 47 yards 2TDs, Austin Wilson 17/27 (63.0%) 0TD 2int, 2 carriers (0-7 =) -7 yards. We gave up 38 sacks for 220 yards.
RB: Dontae Strickland 162/588/4, Moe Neal 68/376/2, Jordan Fredricks 28/148/0
REC: Amba Etta-Tawo 94/1,482/14, Ervin Phillips 90/913/8, Steve Ismael 48/558/1, Brisly Estime 48/518/3, Strickland 21/132/0, Sean Riley 11/109/0
Comments: Our first offense of the Babers Era was better than I remember. Dungey’s numbers are similar to Knapke’s in Dino’s first year at BG and Dungey could run the ball much better than Knapke. We lacked the running game Baylor, EIU and BG generated but had some fabulous receivers. I wish we had those guys now.
2017 SYRACUSE 4W 8L 27.4ppg rushing 161.5 passing 294.8 total 456.3
QB: Dungey 225/377 (64.8%) 2,495 yards 14TD 9 int 143 carries (787-192 =) 595 yards 9TDs, Mahoney 46/90 (51.1%) 471 yards 3TD 4int 15 carries (59-15=) 44 yards 0TDs, Rex Culpepper 45/75 (60.0%) 518yards 2TD 3int 21 carries (88-34 =) 54 yards 0TDs We gave up 32 sacks for 194 yards.
RB: Strickland 128/482/4, Neal 92/488/1, Pierre 25/89/0 Chris Elmore 23/56/1, Phillips 11/79/3
REC: Ismael 105/1,347/7, Phillips 89/904/4, Devin Butler 33/327/1, Ravian Pierce 29/263/4, Strickland 18/142/2, Neal 12/170/1
Comments: Dungey had another good year by SU standards but was far short of the standards set by Dino’s previous quarterbacks. His running numbers were close to those of Griffin’s. But all those catches by Ismael and Phillips didn’t produce very many touchdowns. We still didn’t have much of a running game and were giving up too many sacks. Dino started at SU the same way Briles started at Baylor: 4-8, 4-8 and then a breakthrough.
2018 SYRACUSE 10W 3L 40.2ppg rushing 199.2 passing 264.7 total 463.9
QB: Dungey 226/371 (60.9%) 2,868 yards 18TD 9 int 184 carries (949-195 =) 754 yards 15TDs, Tommy DeVito 44/87 (50.6%) 525yards 4TD 3int 23 carries (62-79 =) -17 yards 1TD. We gave up 37 sacks for 243 yards.
RB: Neal 155/878/5, Strickland 121/606/6, Howard 68/327/7
REC: Riley 64/756/3 Jamal Custis 51/906/6, Nykeim Johnson 41/565/4, Taj Harris 40/565/3, Pierce 16/105/3, Strickland 15/94/0, Butler 14/126/0, Neal 13/128/0
Comments: Dungey’s passing was about the same as the previous two years. He never turned into Jimmy Garoppolo or Matt Johnson. His running became a powerful force, (he didn’t scramble: he looked to run people over like a fullback). In fact SU’s improved running game was the big reason the offense was more productive, although it still didn’t reach Baylor/EIU/BG levels. I like the way our passing game spread the ball around with four guys with 40+ catches. Ravian Pierce went from 29 catches to 16 because he missed three games.
2019 SYRACUSE 5W 7L 28.3ppg rushing 154.0 passing 240.6 total 394.6
QB: DeVito 213/337 (63.2%) 2,360 yards 19TD 5 int 112 carries (396-274 =) 122 yards 2TDs, Clayton Welch 36/68 (52.9%) 523 yards 4TDs 2int, 20 carries (94-36 =) 58 yards 0TDs. We gave up 50 sacks for 297 yards.
RB: Neal 170/846/7, Adams 87/346/3, Howard 76/352/3, Jawhar Jordan 15/108/1
REC: Triston Jackson 66/1023/11, Harris 37/559/2, Riley 36/275/2, Neal 29/242/0, Hackett 23/205/6, Nykeim Johnson 19/99/0, Adams 15/141/0 (Luke Benson had 8/176/3, including a 70 yarder)
Comments: We did pretty well, considering the 50 sacks, which was 127th in the country, (of 130 teams). Neal had another good season and Adams/Howard taken together had a decent year. Tommy had 19TD/5int, which was better than Dungey ever did. But he was supposed to be the Garoppolo/Johnson of Dino’s Syracuse tenure and he wasn’t, primarily due to the 50 sacks.
2020 SYRACUSE 1W 10L 17.8ppg rushing 92.0 passing 173.2 total 265.3
QB: Culpepper 94/190 (49.5%) 1,028 yards 9TD 8 int 26 carries (28-92 =) -64 yards 0TDs, Tommy DeVito 48/96 (50.0%) 593 yards 4TD 2int, 43 carries (135 -112 =) 23 yards 0TDs JaCobian Morgan 31/49 (63.3%) 285 yards 2TDs 2int. 12 carries (16-44) = -25 yards. We gave up 38 sacks for 297 yards.
RB: Sean Tucker 137/674/4, Cooper Lutz 43/255/1, Jawhar Jordan 29/77/0, Pierre 21/52/0
REC: Harris 58/733/5, Anthony Queeley 37/378/2, Nykeim Johnson 20/323/4, Courtney Jackson 10/69/0, Hackett 10/63/2 (Luke Benson had 6/63/2, including a 59 yarder)
Comments: I often jokingly tell people that I was glad my dreams are so weird that I won’t waste a moment of my life trying to figure them out. That’s the way I feel about the 2020, which was such a parade of ridiculously bad news that you really can’t judge the team or the program based on this year. But judgements will be made and we need to bury this year under an avalanche of victories. Covid opt-outs, a re-drawing of the schedule to our disadvantage, a wave of injuries including a back-up wide receiver bumping into a first team All-America safety, ending his season and his career here. Any time Rex Culpepper becomes your leading passer, (God bless you Rex), you are in trouble. The numbers are just so bad you can’t do anything meaningful with them.
Looking at these numbers, I don’t think we’ve seen the full Dino Babers offense here. The big thing that’s held it back is obvious: we haven’t had a good offensive line. That group may have been adequate in 2018 but even then they weren’t dominant. Really, any offensive scheme is going to work behind a dominant line: all the plays look like they are diagramed on a blackboard. But with this offense, the quarterback can really pick a defense apart and the running backs have room to roam in the resulting gaps that appear in the defense. The team can manufacture first downs consistently, which enables them to run huge numbers of plays, (including two running backs who alternate both having 217 carries) and wear the defense down while building up leads that enable the defense to play aggressively. Your place kicker will win awards while the punter will be a ”break glass in case of emergency” guy. Your quarterback doesn’t need to be a dual threat guy and he isn’t going to have to scramble and throw on the run.
But if you’ve got problems on the line, you need a dual threat quarterback who can get away from a rush and act like a basketball point guard on the break when the play breaks down, a guy with the judgement to avoid turnovers but still make big plays when things have gone wrong. You need more than one running threat so the defense can’t key on the same guy. If you aren’t going to have two running backs, the quarterback is going to have to be your second running back.
I know it’s pointless, but if there was ever a time to have a scheme that allows us to have two running backs on the field at once, this is it for SU. The deepest area of the team at running back. Abdul Adams and Jarveon Howard are back after opting out of last year due to Covid and unrealized dreams of being drafted by the pros, (they also managed to skip a 1-10 season). Sean Tucker became a star even for a bad team. He seems to be our best combination of speed, power and moves. Cooper Lutz, a high school running back switched to wideout, switched back in the emergency, proved to be a versatile runner and pass catcher. And here comes Josh Hough a 6-3 255 monster who looked like Derrick Henry in high school, breaking away for long scores on seemingly every play. Hough as a traditional fullback running between the tackles and Tucker as a traditional halfback running to the outside or catching passes to get him on an island would be dynamic. Adams or Howard could probably play either position. But, of course, we will have them all in one position, like peas in a pod. Imagine if we took all of our receivers and put them at one position and whoever was in the game at that one position would be the only guy we would throw to. That would be Taj Harris, backed by Anthony Queeley, Damien Alford, Courtney Jackson and Luke Benson, etc. Would that be the best way to use those players? In one game last year, Tucker had a good game with 93 yards. SU’s rushing total? 93 yards. That’s a good game for a player but a lousy game for a team. We need to get running yards from another source. And if that source is our quarterback, we’re putting him at risk. Dino has said he doesn’t like running quarterbacks for that reason. But you can’t get all of your rushing from one spot any more than you can get all of your passing from one position – unless you have a dominant line that can make any play work.
I’ve been told that linemen can’t learn to block for two backs because it’s a completely different scheme. For years I saw offenses go with two running backs on 1st and 2nd down and pull one of them for third down passing plays or a two-minute offense. How did they block that? I’ve been told the game “has advanced”. But football strategy is cyclical. The middle linebacker and nose tackle appear, disappear and come back. So does the option. Defenses get geared to stop what offenses are doing. If you throw something at them they are not geared to stop, you gain an advantage over them. Remember the Wildcat? If we at least had the capability to use two backs at once, it would present defense with a challenge they aren’t prepared for. And halfbacks can catch passes as well as slot receivers, often on similar routes. How about these guys:
Lenny Moore Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com
Timmy Brown Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com
Abner Haynes Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com
Terry Metcalf Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com
Wilbert Montgomery Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com
Oh, and: Floyd Little Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com
All those guys played with fullbacks. Could Sean Tucker be that guy for us at this level?
One more consideration: the transfer portal. If Tucker, Adams and Howard get all the carries this year, is Josh Hough going to look elsewhere? With two running back spots, you can get more running backs more action. It’s a consideration in all sports at all spots. Use ‘em or lose ‘em. Enough of my annual rant. What do I know, anyway?
Update: What I didn’t know is that Josh was going to be seen on the sidelines at practice on crutches with a brace on his knee. Still Howard, Adams and Tucker could alternate in a two back set……
Let’s look at pass distribution. I want an offense that uses the whole field and all of their weapons, (4-5 different positions, not just one), to stretch the defense in every way, not just horizontally. That should be reflected in the number of catches by each of the receivers. I limited this to receivers with at least 10 catches but I totaled the number of catches by those guys and then figured out the percentage of each to factor out differences in the numbers of passes thrown to each each year.
Baylor 2008 39%/27%/23%/11%
Baylor 2009 27/21/16/12/11/8/5
Baylor 2010 29/17/16/16/16/7
Baylor 2011 39/21/19/15/5
Baylor 2012 36/20/19/15/6/4
Baylor 2013 27/18/14/13/12/8/4,4
Baylor 2014 19/18/17/12/10/4/4/4
Baylor 2015 40/27/21/6/5
E Illinois 2012 44/17/16/12/6/6
E Illinois 2013 33/23/14/13/8/6/3
B Green 2014 25/22/19/12/12/9
B Green 2015 26/23/20/15/7/5/4
Syracuse 2016 30/29/15/15/7/4
Syracuse 2017 37/31/12/10/6/4
Syracuse 2018 25/20/16/16/6/6/6/5
Syracuse 2019 29/16/16/13/10/8/7/
Syracuse 2020 43/27/15/7/7
This confirms my general impression that it’s best to spread the ball around. Dino says that he likes a “bell cow” receiver: a clear #1 guy for the QB to look for. I think that’s true if you have a truly exceptional talent like Amba Etta Tawo, (I still don’t why he didn’t make it in the NFL: he was a good as I’ve ever seen here). But if you don’t, you need to make the defense cover everybody -and everywhere. And that includes the tight end. In the Super Bowl, each team had a #87: Rob Gronkowski and Travis Kelce. They were their team’s leading receivers with a total of 16 catches for 200 yards and 2TDs. We have a #87, too, Luke Benson who in two years has 14/237/5. 36% of his catches have bene for touchdowns, including scores from 70 and 59 yards out. What is the purpose of throwing to the sidelines to stretch the defense if you are almost ignore a tight end who can catch the ball over the middle and take it the distance? Our tendency to try to spread the field with almost exclusively sideline passes reminds me of when Pasqualoni and DeLeone used to run the nearside option constantly to set up an occasional play to the opposite side. It might result in a big play from time to time but we need to make first downs and sustain drives and making easy-to-defend plays basic to your offense makes it hard to do that. The sideline is the greatest defender of all time. It can’t be blocked and anyone running a route along it can be double-teamed with one guy. Use all your weapons and the whole field. And your basic plays should be designed to consistently gain yardage, not just set up other plays that will do so.
