Nerd Alert: 5 Elements of Optimal Offense

[TheCusian]

I've gotten more and more hooked on Study Hall and this entry is pretty interesting: The five elements of the optimal college football offense

Summary:

1. QB's that run (Dungey/TD/Amie = check)
2. Optionality (checks at the line, look to sideline, RPO = check)
3. Simplicity (kind of - system is simple, but takes awhile for a QB to master)
4. Space (spread formations, lining WR out really side, 4 WR/Shotgun = check)
5. Tempo (check)

The last one caught my eye, this quote in particular:

The two most common objections to the use of pace and the HUNH are that “this isn’t real football” and that operating high pace offense hurts a team’s own defense so much that it isn’t worth it.

The first objection is a stylistic and aesthetic one, and those considerations aren’t part of this discussion. The fact an individual fan or coach may not like something doesn’t mean that it isn’t effective.

The second one is a piece of conventional wisdom that simply has no empirical basis. One might think it is completely obvious that a team’s defense is not going to execute as well and will be vulnerable to breakdowns in an extremely long game. And while could be true, it ignores the fact that the offense also tires, potentially leading to the same issues.

Basically, crazy stuff happens at the end of games to tempo teams - but it happens to both teams. Only in our case - we train and plan on it.

I like this quote too, one that basically played out in real time when ED was healthy and when he wasn't:

Simply put, if a team has a meaningful per-play advantage in net efficiency, it should seek to lengthen games (within reason) in order to reduce the variance of game outcomes.

 

[zjscuse]