Balance is Key Daniel-Sun
The Biscuit - 10:33 am
Better learn balance. Balance is key. Balance good, karate good. Everything good. Balance bad, better pack up, go home. Understand?
Charlie Weis has a pretty defined theory on how an offense should be directed. Run, to set up the play-action pass. He has stated he’d like to see a game at 60/40 run/pass ideally. But, I doubt that we’ve seen that consistently in Charlie’s first 2 years, and we certainly haven’t seen it this year (well, in the last 2 games when we HAD an offense). We saw that balance in the first year the most, when we played most conistently as a team. Last year we dug ourselves into holes pretty often, and abandoned the run for the pass in the 2nd halves of games.
Against MSU, Charlie ran the ball. And we ran it pretty well. You can see the progress and the talent in our RB corps based on this game. Straight ahead and powerful Aldridge, Bowling Ball Hughes, and the speedy and shifty Allen. (Thomas left out intentionally.)
Last week, Charlie threw the ball. Many, many times. In the second half, we might have run 2 running plays (I am too lazy to look this up). Of course, we were behind at the time so a lot of this was out of necessity, but to me this is an ongoing trend. One or the other, pick your poison and largely stick with it.
I think Charlie tends to go with what’s working, what he feels like a team is giving him. And in his first 2 seasons, the pass seemed to work better. I mean, he had a top-notch QB and stellar receiving corps who MADE plays happen on a regular basis.
But with this younger team, I think it’s time to get some balance. Truly mixing things up and making both of those offensive weapons work, so that there is less pressure on either one individually.
This week at UCLA is the perfect week to do it. We’ve come off 2 games where the team played well for 1/2 the game. Two games where 1 side of the offense was called upon and showed up. Now it’s time to get a real rhythm in this offense, running consistently for 3-5 yard gains, and opening up the play-action passing game along with it.
It’s time Charlie, to get that balance back.
ForeverFaust
Balance is hard to establish when you are down by 23 points by half-time. Only reason the MSU game was different was that they WERE in the game until late third quarter.
If the defense can hold and Notre Dame can even play the field position game, then we will see more balance. Overall, I still think Charlie is going to use what the defense is giving him no matter what the youth is on the team.
October 2, 2007 at 3:54 pmThe Biscuit
I gotta disagree. The only reason we were in the MSU game is because we ran well in the first half (and our defense played decently). But in the second half, they stacked the line and stopped the run. If we had been passing efficiently in that second half, the run would’ve stayed viable, and we wouldnt have fizzled and gone 3 and out on almost every drive.
I agree there are reasons for it, and that sometimes you’re forced to play more one-dimensionally, but I didnt see that balance last year when Charlie had a more veteran squad either. And at this point, it’s time to re-establish it.
October 2, 2007 at 6:44 pm