What would you Change about the offense

[cheewgumm]

For next year?

1). I'd have less designed runs for Dak.

2). I'd encourage Dak to run more
Out of the scramble. ( take off if it's not there.)

3). I'd be a higher percentage of passing.

4). I'd go super fast. Trying to get plays off quicker than we did this year. Try to be the fastest team getting plays off.

5) I'd junk the option with zDak.

[msstate7]

I'd add a lead blocker for short yardage and goals to go.

[War Machine Dawg]

For next year?

1). I'd have less designed runs for Dak.

2). I'd encourage Dak to run more
Out of the scramble. ( take off if it's not there.)

3). I'd be a higher percentage of passing.

4). I'd go super fast. Trying to get plays off quicker than we did this year. Try to be the fastest team getting plays off.

5) I'd junk the option with zDak.

Ummm....no. We didn't Run The Got Damn Football enough this season. We need to be around 65/35 run/pass. It's who we are and who we'll always be. The teams who can run the damn ball win. It's just that simple.

Research is your friend. I'm fairly certain we ran the most offensive plays of anyone in the nation this season. Our tempo was just fine. If anything, I'd like to see us slow it down a little.

[War Machine Dawg]

I'd add a lead blocker for short yardage and goals to go.

Totally with you. I wouldn't necessarily "change" anything offensively. I'd re-introduce the FB like we had in 2009 and 2010 and like Auburn uses. We need some extra thump in the run game and that would help tremendously. Plus it would give us a few extra options in the passing game. The problem is we don't really have anyone on the roster capable of filling that role now that Griffin has finished. We've got more of the hybrid TE/WR types than the H-back types. One of the few shortcomings in our recruiting strategy that's a glaring weakness. We need some guys that can block between the hash and the numbers.

[gravedigger]

For next year?

1). I'd have less designed runs for Dak.

2). I'd encourage Dak to run more
Out of the scramble. ( take off if it's not there.)

3). I'd be a higher percentage of passing.

4). I'd go super fast. Trying to get plays off quicker than we did this year. Try to be the fastest team getting plays off.

5) I'd junk the option with zDak.

1 far less pocket passing unless the d was giving us time.

2 roll out the gosh darned pocket.

3 read what the defense is giving you

4 i like fast. Hell yea. Go faster

5 junk the option? No. Use it. Make dak more like relf AFTER they think we are going to pass. But teach him to throw the ball quickly. That will widen the lb's and give him running room. Pass first doeant mean downfield. It just means spread the coverage. His size is the key along with his speed. Use atrain like we used perkins in 2010.

[cheewgumm]

I'm not researching anything to do with college football. I do that stuff all day long. I prefer to wing it in my spare time in regards to recreation.

I'd be surprised if we were the fastest but I'd go even faster.

What do you think about the Dak designed run plays?

[CadaverDawg]

1. Take the bubble off of Dak and let him be Dak. It's as if we told him to slide and not to scramble and pass after the Auburn game.

2. More power runs. And a power run is NOT running Dak into a brick wall. I'm talking pistol or under center, FB & HB dives, and more of the Relf down hill runs.

3. More option, and a better version. Our option play allowed the DE an easy hit on the QB, so it wasn't truly an option. We pitched it every time bc Dak had a guy in his face immediately.

4. More bubble screens. Myles was great on them early, but we abandoned it...and Myles for some reason. Ross is great on them too. Wear em out with screens and then go deep to Bear.

5. Teach Dak more touch on his deep ball. Can't rely on back shoulder bee bees every pass play. Take advantage of our size at WR by learning to throw a ball they can go up and get.

6. I Formation with a fullback

7. Diamond formation. Why aren't we using this?

8. No Holloway on KR. We need better offensive field position to start drives. Until Brandon learns to use his speed, bench him. Tip toeing to the 15 and getting smoked isn't a kick return.

9. Find a way to RTDB, and stick to it. Got to be more creative than the 3rd &6 QB draw into a brick wall. If we could run it with Relf when everyone knew we couldn't pass...there is no excuse not to be able to have a good run game when we have Dak and a threatening group of WR's.

10. Grow some stones in big games. Don't get all conservative and call scared when we play a big game like Bama, Dan. Dance with the one that brung you.

[drunkernhelldawg]

Ummm....no. We didn't Run The Got Damn Football enough this season. We need to be around 65/35 run/pass. It's who we are and who we'll always be. The teams who can run the damn ball win. It's just that simple.

Research is your friend. I'm fairly certain we ran the most offensive plays of anyone in the nation this season. Our tempo was just fine. If anything, I'd like to see us slow it down a little.

Agree about slowing it down, especially early in the game.

[cheewgumm]

I love the Relf offense but Dak ain't Relf. I don't think he's as fast and not as bruising. Now he is waaaayyy better but not in that way.

He can throw, and we have some badass receivers.

You are right, our option is no
Option. If we are going to run a real Option, I'm in. If we're trotting Dak out there to get slammed, I'm
Out.

[NCDawg]

In our 3 losses, we couldn't run the ball. Every time we would try, it would seem like Robinson would hit a brick wall. I doubt we can solve this unless we get better blocking on the OL, and I'm not sure that's possible unless some of our OL "projects" develop. As everybody knows, we haven't recruited all that well for the OL. We lose 3 starters this year who were pretty good, certainly not great, but I'm not sure we have any that are as good as they were. Hopefully, the JC guy can be a big help.

[mstatefan91]

The biggest thing is getting the run going. I feel like we abandoned the run at the end of the season. I also agree that the coaches' should let Dak be Dak in the big games. If he sees an open lane, he should take it. He should not be sacked unless he is boxed in. Too many times this season, he gave up a 5 or 6 yard run in order to look down field for a bigger play. It burned us...

[Churchill]

In our 3 losses, we couldn't run the ball. Every time we would try, it would seem like Robinson would hit a brick wall. I doubt we can solve this unless we get better blocking on the OL, and I'm not sure that's possible unless some of our OL "projects" develop. As everybody knows, we haven't recruited all that well for the OL. We lose 3 starters this year who were pretty good, certainly not great, but I'm not sure we have any that are as good as they were. Hopefully, the JC guy can be a big help.

I got the impression late in the season that we were somehow showing run before the ball was snapped OR DC`s had patterned us to the point it was too predictable when we were going to run. Sometimes it was like the opponent was in the huddle with us before the snap on running plays.

[Coach34]

We only need to change one thing in our offense- we need to add a thumper back there to block more for the TB and QB. Thats it. Let Shump be a combo blocker/runner. Get 20 carries out of Shump/Williams/Lee and 15 or so out of Dakota. But good grief, instead of just running the zoneread all the time and faking it to the RB- just simply send Shump in there to slam a LB and let Dakota follow him

[Irondawg]

I agree with a lot of the above but I'll reiterate some of them:

1) Less designed Dak runs up the middle and if we do, have him follow a back as a lead blocker sometimes (except in the 5 wide sets). I think he got beat up pretty good those first 5 games and it slowed him down late in the year.

2) Bring back the FB more - Shump can play a dual role

3) Where the heck with the diamond or some of the 2 back sets. We seem to run more consistently when we use those.

4) We did use less of the bubbles toward the end of the year but no idea if the defenses started to key on that.

5) while we are a running team, this is going to be the best set of playmaker WR's we've ever had. I forsee more of a 50/50 split next year in the run/pass and i'm fine with that.

[ShotgunDawg]

I love the Relf offense but Dak ain't Relf. I don't think he's as fast and not as bruising. Now he is waaaayyy better but not in that way.

He can throw, and we have some badass receivers.

You are right, our option is no
Option. If we are going to run a real Option, I'm in. If we're trotting Dak out there to get slammed, I'm
Out.

Dak isn't as bruising as Relf, but he is faster than Relf.

[CadaverDawg]

I agree with a lot of the above but I'll reiterate some of them:

1) Less designed Dak runs up the middle and if we do, have him follow a back as a lead blocker sometimes (except in the 5 wide sets). I think he got beat up pretty good those first 5 games and it slowed him down late in the year.

2) Bring back the FB more - Shump can play a dual role

3) Where the heck with the diamond or some of the 2 back sets. We seem to run more consistently when we use those.

4) We did use less of the bubbles toward the end of the year but no idea if the defenses started to key on that.

5) while we are a running team, this is going to be the best set of playmaker WR's we've ever had. I forsee more of a 50/50 split next year in the run/pass and i'm fine with that.

I agree with all of yours, except #5. If we are 50/50, we may struggle to make a bowl game.

Our passing game is effective due to the threat of the run. When you aren't able to run the ball, teams will have no problem shutting down our pass game, unless Dak improves a lot in the passing department. I thought we used play action to perfection early in the season, but once we abandoned the run and/or were less effective running the ball, our play action was no longer as effective. Dak will not be successful over the course of a season as a drop back passer....he just won't. That's not his game. We MUST be able to run the ball for our offense to be successful for an entire season. And I think that is why so many of us are wanting to bring a fullback or lead blocker back in....because we realize that we have GOT to establish a run game against Bama, LSU, etc, if we want any chance at beating them consistently. So when the QB draw is getting stuffed, Dan has got to have a backup plan to help create a run game....we can't just abandon it or keep sending Dak into a brick wall. That was my frustration this year.

[mic]

Take some ideas from other schools..

1. Stanford.. They use extra OL in certain situations. We could line up Rufus as extra OL very athletic . Line him up at H back or FB for lead blocker for Dak on his QB draws or lead block for RB ..
2. Bama. The way Kifin used Cooper. Had him all over the field and in the backfield. Creating mis matches for him. With all of our weapons next year at the WR position, line up Gray, Ross, or Bear Ect.. in the backfield and get them in mismatches.

[BiscuitEater]

Research is your friend. I'm fairly certain we ran the most offensive plays of anyone in the nation this season. Our tempo was just fine. If anything, I'd like to see us slow it down a little.

And no, we finished at #16, with 80.2 plays/game. We DID finish #1 in the SEC. Interesting that OM finished at #75 behind UT, Ky, USCe, Southern Miss, A&M, Aub, Ark & Bama. What happened to that 'fun & gun,' basketball on plastic grass offense?

Check it out here ... http://www.teamrankings.com/college-football/stat/plays-per-game

[codeDawg]

2 things: 1. Speed of plays (not pace of play), and 2. Momentum

1. On speed of plays, we've improved this year over all the trap runs we used to run that took 5 seconds to develop before we started moving forward, but we still take too long to set blocks and get the ball to the back. The misdirection we used to run is being negated by the speed we're seeing on defense. I think when Shump is in the game we are better here and he makes positive yardage because he hits the hole fast and hard.

We also rely too much on play action. If you get rid of the ball fast on the right read, it doesn't matter if you freeze the safety. See Oregon and TCU.

2. Momentum goes with speed. We have too many passing plays where the receiver has to stop running to catch the ball. While I think most of Freeze's offense is crap, what he does well is get routes where the receiver catches the ball moving forward. I'm curious where our YAC is relative to the rest of the country. I can count on two hands how many catches Jameon has made and stayed on his feet over the years (but that's a different issue).

[BoomBoom]

For next year?

1). I'd have less designed runs for Dak.

2). I'd encourage Dak to run more
Out of the scramble. ( take off if it's not there.)

3). I'd be a higher percentage of passing.

4). I'd go super fast. Trying to get plays off quicker than we did this year. Try to be the fastest team getting plays off.

5) I'd junk the option with zDak.

just 1 thing: stop assuming that works in the first month will work just as well in the last month, as if other teams don't watch film and adjust. better than that, have a plan on which twists to add and when, to keep ALL opponents guessing.

[Political Hack]

two very simple things...

1) get a 2nd RB in the backfield on some plays.

2) Start rolling the pocket a lot more than we do now.

[Bama_Dawg]

We extended the field much better this year than in the past. I think we do even more next year. With more touch on the ball, we can really make the one on one match ups on the outside pay off. Second, the RB screen game was pretty much non-existent this year. We could have burned Bama on numerous occasions by slipping in a RB screen. I was actually thinking all year...we are saving the screen game for Bama...but it never materialized.

[Cabo32]

Easy fix.....
1A offense



And




1B offense

All problems solved*********

[Political Hack]

We extended the field much better this year than in the past. I think we do even more next year. With more touch on the ball, we can really make the one on one match ups on the outside pay off. Second, the RB screen game was pretty much non-existent this year. We could have burned Bama on numerous occasions by slipping in a RB screen. I was actually thinking all year...we are saving the screen game for Bama...but it never materialized.

they need an improvised check down on the RB screen. Dak is great about improvising and running or finding an open guy down the field, but we can't check down to a RB with a blocking assignment to save our lives. I don't get that. We don't need called RB screens to run the RB screen... they just need to understand where he is and that it's a last resort check down if he's about to get sacked.

[HoopsDawg]

We only need to change one thing in our offense- we need to add a thumper back there to block more for the TB and QB. Thats it. Let Shump be a combo blocker/runner. Get 20 carries out of Shump/Williams/Lee and 15 or so out of Dakota. But good grief, instead of just running the zoneread all the time and faking it to the RB- just simply send Shump in there to slam a LB and let Dakota follow him

That's a Bingo.

[Political Hack]

That's a Bingo.

you can do with this a single lead back going 4 wide too. Make them defend all four WRs one-on-one or with only 6 in the box. We tried to do it a lot Relf's SR season, but he couldn't complete a slant pattern consistently enough to make it work.

[Liverpooldawg]

Mine would be to keep Dak healthy. I still believe he was hurt worse in the Kentucky game than ever came out. He certainly wasn't the same runner.

[Dawg61]

Stop playing conservative slow football vs Bama and Ole Miss.

[HancockCountyDog]

1. Take the bubble off of Dak and let him be Dak. It's as if we told him to slide and not to scramble and pass after the Auburn game.


I think this is the biggest thing going through Dak's mind about going pro. I don't think he wants to come back and rush it 200 times. With all the weapons we have at WR, I think we should sling it more than we have in the past, especially with an NFL caliber QB. Mariota rushed it for 125 times this season, Dak rushed it 210 times. We have to be more balanced.

[Barking 13]

1. Take the bubble off of Dak and let him be Dak. It's as if we told him to slide and not to scramble and pass after the Auburn game.

2. More power runs. And a power run is NOT running Dak into a brick wall. I'm talking pistol or under center, FB & HB dives, and more of the Relf down hill runs.

3. More option, and a better version. Our option play allowed the DE an easy hit on the QB, so it wasn't truly an option. We pitched it every time bc Dak had a guy in his face immediately.

4. More bubble screens. Myles was great on them early, but we abandoned it...and Myles for some reason. Ross is great on them too. Wear em out with screens and then go deep to Bear.

5. Teach Dak more touch on his deep ball. Can't rely on back shoulder bee bees every pass play. Take advantage of our size at WR by learning to throw a ball they can go up and get.

6. I Formation with a fullback

7. Diamond formation. Why aren't we using this?

8. No Holloway on KR. We need better offensive field position to start drives. Until Brandon learns to use his speed, bench him. Tip toeing to the 15 and getting smoked isn't a kick return.

9. Find a way to RTDB, and stick to it. Got to be more creative than the 3rd &6 QB draw into a brick wall. If we could run it with Relf when everyone knew we couldn't pass...there is no excuse not to be able to have a good run game when we have Dak and a threatening group of WR's.

10. Grow some stones in big games. Don't get all conservative and call scared when we play a big game like Bama, Dan. Dance with the one that brung you.

Hear, Hear!! 10 rep points

ETA: find another Jameon who can actually catch the ball in the slot.. (Myles?)

[codeDawg]

Mine would be to keep Dak healthy. I still believe he was hurt worse in the Kentucky game than ever came out. He certainly wasn't the same runner.

Agree this this 100%. If we can split more reps with the young pups this year, we'll be in much better shape toward the end of the season.

[CadaverDawg]

We extended the field much better this year than in the past. I think we do even more next year. With more touch on the ball, we can really make the one on one match ups on the outside pay off. Second, the RB screen game was pretty much non-existent this year. We could have burned Bama on numerous occasions by slipping in a RB screen. I was actually thinking all year...we are saving the screen game for Bama...but it never materialized.

A couple of things I've learned through 6 years of Dan Mullen...

1) If you haven't seen it in the first few games, you ain't gonna see it. Every year I say to myself, "we're saving _____".....WRONG. No we aren't.

2) Just go ahead and put the "screen game" out of your mind. Despite the fact that it can be wildly successful...we aren't going to run it, and we sure as hell aren't saving it for a big game.

3) Don't ever assume "we would never do this dumb shit against a good team". WRONG. We would, and we will.

That being said, I will gladly take another 8+ wins next year....even if I think we always leave a win or 2 on the board due to being a hard head.

[MabenMaroon]

Insert the Dallas Cowboys O-line, particularly the left side***

[Pollodawg]

1 far less pocket passing unless the d was giving us time.

2 roll out the gosh darned pocket.

3 read what the defense is giving you

4 i like fast. Hell yea. Go faster

5 junk the option? No. Use it. Make dak more like relf AFTER they think we are going to pass. But teach him to throw the ball quickly. That will widen the lb's and give him running room. Pass first doeant mean downfield. It just means spread the coverage. His size is the key along with his speed. Use atrain like we used perkins in 2010.

Boom. Yep. Dak was excellent out of the pocket early in the season, then we quit rolling him out for whatever reason.