Does Mullen get more creative this year on Offense?

If I'm the OC- and I look at this team this season- here is what I see:

DeRunnya Wilson- a stud WR that needs touches- plays physical so rarely will CB's walk up on him
Fred Ross- another very good WR that needs touches from the slot
Fred Brown- Speed to stretch defenses vertically
Donald Gray- speedy WR
Dear/Mixon- one plays- one will RS most likely. Can make some plays in the slot
Morrow/Myles- solid players that will play alot

Shump, Lee, Williams- all the RB's have really good hands

Dakota Prescott- one of the nation's top 3 QB's

OT's- Rufus Warren and Justin Senior- probably the most athletic OT Combo we have had under Mullen

Sooooooo- what, as the OC, can I add to the offense to make this machine run as well as it can? I'm going to add alot of screens. Here's why:

Screens slow down pass rushers- by making them more tentative, this helps your new OL guys as they gain experience of being every down players
Screens are shorter throws to get the ball to your playmakers- Wilson and Ross
Quickscreens make CB's and Safeties have to play up more- this plays into making it easier to get the ball to Wilson and Brown over the top
Quickscreens get the ball out of Prescott's hands quicker- lessening the chance of him getting hit.

Bubble screen with Ross, Myles, Dear/Mixon to get behind Wilson who is a physical, blocking machine
Jailbreak screen with Wilson
Middle screens and throwback screens to the RB's and Walley
Screen fakes to throw deep with Brown and also freeze LB's- which allow throwing lanes underneath the Safeties

Playmakers at QB and WR + Athletic OT's= run some damn screens

More rollouts. Get DP moving so the defenses HAVE to be afraid he will run on more plays even if he actually runs less. I feel this is something we've never fully exploited.

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Originally Posted by BulldogBear

More rollouts. Get DP moving so the defenses HAVE to be afraid he will run on more plays even if he actually runs less. I feel this is something we've never fully exploited.

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I'm with Mullen- why Rollout? It cuts down how much field you have to work with. It also makes coverage easier for the Secondary- they roll to the rollout side and jump routes. Modern football is about spreading and using the entire field. Rollouts were more effective when defenses aligned in a straight 5-2 or 4-3 with the SS standing the box with them. Dont see that anymore

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Originally Posted by Coach34

I'm with Mullen- why Rollout? It cuts down how much field you have to work with. It also makes coverage easier for the Secondary- they roll to the rollout side and jump routes. Modern football is about spreading and using the entire field. Rollouts were more effective when defenses aligned in a straight 5-2 or 4-3 with the SS standing the box with them. Dont see that anymore

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I agree, less rollouts=more options. I also love the screens idea, Coach. I also will state the obvious, and say that I want to see more downhill running on the read option due to our RB personnel. Get good push from our line, and get Shump and Dak running downhill together, we will be hard to stop. In other words, don't get too greedy if we can pick up 3-4 yds per run right up the gut. It may not be flashy, but once teams get more in the box, it's open season for our stud QB and WR's to make hay. Plus it wears defenses down.

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Originally Posted by CadaverDawg

I agree, less rollouts=more options. I also love the screens idea, Coach. I also will state the obvious, and say that I want to see more downhill running on the read option due to our RB personnel. Get good push from our line, and get Shump and Dak running downhill together, we will be hard to stop. In other words, don't get too greedy if we can pick up 3-4 yds per run right up the gut. It may not be flashy, but once teams get more in the box, it's open season for our stud QB and WR's to make hay. Plus it wears defenses down.

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I dont know if our OL has been a "push" type group under Mullen (except Gabe Jackson). Its more about making creases with angles and leverage. Our OL play is more about occupying a defender until the ball carrier gets by than it is about pushing the LOS back. I also think this style lets us get by with "lesser" talent on the OL. Just my thoughts.

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Originally Posted by Coach34

I'm with Mullen- why Rollout? It cuts down how much field you have to work with. It also makes coverage easier for the Secondary- they roll to the rollout side and jump routes. Modern football is about spreading and using the entire field. Rollouts were more effective when defenses aligned in a straight 5-2 or 4-3 with the SS standing the box with them. Dont see that anymore

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I agree. Plus, I've heard the coaches say (and my eyes confirm) that Dak is more accurate in the pocket when he can set his feet. Now If the pocket/play breaks down, by all means, roll out keep eyes downfield and find a receiver, run if there's space or throw it away of not. But as a matter of strategy I don't like the roll out in our offense outside of the occasional play action stuff at the goal line.

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Originally Posted by Leroy Jenkins

I dont know if our OL has been a "push" type group under Mullen (except Gabe Jackson). Its more about making creases with angles and leverage. Our OL play is more about occupying a defender until the ball carrier gets by than it is about pushing the LOS back. I also think this style lets us get by with "lesser" talent on the OL. Just my thoughts.

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I agree to an extent, but with this group of RB's, and a power running QB, SOME push is crucial. Plus, we ran with great downhill push when Relf was QB. That's more of what I was meaning. But you're right.

I completely agree with your reasoning. But every time I hear mullen talk its about the qb's maturity depending on going through progressions and it makes me believe he wants dak to stay in the pocket.

I hope im wrong and that really isnt a priority. If we were to focus on getting the ball to the outside more efficiently as a priority, dak would have a better success standing in the pocket when necessary.

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Originally Posted by Leroy Jenkins

I dont know if our OL has been a "push" type group under Mullen (except Gabe Jackson). Its more about making creases with angles and leverage. Our OL play is more about occupying a defender until the ball carrier gets by than it is about pushing the LOS back. I also think this style lets us get by with "lesser" talent on the OL. Just my thoughts.

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Its because we are a "zone blocking" team. We dont have a "power" philosophy. Its also why we have problems with Bama and Ole Missus last year. Bama's 3 DL guys are space-eaters- they arent worried that much about cut off as they are holding their position. Ole Missus has a quick, slanting front that makes cutting them off tougher. Ole Missus struggles with power blocking teams like LSU, UPig, Bama, etc.

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Originally Posted by BulldogBear

More rollouts. Get DP moving so the defenses HAVE to be afraid he will run on more plays even if he actually runs less. I feel this is something we've never fully exploited.

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I agree. I like the pass/run option it gives you with Prescott. I'm not talking about 8-10 a game, but 2-3. Wouldn't roll outs also take some heat off a young OL?

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Originally Posted by CadaverDawg

I agree to an extent, but with this group of RB's, and a power running QB, SOME push is crucial. Plus, we ran with great downhill push when Relf was QB. That's more of what I was meaning. But you're right.

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We ran less Zone stretch with Ralph. Ran a ton of it with Russell.

Worked for Ole Miss (Cpt. Bubble Screen and all).

I disagree on roll-outs, but with one caveat - I think they should be at Dak's discretion, and not called by Mullen. So, I guess I agree with you that we shouldn't call them, but I disagree that they shouldn't be used. Dak has had a problem seeing some wide open receivers from the pocket in the past, but from the roll-out, it seems he always finds them. But Mullen's offense is weird, it's all seams and angles, so roll-outs don't really play in. Dak does it all above-average, but he isn't elite in any category.

Dak is a tweener QB in that regard. Omarr Conner should have been rolling out every play, Dak needs to be about 50/50 or 30/70 roll-out/pocket.

Good post, Mullen needs to study your above post about opening up to beat the Bama an Olemiss D's. Once his initial strategy doesn't work, he becomes more conservative and you see more Dak up the middle, etc....I miss Gabe Jackson and his ability to plow people. Have your boy HEV pick up 2-3 like that. Seems we are developing what we have well enough, but more talent couldn't hurt on the Oline.

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Originally Posted by SallyStansbury

..I miss Gabe Jackson and his ability to plow people. Have your boy HEV pick up 2-3 like that. Seems we are developing what we have well enough, but more talent couldn't hurt on the Oline.

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We already have in Jenkins and Calhoun

Only time I want to see us rollout is on those quick curls/outs we like to do. We do that a lot when we want a quick 4-7 yards and have been pretty successful at it. But we have tons of weapons at WR. Why cut off half the field? Let guys run intermediate and deep routes, make DBs work in space on both sides of the field, and let our talent beat their talent.

To me I think what we need to see is more up tempo play calling mid drive. We did it a few times last year and it always seemed to work well. We are good at eating clock, but it's damn tough to stop us when we get rolling down hill at a fast tempo. Convert a couple 1st downs, then wear that ass out with up tempo no huddle. We will do a good mix of both, but I love it when we shock the hell out of someone by going up temp after some methodical play calling.

I also want to see us execute with our speed guys better. Our biggest weakness on offense is utilizing our speed in space. We've got solid RBs, Mixon, Dear, Holloway and WRs that can make plays with their speed. We've got to do a better job of setting up screens, speed sweeps, and flairs with our speed guys. We try and out speed teams but it always seemed like something went wrong. Timing, OL not executing, and not getting an edge block. We saw what our offense can be when we hit big plays. We need more of those from our speed guys. That will help add a little bit of a shock dimension to our offense.

I would love to see us hit more vertical shots down field. I thought we had some chances last season, we just missed them. Also when opposing defenses key on stopping Dak between the tackles like Bama and OM did. I'd like to see Mullen make adjustments before the end of the 3rd quarter.

I don't know if I would consider screens to be "more creative". Actually, I don't think we need more creativity at all.

Last year, we had the best offense in the conference - at Mississippi State. Think about that. This is a conference that includes Steve Spurrier and Kevin Sumlin who many knowledgeable people consider to be offensive geniuses.

We don't need more "creativity". What we need to do is to execute the offense we have at a higher level. I think speeding up the offense is a good idea on Mullen's part. All we really need to do from that point is to execute on a high level. Crisp blocking. Great route running. Sure catches. Hard and explosive runs. Accurate passes. Minimize mistakes. Those are the things we need.

Instead of trying to get fancy, if we could just perfect the fundamentals of the offense we have we will again be the best offense in this conference and among the best in the country.

I'm expecting Clayborn to get more movement against the likes of UA & UM than Day gave us. At least not get put on skates. IDK if Desper has as much power as Beckwith but he is definitely more athletic.

I like the roll outs mainly in short yardage scenarios like a 3rd and 5. Roll him out to the wide side of the field in a run/pass option and take what the defense gives you. Might also set up a trick play where you quickly break a speed guy back the opposite direction on a reverse.

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Originally Posted by SallyStansbury

Good post, Mullen needs to study your above post about opening up to beat the Bama an Olemiss D's.

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Really?

I agree that Coach knows what he's talking about, but, if Mullen has to read a message board for this knowledge, then he should fire every assistant coach we have. Pretty sure Mullen understands this and is doing all he can to correct it.

If you call a bunch of screens it becomes less creative not more.

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Originally Posted by Dawg61

If you call a bunch of screens it becomes less creative not more.

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So calling 3-4-5 screens per game to add to your offense is less creative? Wow- who knew?

I change very little. We had the 3rd best offense in SEC history. Don't change much just become more proficient in what we do. Of course add a few wrinkles that's what good coaches do but we shouldn't be trying to reinvent the wheel.

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Originally Posted by Coach34

So calling 3-4-5 screens per game to add to your offense is less creative? Wow- who knew?

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We already call 3-4-5 screens per game and you never said that few until now

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Originally Posted by Ifyouonlyknew

I change very little. We had the 3rd best offense in SEC history. Don't change much just become more proficient in what we do. Of course add a few wrinkles that's what good coaches do but we shouldn't be trying to reinvent the wheel.

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Thank you, Dan.

My sentiments exactly.

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Originally Posted by Dawg61

We already call 3-4-5 screens per game and you never said that few until now

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no we did not. We called 1 every couple of games. And I apologize, I just assumed everyone understood I wasnt asking for 12 screens per game

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Originally Posted by Ifyouonlyknew

I change very little. We had the 3rd best offense in SEC history. Don't change much just become more proficient in what we do. Of course add a few wrinkles that's what good coaches do but we shouldn't be trying to reinvent the wheel.

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Our offense struggled quite a bit in the two biggest games of the season. We're not quite there yet

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Originally Posted by Coach34

no we did not. We called 1 every couple of games. And I apologize, I just assumed everyone understood I wasnt asking for 12 screens per game

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The screens were very effective with Perkins, then we seemed to not use them as much his last year, and haven't as much since.

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Originally Posted by Coach34

Our offense struggled quite a bit in the two biggest games of the season. We're not quite there yet

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We still had over 400yds in both those games. We didn't take advantage of opportunities in those games. We werent as efficient those games But we had chances esp against Bama.

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Originally Posted by Ifyouonlyknew

I change very little. We had the 3rd best offense in SEC history. Don't change much just become more proficient in what we do. Of course add a few wrinkles that's what good coaches do but we shouldn't be trying to reinvent the wheel.

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Can't really argue with this. One of my votes for wrinkles would be more and different run/pass option plays. Of course try to mix things up enough to keep defense off balance. Last year it seemed like we were a bit more predictable after the Auburn game. Part of that was probably better scouting by our opponents. Even in the Auburn game they were ready for the back shoulder pass.

Pushing the tempo should help too and it sounds like that is the plan. Bear was talking about it and calling it the NASCAR offense. BTW, he said he was now at 235 but would be down to 230 by the end of camp. Hopefully he hasn't lost a step, but it should help him be even more physical going for the ball and blocking.

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Originally Posted by Ifyouonlyknew

We still had over 400yds in both those games. We didn't take advantage of opportunities in those games. We werent as efficient those games But we had chances esp against Bama.

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Right again. The thing that would have made a difference in those games was better execution not more screens.

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Originally Posted by MSUDawg4Life

Right again. The thing that would have made a difference in those games was better execution not more screens.

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Or maybe if we had used some quick screens to get ourselves 5-6-7-8 yards on 1st down- we wouldnt have been in long situations all day and throwing interceptions???

Bama game - it took a quarter and a half or so for the team to settle down.

Egg Bowl - our D gave up too many big plays. They hit Ingram deep every time they wanted and the 90 yard TD run was ridiculous. D laid an egg. At times, Dak was rattled and felt pressure before it was there. But I mostly blame the D.

If I could choose just one side of the ball to improve over last year, it would be defense.

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Originally Posted by FlabLoser

Nama game - it took a quarter and a half or so for the team to settle down.

Egg Bowl - our D gave up too many big plays. They hit Ingram deep every time they wanted and the 90 yard TD run was ridiculous. D laid an egg. At times, Dak was rattled and felt pressure before it was there. But I mostly blame the D.

If I could choose just one side of the ball to improve over last year, it would be defense.

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Now, there's an idea!

Defense cost us vs OM- but so did our offense's sluggish beginning:

1st and 10 at MSST 9	Dak Prescott run for 3 yds to the MisSt 12	0	0
2nd and 7 at MSST 12	Josh Robinson run for a loss of 1 yard to the MisSt 11
3rd and 8 at MSST 11	Dak Prescott pass complete to De'Runnya Wilson for 14 yds to the MisSt 25 for a 1ST down
1st and 10 at MSST 25	Josh Robinson run for 3 yds to the MisSt 28
2nd and 7 at MSST 28	Dak Prescott pass complete to Josh Robinson for 4 yds to the MisSt 32
3rd and 3 at MSST 32	Dak Prescott run for no gain to the MisSt 32
4th and 3 at MSST 32	Devon Bell punt for 41 yds, fair catch by Markell Pack at the Miss 27

1st and 10 at MSST 20	Dak Prescott pass incomplete	0	0
2nd and 10 at MSST 20	Ashton Shumpert run for a loss of 1 yard to the MisSt 19
3rd and 11 at MSST 19	Dak Prescott sacked by Marquis Haynes for a loss of 6 yards to the MisSt 13
4th and 17 at MSST 13	Devon Bell punt for 54 yds , Markell Pack returns for 20 yds to the MisSt 47 Markell Pack fumbled, forced by A.J. Jefferson, recovered by Miss Markell Pack

1st and 10 at MSST 20	Holloway, Brandon rush for no gain to the MISSSTATE20, PENALTY OLEMISS personal foul (Lewis, Keith) 15 yards to the MISSSTATE35, NO PLAY, 1ST DOWN MISSSTATE. for a 1ST down	3	7
1st and 10 at MSST 35	Dak Prescott run for 6 yds to the MisSt 41
2nd and 4 at MSST 41	Brandon Holloway run for 3 yds to the MisSt 44
3rd and 1 at MSST 44	Dak Prescott run for 8 yds to the Miss 48 for a 1ST down
1st and 10 at MISS 48	Dak Prescott run for 2 yds to the Miss 46
2nd and 8 at MISS 46	Dak Prescott run for a loss of 1 yard to the Miss 47
3rd and 9 at MISS 47	Dak Prescott run for 1 yd to the Miss 46
4th and 8 at MISS 46	Devon Bell punt for 30 yds, fair catch by Markell Pack at the Miss 16

1st and 10 at MSST 38	Dak Prescott pass incomplete	3	7
2nd and 10 at MSST 38	Dak Prescott pass incomplete to Fred Brown
3rd and 10 at MSST 38	Dak Prescott pass complete to De'Runnya Wilson for 20 yds to the Miss 42 for a 1ST down
1st and 10 at MISS 42	Ashton Shumpert run for 1 yd to the Miss 41
2nd and 9 at MISS 41	Dak Prescott run for 3 yds to the Miss 38
3rd and 6 at MISS 38	Dak Prescott pass complete to De'Runnya Wilson for 3 yds to the Miss 35
	Timeout OLE MISS, clock 05:01
4th and 3 at MISS 35	Dak Prescott run for no gain to the Miss 35

1st and 10 at MSST 12	Josh Robinson run for no gain to the MisSt 12	3	7
2nd and 10 at MSST 12	Josh Robinson run for 6 yds to the MisSt 18
3rd and 4 at MSST 18	Dak Prescott run for 2 yds to the MisSt 20
4th and 2 at MSST 20	Devon Bell punt for 42 yds, fair catch by Markell Pack at the Miss 38

We got a FG on our 3rd drive- those were our other 5 drives of the 1st half. Dont ****ing tell me we didnt need to do a little something different