Nick Saban, old guard have no choice but to change in '14

[Gatorious]

[h=1]Forward Pass: Nick Saban, old guard have no choice but to change in '14[/h]

One day when football historians recount how the hurry-up, no-huddle offense transformed the college game, they may pinpoint the second quarter of No. 2 Alabama’s season opener against West Virginia last Saturday as the movement’s apex. In an attempt to calm down struggling first-time starting quarterback Blake Sims, Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban – self-proclaimed proponent of “the dinosaur age” of offenses, and a man who literally tried to change NCAA rules last winter to slow things back down – told offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin on the sideline, “Let’s just go no-huddle.”
It worked. Sims looked much more comfortable on the go and turned in an admirable performance in helping Alabama roll up 538 yards in a 33-23 victory. Rest assured, Saban is not about to go reinvent his tried-and-true pro-style offense – “We’re one of the few teams in the world that still plays regular people,” he said afterward, meaning tight ends and two backs – but in general it appears that offenses will be getting only faster across the board in 2014.

No team delivered a more eye-opening performance on opening week than Texas A&M, which, in its first game of the post-Johnny Manziel era, went on the road and hung 52 points on a top 10 South Carolina team. Once dismissed as a Big 12-style team masquerading as an SEC program, then assumed to fall off minus its transcendent quarterback, instead left SEC icon Steve Spurrier lamenting, “Shoot, they knew what they were doing. … If we played them again, they’d be a three-touchdown favorite.”
A&M coach Kevin Sumlin and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Jake Spavital were merely executing a system with which they’ve now had success at multiple schools spanning all different style of quarterbacks. Their newest starter, sophomore Kenny Hill, doesn’t have wheels like Manziel, but he was impressively poised and decisive. By game’s end he’d thrown for more yards in his first start (511) than Manziel did in 25. The Aggies ran 99 plays.

And yet A&M’smay not even prove to be the scariest offense in the conference. Auburn was arguably a one-trick pony at times during its run to last season’s BCS title game -- Tre Mason run left, Tre Mason run right. But in Saturday’s 45-21 win against Arkansas, the Tigers showed off a vastly improved passing game, even with starting quarterback Nick Marshall benched for the first half. BackupJeremy Johnson was a cool 12-of-16 for 243 yards and two touchdowns as Auburn passed for nearly as many yards (293) as it ran for (302).
Even Georgia, a pro-style team, ran no-huddle for most of the first three quarters in its 45-21 win overClemson, coach Mark Richt said Sunday.
As Saban noted after his team’s game, Alabama’s more traditional offense is just fine, thank you very much. “Because everybody else is spread and no huddle, people really have a tough time defending what we do because nobody does it,” he said. The more challenging aspect for the Tide and all other playoff aspirants this season will be defending the more frenetic attacks.

--
Players and coaches will ultimately decide the race, but tempo will be an underlying factor one way or another. And who knows, maybe even Saban will enter the fray. “We have the capabilities to do it,” he said of the no-huddle, “and we’ll consider doing it in the future.”
That’s college football in 2014.

https://www.foxsports.com/college-f...-texas-am-up-tempo-week-1-forward-pass-090114

 

[Swamp Donkey]

This article makes me want to punch something.

 

[ThreatMatrix]

Yep yep. Scoring is where it's at. That forward pass thing is gonna catch on I tell you. Defense exists to give ball to offense which shd consider taking more than 2 minutes to score as failure.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

Who knew you actually needed to score to win? All these years.

I thought when "we did what we needed to do by controlling the ball and avoiding turnovers" wasn't the way to win a damn game. I just noticed there isn't even a spot on the scoreboard for Time of Possession!!!! WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN???

 

[Captain Sasquatch]

Five years ago, when Nick Saban was stomping all over our team with his pro style offense while we were running into a brick wall with the spread, everybody and their mother wanted the pro style offense. My how times change so quickly.

 

[ThreatMatrix]

Im pretty sure back when they wore leather helmets they scored games by time of possession. Of course back then it wasn't called Time of Possession it was called piggly Wiggly time which of course is where the Piggly Wiggly markets got there name cuz back then for two wooden nickels you could get...

 

[Swamp Donkey]

Five years ago, when Nick Saban was stomping all over our team with his pro style offense while we were running into a brick wall with the spread, everybody and their mother wanted the pro style offense. My how times change so quickly.

I still prefer pro-style, fast paced, lotsa shotgun, and NFL/major college sized players. I just don't ever want to see Mushchump style again. (Except maybe in the redzone.)

Plenty of prostyle offenses feature or at least allow the forward pass and actually try to score points.

Fvkk Ray Goofball and fvkk ALL dwags.

 

[klgator]

Five years ago, when Nick Saban was stomping all over our team with his pro style offense while we were running into a brick wall with the spread, everybody and their mother wanted the pro style offense. My how times change so quickly.

We just didn't want backs who fold on contact. Most of us thought it took going to the pro style to get a bruising back.

 

[oxrageous]

Five years ago, when Nick Saban was stomping all over our team with his pro style offense while we were running into a brick wall with the spread, everybody and their mother wanted the pro style offense. My how times change so quickly.

Is what we've had the last 3 years "pro style"?

 

[Swamp Donkey]

Is what we've had the last 3 years "pro style"?

Yes, so long as you are talking about the '54 Minnesota Vikings.

One can run a hurry up "pro-style". One can run a shotgun based "pro-style". Sas is being (purposefully) a nit.

Switching back to the spread will cause all the problems it always has, primarily us having nothing to do in the redzone unless your QB happens to be the best Fullback in history also. However, that beats the 3 and outfense.

That being said, there are about a 1000 renditions of the spread from Mumme's pass only to Rodriguez run mostly version. Rodriguez has featured monster fullbacks and big bad-ass TEs in the past. Switching back to the spread doesn't necesarily mean a return to 5'6" 160 pounders at every skill position and guys that are 30-50 too light on the lines and LB.

 

[Captain Sasquatch]

Is what we've had the last 3 years "pro style"?

Is that what I said?

 

[Gator Fever]

Five years ago, when Nick Saban was stomping all over our team with his pro style offense while we were running into a brick wall with the spread, everybody and their mother wanted the pro style offense. My how times change so quickly.

I just remember everyone hollering about all those Dive plays being ran.

 

[ThreatMatrix]

Is there something called Spurrier 90s style offense? Cuz I'd vote for that.

 

[MJMGator]

We haven't had any style on offense in 5 years.

 

[oxrageous]

Is what we've had the last 3 years "pro style"?

Is that what I said?

Seemed that's what you were implying. If I'm wrong, please accept my deepest apologies.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

Is there something called Spurrier 90s style offense? Cuz I'd vote for that.

No, there is only "the spread" and "the pro-style" and both involved just running the ball according to GSMB/GCMB.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

Is what we've had the last 3 years "pro style"?

Is that what I said?

 

[GatorStud]

Spurrier style, Gator version : FUN & GUN... yeah those were the day when the scoreboard got winded.

 

[ThreatMatrix]

Whatever halFaSsU is running seems to be working. What do they call that? The Rapey Crableg offense?

 

[Captain Sasquatch]

Whatever halFaSsU is running seems to be working. What do they call that? The Rapey Crableg offense?

It's called the "line up and run whatever you want because you play in the ACC" offense.