One of the reasons Ohio State was a favorite (not with Vegas but with many commentators) was the awesome power and ability they had in the run game. J.K. Dobbins had 301 carries this season for 2003 yards at 6.7 ypc with 21 touchdowns, amazing production. While not as densely packed with “blue chip” talent … [Read more…]
My recent book, Flyover Football… …begins with Clemson’s victory over Alabama in the 2018 National Championship game. It explains why Clemson’s emphasis on spread passing allowed them to win the day over Alabama with their own powerhouse offense and NFL talents. From there I told the story of how and why the spread offense really … [Read more…]
Since I coined the term “inverted Tampa 2” to describe Iowa State’s defense I’ve been getting questions regularly on how this newfangled anti-spread scheme works. Particularly since Baylor essentially stole it and made it a major part of their package while turning their bust-prone defense into a unit that paved the way for an 11-1 … [Read more…]
LSU vs Auburn, Tigers vs Tigers, was a big moment in the history of the spread offense’s inexorable march across the game of football. We’ve seen a few big time spread battles in the SEC before. Texas A&M introduced the Air Raid back in 2012 and had a pair of big seasons with Johnny Manziel … [Read more…]
Almost everyone runs the spread now. Using multiple receivers, spacing, and the forward pass as the key components to your offensive strategy is pretty well accepted now as a best practice. The hurry-up, no-huddle (HUNH) is also close to being accepted as a best practice. Obviously Kansas State is out here running A-gap power from … [Read more…]
That’s the name I came up with when describing an approach to anti-spread defense that focuses on doubling an opponent’s star players while leaving the rest of the offense at advantage. You can read about it at Football Study Hall, I use Oklahoma’s win over Texas in the Big 12 title game and K-State’s “blueprint” … [Read more…]
One of my favorite reoccurring topics is championship team construction, especially champions that have repeated success. Building dynasties in the NBA is extremely hard because it’s a superstar driven league and nothing creates superstars like championships. Even if a team can assemble a title-winner, Pat Riley’s “the disease of me” regularly creeps in and wipes … [Read more…]
The NBA playoffs often come down to matchups, as the good pundits are typically fond of noting. The Utah Jazz are pretty darn good when they aren’t playing the better spread/shooting teams like the Houston Rockets or Golden State Warriors. The Rockets make life hard for everyone because they force you to deal with James … [Read more…]
Over at Football Study Hall this week I wrote on the 21 spread. Technically 21 personnel means two RBs and one TE, but can often mean a variety of things. Oklahoma in 2017 ran a lot of 21 spread if you defined Mark Andrews as a TE, Dmitri Flowers as a FB, and then the … [Read more…]
I just recently finished the newest book by my man Coach Alexander: https://www.amazon.com/Hybrids-Making-Defense-Cody-Alexander/dp/1790429722 It’s a phenomenal read both for coaches of the game and also fans and writers that want a deeper and more comprehensive look at how defensive tactics have evolved to the point we’ve reached today. Coach A has a few main points … [Read more…]