Maybe we had it wrong

[messageboardsuperhero]

All offseason, the fans and media asked how will Mike Leach do in the SEC? Will be be able to make the necessary adjustments against SEC talent for his offense to be successful?

Look around the league and see how everyone plays defense. Auburn, LSU, Bama, etc. all want to get in your face, press man cover your receivers, and bring the heat. LSU tried this Saturday. They put a ton of pressure on Costello all day, and it didn’t matter. Even without Stingley, those were some really talented DBs manning up our receivers, and they couldn’t keep up.

Maybe instead of asking how Leach will adapt to the SEC, people should have been asking how will SEC defenses adapt to Leach?

Even if you have a good idea of how to slow this offense down, most of these defenses will have to totally change what they do defensively in just one week. Win, lose, or draw, we are going to be tough to prepare for, IMO.

 

[BlueRidgeMtns]

I think we all felt like we needed to see it to believe it. Now I've seen it and believe it whole heartedly.

 

[TrapGame.sixpack]

It's almost like preparing for the triple option in one week.

 

[Drebin]

I think what will end up happening is some of the bigger coaches are going to start trying to poach coaches of Leach's staff, number one.

Secondly, as we saw with Spurrier in the 90s, and then Urban Meyer with the Gators later, I think you're going to start seeing other teams adopt some of these offensive concepts.

If Leach has sustained success here, I think it will change how football is played in the SEC over the next decade or so.

 

[messageboardsuperhero]

It's almost like preparing for the triple option in one week.

Yes but lucky for us, this offense is much easier to recruit to.

I posted last week that Leach’s offense is very similar to a triple option/wishbone type, except the formations are more spread out and you distribute the ball via the forward pass instead of pitches and handoffs. Very difficult to prepare for in one week.

Even if you think you know how to slow it down, you’ve got one week to basically implement a new defensive strategy. No matter how good your plan is, it’s going to be tough for your players to execute.

 

[GloryDawg]

I think pride will keep a lot of these schools from making changes in their defense when they play State. Pride killed LSU Saturday by refusing to admit thier guys are not good enough alone to shut that offense down.

 

[Trojanbulldog19]

you know Emory Bellard compared Leach's offense to the triple option just in the air.

 

[Southern Law Dawg]

"I'm not locked in here with you. You're locked in here with me."

 

[johnson86-1]

I think pride will keep a lot of these schools from making changes in their defense when they play State. Pride killed LSU Saturday by refusing to admit thier guys are not good enough alone to shut that offense down.

I think the threat of 600yds passing will cause some of these guys to swallow their pride pretty quickly. They may all try some man press until we beat them, but at least until somebody stops us with that approach, I don't think any DC is going to come into the game without a backup plan.

I'm guessing we'll see how well Arkansas can copy Washington's approach this week unless Arkansas is just convinced that takes a massive talent advantage that they just don't have. We may have gotten lucky with LSU not really adjusting, because there might be some things that will work against us that Arkansas and UK just don't have the talent to pull off, so it will keep people guessing a little bit longer.

 

[Cooterpoot]

LSU didn't simply run man all day like some are saying. They tried zone and combo coverage too.

 

[Drebin]

LSU brought a lot of pressure. They played man almost exclusively on the outside and did some combo stuff at times in the middle. This is why the middle was wide open on crosses and the outside verticals were there all day.

 

[SheltonChoked]

I think the threat of 600yds passing will cause some of these guys to swallow their pride pretty quickly. They may all try some man press until we beat them, but at least until somebody stops us with that approach, I don't think any DC is going to come into the game without a backup plan.

I'm guessing we'll see how well Arkansas can copy Washington's approach this week unless Arkansas is just convinced that takes a massive talent advantage that they just don't have. We may have gotten lucky with LSU not really adjusting, because there might be some things that will work against us that Arkansas and UK just don't have the talent to pull off, so it will keep people guessing a little bit longer.

A team that plays mostly man to man will have an issue playing zone all game.

Arkansas will zone us. They had a horrible secondary last year, and it's not much better this year. They zoned UGA all game. Expect to see lots of open guys in seams, with safeties crashing down all day. They will try to stop the big play. I'm not convinced they can get pressure without bringing 4+ out of their 3-2-6 defense.

Kylin Hill only ran for 230 yards last year against them. Against a 3 man front, with only 2 LB, I'll take that.

 

[TrapGame.sixpack]

"I'm not locked in here with you. You're locked in here with me."

 

[Felonious Junk]

If Arkansas tries to copy Washington, we’ll score 100. Arkansas has no linebackers. If they drop into zone, Kylin will smoke them on the run. If they try to man him, the mesh will eat them alive.

Washington had the success they did not because of scheme but because they had better athletes.

 

[Dawgzilla]

It's almost like preparing for the triple option in one week.

Except that Pellini had all Summer to prepare.

 

[o_Hot Rock]

Part of that was that Mississippi State had never demonstrated that we had the receivers to make them get out of man to man.

Now, they have... the game plans will be different for all of our opponents. That does not mean that Leech can't change either. Remember, he did not expect LSU to play man to man this past weekend. He had to adjust his play calling accordingly. Thing is, this is not his first rodeo.

 

[PirateDawg]

I think what will end up happening is some of the bigger coaches are going to start trying to poach coaches of Leach's staff, number one.

Secondly, as we saw with Spurrier in the 90s, and then Urban Meyer with the Gators later, I think you're going to start seeing other teams adopt some of these offensive concepts.

If Leach has sustained success here, I think it will change how football is played in the SEC over the next decade or so.

I would imagine Ole Miss fans thought the same about Hugh Freeze's offense. Interesting that Saban considered hiring Freeze.

 

[TrapGame.sixpack]

I think Pellini may be more hard headed than Moorhead.

 

[thekimmer]

To me its all about execution and especially at the QB position. For this to work the QB has to be very accurate and Costello was making some unbelievably precise throws, sometimes under duress, at a very high level. I'd wager that last year we would not have completed more than 20% of those attempts. If he can maintain that it is very difficult to stop it but that level of consistency is the rub.

 

[TrapGame.sixpack]

If Arkansas tries to copy Washington, we’ll score 100. Arkansas has no linebackers. If they drop into zone, Kylin will smoke them on the run. If they try to man him, the mesh will eat them alive.

Washington had the success they did not because of scheme but because they had better athletes.

Not only having four dudes off that Washington front seven going to the NFL but having Chris Peterson as the head coach didn't hurt either.

 

[Cooterpoot]

LSU brought a lot of pressure. They played man almost exclusively on the outside and did some combo stuff at times in the middle. This is why the middle was wide open on crosses and the outside verticals were there all day.

They also ran cover 2 & 3

 

[Shamoan]

honestly, i feel like this kind of football is on a totally different level than anything i have been a part of. it feels like we are playing a different kind of game than we ever have before.

 

[Drebin]

I don't think Ole Miss was doing anything unusual or groundbreaking. They just had freak athletes at the WR position and they went really fast on offense.

 

[FISHDAWG]

Except that Pellini had all Summer to prepare.

and we had a month to prepare for the triple option - you see how that turned out