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5 wins off 3 plays

79smoothdawg79smoothdawg Member, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 715 Swaye's Wigwam
After reading the thread about gremell expand into play calling and play execution. I thought I'd post this the article were MTSU won it's last 5 games of the year running 3 plays. Just proving it's not what you call but how you run them. Something the Chipster was great on getting his teams to do, it's what makes Bellevue a machine and it's what Sark lacked as a head coach. the attention to detail.

MTSU: 'We've run three plays the last five games'

After losing four of their first six games, the offensive staff at Middle Tennessee State decided that some change needed to be made in order to turn their season around.

The staff decided that the changes needed to start with their offensive playbook, so following their third straight loss to North Texas, they "cut everything" and have rolled with a playbook of just three plays ever since, rolling off five straight wins to finish 8-4.

“We cut everything, and we have stuck with that plan,” offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner told The Daily News Journal. “I wish we could’ve figured that out a couple games earlier. We probably got ahead of ourselves putting too much in. But give the kids credit. We have won five straight.”

“We have run only three run plays the last five games. We just did them out of multiple formations.

To make that kind of sacrifice is one thing, but the numbers that MTSU has put up since making that decision are fascinating:

During the five game win streak the Blue Raiders have:
- averaged 523 yards
- average of 43 points per game
- scored on 23 of 25 trips inside the red zone (including 17 touchdowns)
- averaged 273 rushing yards and 250 passing yards per game
- allowed just 1 sack
- produced 240+ rushing yards in every game

As a playcaller, Faulkner explained how the thinned out playbook benefitted them over the past five weeks and helped to put them in the position they're in now; just waiting to hear their bowl placement.

“We have been more balanced. Our screen game has been a lot better the last four or five weeks. And I could be wrong, but I don’t think we have taken a sack in the last five weeks. All those things go together. We eliminated negative plays, we have stayed ahead of the chains, continued to do pretty good on third down and finished drives the last five games. Our red-zone percentage has gotten better.”

It's that time of year. Time to take a look at your playbook and decide what should stay, and what should go. While Middle Tennessee's results aren't typical (and results will definitely vary), it does make you want to take a long, hard look at your playbook with a large trash can, or white-out nearby.


Comments

  • RaceBannonRaceBannon Member, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 106,076 Founders Club
    The last Husky Rose Bowl team just ran the option - which is basically three plays with some passing off it. That's why it was somewhat surprising that Rick went full retard later - you think that would have told him something.

    And don't act like you hated Rick on 1-1-01 - you didn't. You thought he was a pretty damn smart coach
  • LoneStarDawgLoneStarDawg Member Posts: 13,349
    i liked that razzledazzle play where we threw a 2 yard jump ball to our 6'4" WR being covered by a 5'6" DB
  • allpurpleallgoldallpurpleallgold Member Posts: 8,771

    The last Husky Rose Bowl team just ran the option - which is basically three plays with some passing off it. That's why it was somewhat surprising that Rick went full retard later - you think that would have told him something.

    And don't act like you hated Rick on 1-1-01 - you didn't. You thought he was a pretty damn smart coach

    Lambo won that Rose Bowl.
  • TailgaterTailgater Member Posts: 1,389
    I won that Rose Bowl by lodging in a rat infested shithole of a motel on Pacific Drive across the street from the Santa Monica pier and partying on News Years Eve in a small, crowded blues club that catered to faux Hollywood TV stars. The fake Laverne and Shirley were hilarious in a retro kind of way. Damn, that was a good trip.
  • dncdnc Member Posts: 56,758
    Was I the only one who thought this thread was going to be about John Ross?
  • RaceBannonRaceBannon Member, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 106,076 Founders Club

    The last Husky Rose Bowl team just ran the option - which is basically three plays with some passing off it. That's why it was somewhat surprising that Rick went full retard later - you think that would have told him something.

    And don't act like you hated Rick on 1-1-01 - you didn't. You thought he was a pretty damn smart coach

    Lambo won that Rose Bowl.
    Thanks AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAndy
  • RaccoonHarryRaccoonHarry Member Posts: 2,161
    Green Bay ran very few plays under Lombardi but the execution was flawless. In one of Chip's wins over Sark the Ducks called the same running play NINE times in a row on the way to another 4th quarter TD. A Husky DL told a Duck OL "if you run that play one more time I'm gonna throw up". That was just before they ran the play two more times and scored.
  • MikeDamoneMikeDamone Member Posts: 37,781

    The last Husky Rose Bowl team just ran the option - which is basically three plays with some passing off it. That's why it was somewhat surprising that Rick went full retard later - you think that would have told him something.

    And don't act like you hated Rick on 1-1-01 - you didn't. You thought he was a pretty damn smart coach

    Rick didn't recruit Olimemen, was soft, played rap music and practices, tried to hit the crossbar with passes, played the guitar,and devolved into a 7 win season, lied about interviewing ....the doogs never liked him for all that. Sark...Great coach, brought us out of 0-12, we have a lot to thank him for.

  • MikeDamoneMikeDamone Member Posts: 37,781

    The last Husky Rose Bowl team just ran the option - which is basically three plays with some passing off it. That's why it was somewhat surprising that Rick went full retard later - you think that would have told him something.

    And don't act like you hated Rick on 1-1-01 - you didn't. You thought he was a pretty damn smart coach

    Lambo won that Rose Bowl.
    But did he pop off.
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