Jump to content

2021 Texas Offseason: Sark Attacks Austin

texifornia

By texifornia
in Football

 Share

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 4.8k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Popular Posts

THUJONE
THUJONE

Just leaving this here for posterity.

fatheryeet
fatheryeet

SOON Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

closetojumping
closetojumping

There are longstanding rumors that Chip Brown is your typical old school sports reporter. By that, I mean he's allegedly a degenerate gambler and alcoholic. There's a longstanding rumor that Chip

Posted Images

  • Popular Post
Huckleberry

Huckleberry 32707

Posted
  • Popular Post
Posted
4 hours ago, Burt Macklin said:

 

They're not worldbeaters, but they're pretty good. They went 10-1 with wins over ISU and App State and their only loss being by 3 to a good Coastal Carolina team.  The biggest reason it will be a tough matchup is that they return something like 19 of 22 starters, including their QB.  Meanwhile, we'll be replacing many key starters, including QB, while implementing new schemes on both sides of the ball. It's a bad game for us to have as Game 1, but it's definitely still winnable. We'll learn a lot about this coaching staff right away. 

We are going to beat the shit out of Louisiana. The trepidation about that game around here is embarrassing. They will be (over)ranked and our biggest issue with the game will be maintaining a focused approach when we are in turn overranked after stomping a mudhole in their overrated ass.

  • Hook 'Em 11
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
jw4381

jw4381 3064

Posted
Posted (edited)
25 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

We are going to beat the shit out of Louisiana. The trepidation about that game around here is embarrassing. They will be (over)ranked and our biggest issue with the game will be maintaining a focused approach when we are in turn overranked after stomping a mudhole in their overrated ass.

comedy central GIF by Drunk History

Edited by jw4381
Link to comment
Share on other sites
ztejas

ztejas 43266

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, jinx said:

 

 

I thought it was well established that this board (meaning Surly as a whole - I don’t play Football vs 9.95er wars) has no clue what a generation is and thinks it to be somewhere between 10-20 years. 

Even if you say it's 20 years (which is close to accurate - I usually think of it as a 30ish year period) you are covering Foreman, Jamaal and Ced with that window. If Bijan is going to be better than all 3 of those guys, well, then... holy fucking shit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tex Pete

Tex Pete 20184

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Huckleberry said:

We are going to beat the shit out of Louisiana. The trepidation about that game around here is embarrassing. They will be (over)ranked and our biggest issue with the game will be maintaining a focused approach when we are in turn overranked after stomping a mudhole in their overrated ass.

spacer.png

  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Rimbo

Rimbo 25791

Posted
Posted
23 hours ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

I was actually thinking about the parallels between Mack and Sark and their predecessors the other day. Strong was a lot like McWilliams -- career defensive guy, limited head coaching experience at a smaller program where they had early success, genuinely likeable and way, way out of their depth as the head coach at Texas. Mackovick and Herman were both considered innovative offensive minds, always the smartest guys in the room, aloof, completely un-self aware, but both were competent football coaches. They also both made mind bottling assistant coaching hires that ultimately doomed them. On the plus side, they also both identified and recruited talent to Austin and they both insisted on upgrading facilities that had become outdated. Sark is walking into the end of a facility upgrade that should benefit him just as Mack did. As far as the roster goes, Sark is inheriting Bijan and Mack had Ricky. Sark has Alfred Collins, Mack had Rogers and Hampton. Sark and Mack took much different paths to become head coach at Texas and they obviously bring different things to the table as coaches so a lot of the parallels end there, but I do think their situations are somewhat analogous.

 

i was meaning too write something just to that effect for a few weeks now. In fact when we were discussing getting Urban, all I could think was, "It's not going to be Urban. It's going to be someone who will have us stunned and pissed, then say all the right things and hire an amazing bunch of assistants while keeping the bell cow running back."

ok i added the running back bit later, but the rest was exactly what i eat thinking a couple months back

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SydneyCarton

SydneyCarton 47924

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, UDontKnow said:

God I can't stop laughing. Anyone else imagining the reporter to be @SydneyCarton?

I mean, now I kinda want the audio with the original clip. 

I can say with all honesty that there is very little resemblance between myself and that reporter. That guy looks about 5'8 and 130 lbs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
UDontKnow

UDontKnow 10439

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

I mean, now I kinda want the audio with the original clip. 

I can say with all honesty that there is very little resemblance between myself and that reporter. That guy looks about 5'8 and 130 lbs.

It was more of the concept than the actual resemblance. Although the guy running like a madman on the beach (let's just call it Galveston beach) has to be a fairly accurate description of @closetojumping. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SydneyCarton

SydneyCarton 47924

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, UDontKnow said:

It was more of the concept than the actual resemblance. Although the guy running like a madman on the beach (let's just call it Galveston beach) has to be a fairly accurate description of @closetojumping. 

Not even close. Trust me, CTJ can't lean over that far and move his legs without falling on his face. And he's a bigger due than I am, and I'm pretty big. 

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
closetojumping

closetojumping 62259

Posted
Posted
51 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

Not even close. Trust me, CTJ can't lean over that far and move his legs without falling on his face. And he's a bigger due than I am, and I'm pretty big. 

I can literally run just like that dude, you baby giraffe. My littlest boy enjoys acting like he's Sonic and he runs like that and always makes me do it with him. Plus, been doing the US3 with the others while you're holed up in the north Heights, oiling up your choad and burping out potato chip and PBR breath by noon each day.

We can think of the Surly Sprint-off on September 4th, 2021, as a bit of a medley of racing and track competitions, I guess. Beyond the 100 yard flat out furious sprint-off, I'd do a 40 yard Sonic Sprint against you fuckers. We could also mix in some midget tossing, an office chair hammer-esque throw, and a broad jump in which we stack dead Shaggy servers on top of one another until only one person can successfully clear them for the title. Stuff like that, I think. 

You guys can fuck around and find out. I'm already working on a sponsorship deal for the festivities. 

  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Like 2
  • Fuck Around and Find Out 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Reynolds Woodcock

Reynolds Woodcock 4673

Posted
Posted

 

Ian Boyd's succinct thoughts on Bijan cc: @Burt Macklin

 

Spoiler

Inside the gameplan: The challenge of featuring Bijan Robinson

It’s obvious to everyone around Texas football what the strategy will be for winning games in 2021, year one of the Steve Sarkisian era. You only need to have watched a few of the late season games to have a clear sense of who on this roster a new staff would be looking to emphasize in order to win games.
 


As a card-carrying member of the “running backs don’t matter that much” club, I’m willing to acknowledge some exceptions, like Bijan Robinson. There are running backs who can make a substantial difference to an offense, usually as force multipliers for a functioning run game system but occasionally also as erasers who make things work which otherwise wouldn’t. Patrick Mahomes, up until he faced the Tampa Bay pass-rush in front of 2-man under with athletic linebackers in coverage, made the Chiefs’ offense work even amidst O-line issues. Bijan Robinson can make a run game work even when the system isn’t functioning on a high level.

 

 


This is only a three-yard gain on first and 10 but there’s a world of difference between second and seven or second and 15. Bijan has a rare blend of agility, speed, and power at 220 pounds (to say nothing of his hands) which makes him exceptionally difficult to tackle. Hypothetically, a player like Bijan operating in space in a spread concept is a dominant weapon.

Therein lies the rub. The spread offense is a double-edged sword. If you space your opponent out and dare them to allocate numbers in one area of the field vs another, you run the risk they’ll make the obvious choice to take space and opportunities away from a player like Bijan Robinson. Texas’ mission as an offense this offseason is to develop a unit which complements Bijan and guarantees he can’t be taken out of games.

Spread run game philosophy

In 2011, Sarkisian’s third year in Seattle, UW played in the Alamo Bowl at the end of the year against the RG3 Baylor Bears. The Huskies had something nasty prepared for Baylor’s defense, they’d already set school records for touchdown passes and were able to light up the Bears for 56 points. Unfortunately Briles hit harder and the Bears scored 67 while handing Sark the L and a taste of the future of football.

I’m guessing this was a formative experience for today’s Sark because the following year saw Washington begin to employ RPOs as a consistent, foundational piece of their offensive strategy. In 2013 they really started to get it right and went 9-4, opening the season by blowing out Boise State 38-6.

Here they are running “the touchdown play” against Boise early in the rout:

 

 


And here’s the more recent glance route RPO executed with a young John Ross lined up in the boundary slot:

 

 


Interestingly enough, John Ross was the one who really powered the Huskies to the playoffs in 2015. He was around because Sarkisian (who left after 2013) was already in the business of stockpiling < 200 pound receivers who could run 4.4 or faster.

This game began with a lot of passing, mostly on RPOs, and quarterback Keith Price finished 23-of-31 on the day for 324 yards at 10.5 ypa with two touchdowns to a sole interception. The passing early on opened up the run game for running back Bishop Sankey, who had 25 carries for 161 yards at 6.4 ypc with two scores. Here’s how their numbers looked on the season in comparison to some of the recent Tom Herman Texas squads.

 

 

 
Herman:Sark QB:RB balance.jpg

Herman’s offenses ran more plays, were less efficient with the run and the pass, and asked a good deal more of the quarterback than Sarkisian’s 2013 Husky team (or subsequent Sark squads). Beyond the much heavier load in the passing game Ehlinger took on in comparison to Keith Price, there’s also the unlisted run game production where Ehlinger was taking a beating and Price (and especially other Sark quarterbacks) were much less involved.

The underlying philosophy is different. Sarkisian was typically throwing the ball to set up the run. Tom Herman viewed tempo, RPOs, and quarterback runs as means to control the ball in the box. Whereas Herman might say, “we’ll line up faster and then see how they do stopping the run,” Sarkisian leaned more into the true spread philosophy of applying stress down the field or on the perimeter to shake defenders out of the box and allow the run game to get going.

Herman was never as comfortable with RPOs, disliking giving defenses choices and taking initiative away from his offense. The Longhorns ended up running a fair number of them but typically only for the most trusted wideouts, and many receivers never earned the trust to receive regular targets. Texas was very conspicuously missing the boundary RPO arrow in the quiver in losses against Baylor and Iowa State defenses in 2019 when Collin Johnson was out with injury.

Clearly Sarkisian’s approach has been more efficient not only for the running backs but the quarterback as well. Good spacing generated by the threat of the forward pass is simply more effective than tempo or quarterback-option for setting up the run game.

Ensuring space or blockers for the running back

Unlike Herman, Sarkisian centers the run game around the running back. Sam Ehlinger led Texas in carries each of the last two seasons and was the leader or tied with the leader in rushing touchdowns each of the last three seasons. Herman’s reasoning here was sound, if you feature the quarterback as the runner you’re guaranteed a numbers advantage at the point of attack. Bill Snyder’s run was built on the same principle. It’s a hard knock life for your passer though as the accumulated hits and damage can limit his effectiveness when throwing the ball.

If your goal on offense is for the run game to be centered around the running back then your offensive structure needs to be able to guarantee space OR blockers so the back isn’t just running into a wall.

The RPO game doesn’t necessarily guarantee space for the running back, but it should ultimately arrive there if the offense executes them properly. Sarkisian has always put a premium on having explosive athletes like John Ross, Nelson Agholor, or DeVonta Smith to receive the ball on pass options and force defenses to yield space in the box.

Most every defensive coach likes to talk a tough game about stopping the run but when the offense is averaging 10 yards per pass and routinely flipping the ball to 4.4 sprinters in space, coaches will start to back down a little on their guiding principle. Or else they play man coverage in order to ensure they can keep numbers in the box on your running back, then the stakes of the game just go up and the offense can run dropback or play-action passes and potentially turn those 10-yard RPO gains into 40+ yard scoring plays.

Finding feature weapons in the wide receiver corps and getting the quarterback up to speed in the RPO, play-action, and man-beating game is the essential task of the offseason for Sarkisian. In the same fashion NBA teams aim to surround LeBron James, Luka Doncic, or James Harden with three-point shooters to guarantee them space to attack the rim, Texas will seek to get speed and pass-options going to keep defenses from loading the box against Bijan Robinson.

Then there are the moments where you can’t guarantee space, such as third and two or second and goal. Defenses will virtually always aim to outnumber the run and deny space in those instances, which is partly why Texas so frequently used the unbalanced “touchdown play” with tempo in order to try and pick up gains before the defense could fully get set.

Sarkisian has never totally lost touch with his under center, pro-style roots and maintained some short-yardage packages within the Alabama offense for these situations.

 

 


The playside tight end here is 6-foot-4, 298-pound converted offensive lineman Kendall Randolph. He blocks down while the guard leads to kick out the edge. Then the Tide have 6-foot-3, 240-pound converted linebacker Joshua McMillon serve as the fullback and lead through the hole. Texas fans may recall the spread pass-happy Colt McCoy Longhorns also maintained short-yardage packages featuring extra offensive linemen and guys like Roy Miller and Lamarr Houston at fullback. There’s a reason Cody Johnson is tied for fifth in all-time career rushing touchdowns as a Longhorn with Steve Worster and Jamaal Charles (Sam Ehlinger is tied for eighth with Jim Bertelsen). Greg Davis and Mack Brown were eager to protect Colt McCoy from unnecessary dirty work to keep him healthy... and it almost worked.

If you can’t guarantee the defense won’t stick extra, unblocked defenders around the box (the magic numbers are six if you don’t have a tight end, seven if you do, and eight if you have two tight ends) with the threat of RPOs and play-action then you need to put extra blockers on the field. Texas is in good shape to have a high-functioning 12 personnel or perhaps even 13 personnel package featuring Cade Brewer, Jared Wiley, Brayden Liebrock, and maybe Ja’Tavion Sanders. They’d also benefit from choosing a sixth offensive lineman or maybe a hard-nosed defender to get into the action as well as a fullback or short-yardage tight end. None of Texas’ tight ends are brilliant blockers, with Brewer probably the most solid, so while those packages could probably do damage at tempo, Texas would need a power set as well.

Bijan Robinson is a known quality for 2021, there’s no serious doubt over whether he can be one of the most dominant football players in the conference. This factor in the Longhorn season is as obvious to their opponents as it is to the new coaching staff, so can Texas build a supporting cast to help Bijan run wild anyways?

 

  • Hook 'Em 2
  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
  • Rage+1 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
sunset87

sunset87 240

Posted
Posted
28 minutes ago, Reynolds Woodcock said:

 

Ian Boyd's succinct thoughts on Bijan cc: @Burt Macklin

 

  Hide contents

Inside the gameplan: The challenge of featuring Bijan Robinson

It’s obvious to everyone around Texas football what the strategy will be for winning games in 2021, year one of the Steve Sarkisian era. You only need to have watched a few of the late season games to have a clear sense of who on this roster a new staff would be looking to emphasize in order to win games.
 


As a card-carrying member of the “running backs don’t matter that much” club, I’m willing to acknowledge some exceptions, like Bijan Robinson. There are running backs who can make a substantial difference to an offense, usually as force multipliers for a functioning run game system but occasionally also as erasers who make things work which otherwise wouldn’t. Patrick Mahomes, up until he faced the Tampa Bay pass-rush in front of 2-man under with athletic linebackers in coverage, made the Chiefs’ offense work even amidst O-line issues. Bijan Robinson can make a run game work even when the system isn’t functioning on a high level.

 

 


This is only a three-yard gain on first and 10 but there’s a world of difference between second and seven or second and 15. Bijan has a rare blend of agility, speed, and power at 220 pounds (to say nothing of his hands) which makes him exceptionally difficult to tackle. Hypothetically, a player like Bijan operating in space in a spread concept is a dominant weapon.

Therein lies the rub. The spread offense is a double-edged sword. If you space your opponent out and dare them to allocate numbers in one area of the field vs another, you run the risk they’ll make the obvious choice to take space and opportunities away from a player like Bijan Robinson. Texas’ mission as an offense this offseason is to develop a unit which complements Bijan and guarantees he can’t be taken out of games.

Spread run game philosophy

In 2011, Sarkisian’s third year in Seattle, UW played in the Alamo Bowl at the end of the year against the RG3 Baylor Bears. The Huskies had something nasty prepared for Baylor’s defense, they’d already set school records for touchdown passes and were able to light up the Bears for 56 points. Unfortunately Briles hit harder and the Bears scored 67 while handing Sark the L and a taste of the future of football.

I’m guessing this was a formative experience for today’s Sark because the following year saw Washington begin to employ RPOs as a consistent, foundational piece of their offensive strategy. In 2013 they really started to get it right and went 9-4, opening the season by blowing out Boise State 38-6.

Here they are running “the touchdown play” against Boise early in the rout:

 

 


And here’s the more recent glance route RPO executed with a young John Ross lined up in the boundary slot:

 

 


Interestingly enough, John Ross was the one who really powered the Huskies to the playoffs in 2015. He was around because Sarkisian (who left after 2013) was already in the business of stockpiling < 200 pound receivers who could run 4.4 or faster.

This game began with a lot of passing, mostly on RPOs, and quarterback Keith Price finished 23-of-31 on the day for 324 yards at 10.5 ypa with two touchdowns to a sole interception. The passing early on opened up the run game for running back Bishop Sankey, who had 25 carries for 161 yards at 6.4 ypc with two scores. Here’s how their numbers looked on the season in comparison to some of the recent Tom Herman Texas squads.

 

 

 
Herman:Sark QB:RB balance.jpg


Herman’s offenses ran more plays, were less efficient with the run and the pass, and asked a good deal more of the quarterback than Sarkisian’s 2013 Husky team (or subsequent Sark squads). Beyond the much heavier load in the passing game Ehlinger took on in comparison to Keith Price, there’s also the unlisted run game production where Ehlinger was taking a beating and Price (and especially other Sark quarterbacks) were much less involved.

The underlying philosophy is different. Sarkisian was typically throwing the ball to set up the run. Tom Herman viewed tempo, RPOs, and quarterback runs as means to control the ball in the box. Whereas Herman might say, “we’ll line up faster and then see how they do stopping the run,” Sarkisian leaned more into the true spread philosophy of applying stress down the field or on the perimeter to shake defenders out of the box and allow the run game to get going.

Herman was never as comfortable with RPOs, disliking giving defenses choices and taking initiative away from his offense. The Longhorns ended up running a fair number of them but typically only for the most trusted wideouts, and many receivers never earned the trust to receive regular targets. Texas was very conspicuously missing the boundary RPO arrow in the quiver in losses against Baylor and Iowa State defenses in 2019 when Collin Johnson was out with injury.

Clearly Sarkisian’s approach has been more efficient not only for the running backs but the quarterback as well. Good spacing generated by the threat of the forward pass is simply more effective than tempo or quarterback-option for setting up the run game.

Ensuring space or blockers for the running back

Unlike Herman, Sarkisian centers the run game around the running back. Sam Ehlinger led Texas in carries each of the last two seasons and was the leader or tied with the leader in rushing touchdowns each of the last three seasons. Herman’s reasoning here was sound, if you feature the quarterback as the runner you’re guaranteed a numbers advantage at the point of attack. Bill Snyder’s run was built on the same principle. It’s a hard knock life for your passer though as the accumulated hits and damage can limit his effectiveness when throwing the ball.

If your goal on offense is for the run game to be centered around the running back then your offensive structure needs to be able to guarantee space OR blockers so the back isn’t just running into a wall.

The RPO game doesn’t necessarily guarantee space for the running back, but it should ultimately arrive there if the offense executes them properly. Sarkisian has always put a premium on having explosive athletes like John Ross, Nelson Agholor, or DeVonta Smith to receive the ball on pass options and force defenses to yield space in the box.

Most every defensive coach likes to talk a tough game about stopping the run but when the offense is averaging 10 yards per pass and routinely flipping the ball to 4.4 sprinters in space, coaches will start to back down a little on their guiding principle. Or else they play man coverage in order to ensure they can keep numbers in the box on your running back, then the stakes of the game just go up and the offense can run dropback or play-action passes and potentially turn those 10-yard RPO gains into 40+ yard scoring plays.

Finding feature weapons in the wide receiver corps and getting the quarterback up to speed in the RPO, play-action, and man-beating game is the essential task of the offseason for Sarkisian. In the same fashion NBA teams aim to surround LeBron James, Luka Doncic, or James Harden with three-point shooters to guarantee them space to attack the rim, Texas will seek to get speed and pass-options going to keep defenses from loading the box against Bijan Robinson.

Then there are the moments where you can’t guarantee space, such as third and two or second and goal. Defenses will virtually always aim to outnumber the run and deny space in those instances, which is partly why Texas so frequently used the unbalanced “touchdown play” with tempo in order to try and pick up gains before the defense could fully get set.

Sarkisian has never totally lost touch with his under center, pro-style roots and maintained some short-yardage packages within the Alabama offense for these situations.

 

 


The playside tight end here is 6-foot-4, 298-pound converted offensive lineman Kendall Randolph. He blocks down while the guard leads to kick out the edge. Then the Tide have 6-foot-3, 240-pound converted linebacker Joshua McMillon serve as the fullback and lead through the hole. Texas fans may recall the spread pass-happy Colt McCoy Longhorns also maintained short-yardage packages featuring extra offensive linemen and guys like Roy Miller and Lamarr Houston at fullback. There’s a reason Cody Johnson is tied for fifth in all-time career rushing touchdowns as a Longhorn with Steve Worster and Jamaal Charles (Sam Ehlinger is tied for eighth with Jim Bertelsen). Greg Davis and Mack Brown were eager to protect Colt McCoy from unnecessary dirty work to keep him healthy... and it almost worked.

If you can’t guarantee the defense won’t stick extra, unblocked defenders around the box (the magic numbers are six if you don’t have a tight end, seven if you do, and eight if you have two tight ends) with the threat of RPOs and play-action then you need to put extra blockers on the field. Texas is in good shape to have a high-functioning 12 personnel or perhaps even 13 personnel package featuring Cade Brewer, Jared Wiley, Brayden Liebrock, and maybe Ja’Tavion Sanders. They’d also benefit from choosing a sixth offensive lineman or maybe a hard-nosed defender to get into the action as well as a fullback or short-yardage tight end. None of Texas’ tight ends are brilliant blockers, with Brewer probably the most solid, so while those packages could probably do damage at tempo, Texas would need a power set as well.

Bijan Robinson is a known quality for 2021, there’s no serious doubt over whether he can be one of the most dominant football players in the conference. This factor in the Longhorn season is as obvious to their opponents as it is to the new coaching staff, so can Texas build a supporting cast to help Bijan run wild anyways?

 

Fuck that longcat...

Danny Devito No GIF by reactionseditor

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Irieguy

Irieguy 1059

Posted
Posted
46 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

I can literally run just like that dude, you baby giraffe. My littlest boy enjoys acting like he's Sonic and he runs like that and always makes me do it with him. Plus, been doing the US3 with the others while you're holed up in the north Heights, oiling up your choad and burping out potato chip and PBR breath by noon each day.

We can think of the Surly Sprint-off on September 4th, 2021, as a bit of a medley of racing and track competitions, I guess. Beyond the 100 yard flat out furious sprint-off, I'd do a 40 yard Sonic Sprint against you fuckers. We could also mix in some midget tossing, an office chair hammer-esque throw, and a broad jump in which we stack dead Shaggy servers on top of one another until only one person can successfully clear them for the title. Stuff like that, I think. 

You guys can fuck around and find out. I'm already working on a sponsorship deal for the festivities. 

It has a name. Naruto running. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
RGBIII

RGBIII 22798

Posted
Posted
42 minutes ago, Reynolds Woodcock said:

 

Ian Boyd's succinct thoughts on Bijan cc: @Burt Macklin

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Inside the gameplan: The challenge of featuring Bijan Robinson

It’s obvious to everyone around Texas football what the strategy will be for winning games in 2021, year one of the Steve Sarkisian era. You only need to have watched a few of the late season games to have a clear sense of who on this roster a new staff would be looking to emphasize in order to win games.
 


As a card-carrying member of the “running backs don’t matter that much” club, I’m willing to acknowledge some exceptions, like Bijan Robinson. There are running backs who can make a substantial difference to an offense, usually as force multipliers for a functioning run game system but occasionally also as erasers who make things work which otherwise wouldn’t. Patrick Mahomes, up until he faced the Tampa Bay pass-rush in front of 2-man under with athletic linebackers in coverage, made the Chiefs’ offense work even amidst O-line issues. Bijan Robinson can make a run game work even when the system isn’t functioning on a high level.

 

 


This is only a three-yard gain on first and 10 but there’s a world of difference between second and seven or second and 15. Bijan has a rare blend of agility, speed, and power at 220 pounds (to say nothing of his hands) which makes him exceptionally difficult to tackle. Hypothetically, a player like Bijan operating in space in a spread concept is a dominant weapon.

Therein lies the rub. The spread offense is a double-edged sword. If you space your opponent out and dare them to allocate numbers in one area of the field vs another, you run the risk they’ll make the obvious choice to take space and opportunities away from a player like Bijan Robinson. Texas’ mission as an offense this offseason is to develop a unit which complements Bijan and guarantees he can’t be taken out of games.

Spread run game philosophy

In 2011, Sarkisian’s third year in Seattle, UW played in the Alamo Bowl at the end of the year against the RG3 Baylor Bears. The Huskies had something nasty prepared for Baylor’s defense, they’d already set school records for touchdown passes and were able to light up the Bears for 56 points. Unfortunately Briles hit harder and the Bears scored 67 while handing Sark the L and a taste of the future of football.

I’m guessing this was a formative experience for today’s Sark because the following year saw Washington begin to employ RPOs as a consistent, foundational piece of their offensive strategy. In 2013 they really started to get it right and went 9-4, opening the season by blowing out Boise State 38-6.

Here they are running “the touchdown play” against Boise early in the rout:

 

 


And here’s the more recent glance route RPO executed with a young John Ross lined up in the boundary slot:

 

 


Interestingly enough, John Ross was the one who really powered the Huskies to the playoffs in 2015. He was around because Sarkisian (who left after 2013) was already in the business of stockpiling < 200 pound receivers who could run 4.4 or faster.

This game began with a lot of passing, mostly on RPOs, and quarterback Keith Price finished 23-of-31 on the day for 324 yards at 10.5 ypa with two touchdowns to a sole interception. The passing early on opened up the run game for running back Bishop Sankey, who had 25 carries for 161 yards at 6.4 ypc with two scores. Here’s how their numbers looked on the season in comparison to some of the recent Tom Herman Texas squads.

 

 

 
Herman:Sark QB:RB balance.jpg


Herman’s offenses ran more plays, were less efficient with the run and the pass, and asked a good deal more of the quarterback than Sarkisian’s 2013 Husky team (or subsequent Sark squads). Beyond the much heavier load in the passing game Ehlinger took on in comparison to Keith Price, there’s also the unlisted run game production where Ehlinger was taking a beating and Price (and especially other Sark quarterbacks) were much less involved.

The underlying philosophy is different. Sarkisian was typically throwing the ball to set up the run. Tom Herman viewed tempo, RPOs, and quarterback runs as means to control the ball in the box. Whereas Herman might say, “we’ll line up faster and then see how they do stopping the run,” Sarkisian leaned more into the true spread philosophy of applying stress down the field or on the perimeter to shake defenders out of the box and allow the run game to get going.

Herman was never as comfortable with RPOs, disliking giving defenses choices and taking initiative away from his offense. The Longhorns ended up running a fair number of them but typically only for the most trusted wideouts, and many receivers never earned the trust to receive regular targets. Texas was very conspicuously missing the boundary RPO arrow in the quiver in losses against Baylor and Iowa State defenses in 2019 when Collin Johnson was out with injury.

Clearly Sarkisian’s approach has been more efficient not only for the running backs but the quarterback as well. Good spacing generated by the threat of the forward pass is simply more effective than tempo or quarterback-option for setting up the run game.

Ensuring space or blockers for the running back

Unlike Herman, Sarkisian centers the run game around the running back. Sam Ehlinger led Texas in carries each of the last two seasons and was the leader or tied with the leader in rushing touchdowns each of the last three seasons. Herman’s reasoning here was sound, if you feature the quarterback as the runner you’re guaranteed a numbers advantage at the point of attack. Bill Snyder’s run was built on the same principle. It’s a hard knock life for your passer though as the accumulated hits and damage can limit his effectiveness when throwing the ball.

If your goal on offense is for the run game to be centered around the running back then your offensive structure needs to be able to guarantee space OR blockers so the back isn’t just running into a wall.

The RPO game doesn’t necessarily guarantee space for the running back, but it should ultimately arrive there if the offense executes them properly. Sarkisian has always put a premium on having explosive athletes like John Ross, Nelson Agholor, or DeVonta Smith to receive the ball on pass options and force defenses to yield space in the box.

Most every defensive coach likes to talk a tough game about stopping the run but when the offense is averaging 10 yards per pass and routinely flipping the ball to 4.4 sprinters in space, coaches will start to back down a little on their guiding principle. Or else they play man coverage in order to ensure they can keep numbers in the box on your running back, then the stakes of the game just go up and the offense can run dropback or play-action passes and potentially turn those 10-yard RPO gains into 40+ yard scoring plays.

Finding feature weapons in the wide receiver corps and getting the quarterback up to speed in the RPO, play-action, and man-beating game is the essential task of the offseason for Sarkisian. In the same fashion NBA teams aim to surround LeBron James, Luka Doncic, or James Harden with three-point shooters to guarantee them space to attack the rim, Texas will seek to get speed and pass-options going to keep defenses from loading the box against Bijan Robinson.

Then there are the moments where you can’t guarantee space, such as third and two or second and goal. Defenses will virtually always aim to outnumber the run and deny space in those instances, which is partly why Texas so frequently used the unbalanced “touchdown play” with tempo in order to try and pick up gains before the defense could fully get set.

Sarkisian has never totally lost touch with his under center, pro-style roots and maintained some short-yardage packages within the Alabama offense for these situations.

 

 


The playside tight end here is 6-foot-4, 298-pound converted offensive lineman Kendall Randolph. He blocks down while the guard leads to kick out the edge. Then the Tide have 6-foot-3, 240-pound converted linebacker Joshua McMillon serve as the fullback and lead through the hole. Texas fans may recall the spread pass-happy Colt McCoy Longhorns also maintained short-yardage packages featuring extra offensive linemen and guys like Roy Miller and Lamarr Houston at fullback. There’s a reason Cody Johnson is tied for fifth in all-time career rushing touchdowns as a Longhorn with Steve Worster and Jamaal Charles (Sam Ehlinger is tied for eighth with Jim Bertelsen). Greg Davis and Mack Brown were eager to protect Colt McCoy from unnecessary dirty work to keep him healthy... and it almost worked.

If you can’t guarantee the defense won’t stick extra, unblocked defenders around the box (the magic numbers are six if you don’t have a tight end, seven if you do, and eight if you have two tight ends) with the threat of RPOs and play-action then you need to put extra blockers on the field. Texas is in good shape to have a high-functioning 12 personnel or perhaps even 13 personnel package featuring Cade Brewer, Jared Wiley, Brayden Liebrock, and maybe Ja’Tavion Sanders. They’d also benefit from choosing a sixth offensive lineman or maybe a hard-nosed defender to get into the action as well as a fullback or short-yardage tight end. None of Texas’ tight ends are brilliant blockers, with Brewer probably the most solid, so while those packages could probably do damage at tempo, Texas would need a power set as well.

Bijan Robinson is a known quality for 2021, there’s no serious doubt over whether he can be one of the most dominant football players in the conference. This factor in the Longhorn season is as obvious to their opponents as it is to the new coaching staff, so can Texas build a supporting cast to help Bijan run wild anyways?

 

*opens spoilers*
idc laughing GIF
*closes spoilers*

  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Haha 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites
RGBIII

RGBIII 22798

Posted
Posted
53 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

I can literally run just like that dude, you baby giraffe. My littlest boy enjoys acting like he's Sonic and he runs like that and always makes me do it with him. Plus, been doing the US3 with the others while you're holed up in the north Heights, oiling up your choad and burping out potato chip and PBR breath by noon each day.

We can think of the Surly Sprint-off on September 4th, 2021, as a bit of a medley of racing and track competitions, I guess. Beyond the 100 yard flat out furious sprint-off, I'd do a 40 yard Sonic Sprint against you fuckers. We could also mix in some midget tossing, an office chair hammer-esque throw, and a broad jump in which we stack dead Shaggy servers on top of one another until only one person can successfully clear them for the title. Stuff like that, I think. 

You guys can fuck around and find out. I'm already working on a sponsorship deal for the festivities. 

There will absolutely be live play by play coverage of this on the podcast

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
TheBryMan81

TheBryMan81 2503

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, LTtxfan said:

 

Sure it wasn't GITMO???

500px-A_Few_Good_Men_Transport2.jpg

GTMO beaches don't have sand, only rocks. Water's nice though.

 

7 hours ago, South Austin said:

About being Marines.

And getting Chlamydia. I swear, it's like they actually like getting it out there lol like one of my Marines told me, "Death, taxes, junior Marines fucking"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing


Football ... Basketball ... Baseball ... Other Sports ... Futbol ... 🤫995🤫 ... Gambling ... Movies & TV ... Music ... Hobbies ... Lulz ... Food & Travel ... Daily Texan ... Business and Markets ... Cloak Room ... Help ... For Sale ... Board Discussion ... Subscribe!... Donate!... Advertise... COOKIE MONSTER!

×
×
  • Create New...