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We are going to pass the ball a LOT next season

Duff Man

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I know it was mentioned in an article just after the season ended, but it sure seems like we are going to be a pass-oriented team both by design and depth concerns IMO. Be prepared to see some super long games next season.
 
I know it was mentioned in an article just after the season ended, but it sure seems like we are going to be a pass-oriented team both by design and depth concerns IMO. Be prepared to see some super long games next season.


I think CU is definitely going to be flinging the ball based upon comments I have heard. For that to work though we are going to have to see significant improvement from the QB position in the passing game. Tyler was a major improvement over Cody but still near the bottom of the Big 12 in passing efficiency.
 
Should make the games fun to watch. Will be nice to have some weapons on the field that won't allow defenses to stack 8 in the box.
 
I think CU is definitely going to be flinging the ball based upon comments I have heard. For that to work though we are going to have to see significant improvement from the QB position in the passing game. Tyler was a major improvement over Cody but still near the bottom of the Big 12 in passing efficiency.

...and from the OL. You need to set your feet to throw long accurately.
 
At least they're going to let the talent on the team dictate what they do for once. There is a lot of potential for a pretty darn good offense next year as long as the OL gets better and Tyler doesn't take a step backwards.
 
I am sure Daddy Hawkins is going to do everything he can to make sure Baby Hawkins see's the field. Passing the ball every down is one sure-fire way to do it!
 
And I know some of you will say this is a "Captain Obvious" type thread:smile:, but I really think we are not going to see much of a commitment to the running game next season. Just 35-40 passes a game and let's see what happens.

And to Slade's point, I think the QB competition is a lot more open than many think.
 
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I don't doubt that we will pass alot next year, but when we play those 4-5 games next year that are windy, and snowy and can't pass will we just be going 3 and out all day or will Hawkins start getting creative again like that fake punt from inside the 10 at Kstate? This is when it gets scary.
 
Imo this is what will be best for what personnel we have. Pounding away with 2 TEs and a FB(which we don't have) is just going to get Speedy injured and our lack of RB depth exposed. I think that if Clemons is for real, we put him and Simas on the outside, with Scotty in the slot and we have a bonafide dangerous passing game that could cause opposing DCs to lose some sleep. Speedy, assuming he has decent hands, should also be quite the weapon out of the backfield.
 
At least they're going to let the talent on the team dictate what they do for once. There is a lot of potential for a pretty darn good offense next year as long as the OL gets better and Tyler doesn't take a step backwards.

you know...I agree, that we SHOULD be passing the ball a lot next year. However, I definitely can see Hawk deciding that we need to stick to the basics of football and play a balanced offense, because that's the right way to do it. I would not be surprised if we don't throw that much next season.

Also, even though we have WR talent next year, I second and third the comments about the OL. Johnson needs to step up in teaching these kids how to protect Hansen...or the offense needs to get creative in how to get Hansen out of the pocket.
 
I think the game will dictate how much passing we are doing. If we come out and open up some leads on people, we can afford to pound the rock on them.
 
I am not sure this team is tough enough or strong enough on the OL to "pound the rock" on a regular basis. A big part of running the football is a commitment to the running game and an attitude. The commitment comes from coaches and the attitude comes from both players and coaches.

Over the last couple seasons, I thought we abandoned the run too quickly at times. Many times it was dictated by slow starts (especially in 2009), but other times it seemed like we took away the threat of a running game by ourselves even before halftime.
 
If we throw a lot next season our O is going to suck. Our Oline is way to porous for our fledgling Qb to have enough time to successfully execute a pass heavy attack. Lots of sacks, fumbles, incompletes and 3-n-outs coming next year if we go with that strategy. I hope the defense is well conditioned because they will be on the field a lot and will have to carry the team...again.
 
Imo this is what will be best for what personnel we have. Pounding away with 2 TEs and a FB(which we don't have) is just going to get Speedy injured and our lack of RB depth exposed. I think that if Clemons is for real, we put him and Simas on the outside, with Scotty in the slot and we have a bonafide dangerous passing game that could cause opposing DCs to lose some sleep. Speedy, assuming he has decent hands, should also be quite the weapon out of the backfield.

For all his good qualities, he does not block well. Also pretty limited as a receiver from what I saw this year. Small hands + short = tipped balls up for grabs. Another back should get an opportunity to be a factor in the passing game. One of the younger guys, or DS if he comes back.
 
For all his good qualities, he does not block well. Also pretty limited as a receiver from what I saw this year. Small hands + short = tipped balls up for grabs. Another back should get an opportunity to be a factor in the passing game. One of the younger guys, or DS if he comes back.
Agreed. From what I saw last year Speedy's hands were marginal at best. Scott's hands were much better but I don't believe he will see the field next year...at least not as a buff.
 
Hansen will need to learn to step up in the pocket if we become a pass oriented team. He doesn't do that very much now.
 
For all his good qualities, he does not block well. Also pretty limited as a receiver from what I saw this year. Small hands + short = tipped balls up for grabs. Another back should get an opportunity to be a factor in the passing game. One of the younger guys, or DS if he comes back.

I expect to see a healthy dose of Sumler next season, primarily due to blocking concerns. Would not surprise me if Sumler saw the most playing time actually.
 
Yet another offensive "focus". Yay. Hopefully we can commit to this one better than we have the other half dozen we've tried over the last 4 years.
 
Nothing good will come out of CU's offense if we need to pass the ball a lot more than we run.
 
I am not sure this team is tough enough or strong enough on the OL to "pound the rock" on a regular basis. A big part of running the football is a commitment to the running game and an attitude. The commitment comes from coaches and the attitude comes from both players and coaches.

Over the last couple seasons, I thought we abandoned the run too quickly at times. Many times it was dictated by slow starts (especially in 2009), but other times it seemed like we took away the threat of a running game by ourselves even before halftime.

My biggest concern is that CU is going to pass a lot but they don't have a coherent passing scheme. Other teams that pass alot ( TT, UH, OU, UT, etc.) all have an offensive scheme to create mismatches and hit the short route.
 
Yet another offensive "focus". Yay. Hopefully we can commit to this one better than we have the other half dozen we've tried over the last 4 years.

My biggest concern is that CU is going to pass a lot but they don't have a coherent passing scheme. Other teams that pass alot ( TT, UH, OU, UT, etc.) all have an offensive scheme to create mismatches and hit the short route.

You guys have both identified my concerns with going to a pass-oriented attack. This coaching staff has trouble with producing coherent schemes. Pass-oriented schemes are all about timing. The offenses under Dan Hawkins have consistently lacked timing, plays do not seem to develop at the correct pace.

This may be all worthless speculation in the end.
 
I expect we will see more of the spread option, mixed in with passing. I think the straight ahead running attack this year was a complete flop. Sticking your QB behind center frankly isn't that exciting anymore and isn't as effective in the college game imo. Just watched the Pac-10 get hammered doing it and I think there's a reason Oregon is better than USC, Cal, etc this year.

Hansen in shotgun, a pass first offense with a healthy dose read/zone/options with Hansen and Speedy running the ball.

This will be the first time we can line up in a 4-WR set and have 4 threats on the field as well (Simas, Scotty, Celestine, Clemons, Simmons and we will see about Darden, Ussery, Jefferson, and maybe even Babb).

The offensive line has to be better with another year. They should be a lot better, but I won't go there.

This team has potentially the most exciting offense in a very long time here. But I'll take a believe-it-when-I-see-it approach for now. But there is reason for optimism.
 
I expect we will see more of the spread option, mixed in with passing. I think the straight ahead running attack this year was a complete flop. Sticking your QB behind center frankly isn't that exciting anymore and isn't as effective in the college game imo. Just watched the Pac-10 get hammered doing it and I think there's a reason Oregon is better than USC, Cal, etc this year.

Hansen in shotgun, a pass first offense with a healthy dose read/zone/options with Hansen and Speedy running the ball.

This will be the first time we can line up in a 4-WR set and have 4 threats on the field as well (Simas, Scotty, Celestine, Clemons, Simmons and we will see about Darden, Ussery, Jefferson, and maybe even Babb).

The offensive line has to be better with another year. They should be a lot better, but I won't go there.

This team has potentially the most exciting offense in a very long time here. But I'll take a believe-it-when-I-see-it approach for now. But there is reason for optimism.

So put in a totally new offensive philosophy for next season. The CU staff did that in 2008 - trying to run the offense out of the shotgun, that did not turn out well. CU has no one on the staff that is really experienced in coaching the spread.

If they were going to do that it is too bad they did not have the extra bowl practices in the off season.

Here is what I feel is really tragic. We are going into Hawkins 5th season and CU still does not have an offensive system...most teams by now would be very accomplished in their offensive system. CU seems to dabble in a variety of offensive schemes instead of committing to one.
 
So put in a totally new offensive philosophy for next season. The CU staff did that in 2008 - trying to run the offense out of the shotgun, that did not turn out well. CU has no one on the staff that is really experienced in coaching the spread.

Not totally new. We ran a lot of these plays already this season and frankly, they tended to be more productive than when we ran the QB behind the center. Kiesau wants the offense to be "multiple". This is the part of the offense that worked (except those plays where Hansen got free on the scamble and made something happen - not by design).

Speedy is better that way and I think Tyler is also. Forget the crap that didn't work and go with what works.
 
So put in a totally new offensive philosophy for next season. The CU staff did that in 2008 - trying to run the offense out of the shotgun, that did not turn out well. CU has no one on the staff that is really experienced in coaching the spread.

If they were going to do that it is too bad they did not have the extra bowl practices in the off season.

Here is what I feel is really tragic. We are going into Hawkins 5th season and CU still does not have an offensive system...most teams by now would be very accomplished in their offensive system. CU seems to dabble in a variety of offensive schemes instead of committing to one.

Running out of the shotgun requires a QB who is at least a threat to pull the ball every now and again on the zone read and go around the weak side. CH was absolutely no threat in that regard and teams respected thtat part of the run game not at all. '08 was an exercise in futility largely for that reason. Remember DS running into what seemed like a brick wall or the weak side DE crashing down the LOS with no regard for the QB running? It was stupidity of the highest order. TH can run and that type of O could be productive. I have very little confidence this staff will know what to do though.
 
Didn't we throw it something like the first 11 or 12 plays from scrimmage against Okie St? That kind of got my attention, so to think that we will throw a lot next year makes sense.

Just looked it up. We began the game with 13 straight passing plays, not including punts. Two resulted in sacks.
 
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If we throw a lot next season our O is going to suck. Our Oline is way to porous for our fledgling Qb to have enough time to successfully execute a pass heavy attack. Lots of sacks, fumbles, incompletes and 3-n-outs coming next year if we go with that strategy.

I think the straight ahead running attack this year was a complete flop.

........


The offensive line has to be better with another year. They should be a lot better, but I won't go there.

These two posts are flip sides of the same issue. Whether we want to be run focused or pass happy, the offensive line has got to get the job done. Without decent blocking up front, no scheme is going to go anywhere.... :huh:
 
Can we expect some new player groupings out of this?

I'm all for moving to a heavy pass offense as long as we can get some more player groupings.

Watching the player groupings run on/off the field last year was a thing of beauty. Such execution. Never was there any confusion on who was supposed to be in, and what play was going to be run.

While other teams in the nation struggled to get plays off before the play clock expired, CU was a master, at not only breaking the huddle, but giving themselves more than enough time to make changes at the line to take advantage of any potential miss-match.

With a solid spring and fall camp, there should be no problem getting the kids coached up by the crack staff we have.

I'm so happy I get to watch every other F-ing team play in a bowl game this December. This bowl season sux!
 
Can we expect some new player groupings out of this?

I'm all for moving to a heavy pass offense as long as we can get some more player groupings.

Watching the player groupings run on/off the field last year was a thing of beauty. Such execution. Never was there any confusion on who was supposed to be in, and what play was going to be run.

While other teams in the nation struggled to get plays off before the play clock expired, CU was a master, at not only breaking the huddle, but giving themselves more than enough time to make changes at the line to take advantage of any potential miss-match.

With a solid spring and fall camp, there should be no problem getting the kids coached up by the crack staff we have.

I'm so happy I get to watch every other F-ing team play in a bowl game this December. This bowl season sux!

Get a fresh box of sarcasm for Christmas?:lol:
 
I am sure Daddy Hawkins is going to do everything he can to make sure Baby Hawkins see's the field. Passing the ball every down is one sure-fire way to do it!
Here we go again, don't forget the step ladder I sent for XMAS. I wouldn't be surprised to see Baby start.
 
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