Monday, September 26, 2011

Food for thought: another wrinkle to the Aggie offense?

Aggie head football coach DeWayne Walker said on Monday that when Robert Clay returns — which could be this week at UNM — that Kenny Turner would remain at running back. Tough to disagree.

Turner had his best game of the season last week at San Jose State (17 carries, 129 yards, TD; receiving TD as well). Turner is a space player and did good things in the Aggie offense which implemented the run-option with quarterback Matt Christian in the game. Turner has good speed and is fully effective outside, one-on-one with a defender.

The offense also worked because it caught San Jose State off guard. The Spartans hadn't seen the run-option in any Aggie game film up to that point and focused mostly on Turner. They weren't aware that Christian had good-enough speed and could run the ball, which he did as well (13 carries, 58 yards).

This week the Lobos will not be surprised by it. Which means the Aggie offense has to add another wrinkle to the package. Perhaps the side/middle screen-passing game?

Again, it would catch UNM off guard — it hasn't been utilized much if at all — and would be an adjustment for the upcoming week.

And, as stated before, it would help the offensive line while curtailing the defensive pass rush.

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I like the run option.
Tony Samuels ran it and we were competitive because it is tough to defend, it controlled the clock and gave the defense plenty of time to rest.

Honestly, I wish NMSU ran the triple option.
Schools like Navy, Air Force and Army run it and have had some success.

Those schools are like us: They don't get those big linemen.

Due to their fitness requirements, the academis go after smaller lineman like Devonte Wallace, and add the necessary muscle.

It's not a pretty offense, the ball is thrown 5-7 times a game and the fans get frustrated because they can't see the ball. But, it chews up the clock/ yards and keeps you in the game!

Jefe

Anonymous said...

Jefe,

If running the triple option helped in the W column, why not. The problem is we don't have that many QBs to sacrifice to the constant pounding the option QBs face.

Anonymous said...

The triple option is great offense for a school like nmsu to run. We can get those types of athletes. Boring or not, everybody likes a winner!