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Replies: 10
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Hall of Famer [20945]
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Offensive plays per game averaging under 70...
Sep 18, 2018, 1:36 PM
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I haven’t yet felt like I’ve seen the tempo we’re capable of. That number needs to be in the mid-80’s, minimum.
Obviously minimizing mistakes and sustaining drives will help, but we had turnovers with DW4 and still averaged a high offensive play count due to tempo.
I hope we turn the volume up this weekend in Atlanta.
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Heisman Winner [105574]
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Seemed like we were hitting that tempo on Saturday on the
Sep 18, 2018, 1:43 PM
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drive when KB threw an INT on the screen pass. Two of our three opponents so far have run a ball control option offense and the quick strike long TDs don't help the plays per game number either.
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Hall of Famer [20945]
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Re: Seemed like we were hitting that tempo on Saturday on the
Sep 18, 2018, 1:51 PM
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Agreed, and we’re about to face the master of controlling the clock in PJ. I hope we make a statement.
I’m assuming you mean Furman and Georgia Southern when you mention 2/3 of our opponents run a ball control offense. Unfortunately running less than 60 plays vs. aTm is glaring at us all.
We’re going to need to continue to be more balanced (#FeedETN) and connect over the middle of the field if we’re going to make it happen.
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Heisman Winner [105574]
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Agree on TAMU
Sep 18, 2018, 1:56 PM
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It was a combination of our offense being inept at times and our defense not being able to make some big stops.
So much of the focus is on who should take more snaps as QB, but I really wish the coaches would make ETN the primary back, bringing in Feaster or Choice in certain situations.
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Orange Blooded [2217]
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Why does it need to be in the mid-80’s?
Sep 18, 2018, 1:47 PM
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It definitely needs to be above the mid-50’s we had at A&M but I never liked the theory that we have to hit X number of plays per game. We’re good enough now that the efficiency of our offense should be able to win out.
If we’re having sustained scoring drives and not having 3 and outs that keep our defense from getting to rest, the number of plays I don’t care about.
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Hall of Famer [20945]
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Re: Why does it need to be in the mid-80’s?
Sep 18, 2018, 1:53 PM
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Our tempo has helped us win games over elite top-10 teams many times due to the fact that we just wore their defense out. It’s a good brand of football, and it’s proven successful.
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Orange Blooded [2217]
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Re: Why does it need to be in the mid-80’s?
Sep 18, 2018, 1:55 PM
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That was a Chad Morris philosophy when we didn’t have the talent to match up with elite defenses that has carried over some but hasn’t been nearly as stressed after he left.
We have the personnel in a lot of spots to not have to use tempo as a crutch now.
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Hall of Famer [20945]
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Re: Why does it need to be in the mid-80’s?
Sep 18, 2018, 2:02 PM
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I don’t see it as a crutch at all. Perhaps that was the initial philosophy when Chad worked to build our offense, but I see nothing but benefit when combining the tempo with elite talent all over the field.
Perhaps we “should” be able to win without (see aTm), but that doesn’t change the fact that we’d see higher offensive output with tempo. The statistics bear that out.
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All-TigerNet [13038]
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The problem with that style is that it typically requires
Sep 18, 2018, 2:25 PM
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converting a lot of 3rd downs to be effective. Even with a really fast tempo, you usually don't run 90+ plays because you really want to. You run 90+ plays because your offense isn't able to create chunk plays and you have to grind out long drives to score. The Big XII is really an exception because a lot of those offenses run extremely fast tempo AND generate a lot of big plays and since both teams are playing the same style they end up with games in the 40s and 50s all of the time. That wasn't really what we were doing though.
Anyway, a lot of things have to go right to have a scoring drive that's like 13 plays and 75 yards. First of all any mistake can kill a drive because getting off schedule is horrible for offenses that rely heavily on efficiency. Just think about what happens to GT when they get a holding penalty. Their offense isn't built to pick up 1st and 20. Our offense last year wasn't built to pick up 1st and 20 either. The other thing that you have to do is consistently convert 3rd downs. Deshaun Watson was fantastic on 3rd down and we were one of the best teams in the country converting 3rd downs in 2015 and 2016. So far Kelly Bryant has not shown that same ability. And considering how good Deshaun Watson was, we really didn't even hit on that many big plays with him at QB. Our offense has been consistently in the bottom half of the country in explosiveness.
Right now that seems to be changing and i actually like it. I mean we definitely don't want sub 60 plays like we had at A&M, but anything around 70-80 is perfectly fine as long as we are generating big plays. So far this year we have been doing exactly that. Etienne, Higgins, and Ross are all homerun hitters. We don't need to grind out 4-5 yards at a time when we have those kinds of weapons.
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All-TigerNet [13038]
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There are a few factors in that. One is them is definitely
Sep 18, 2018, 2:03 PM
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that we just don't run as quick of a tempo as we used to, but these others things are contributing to the lower number of total plays as well:
1) We are averaging more yards per play. I know the average level of competition through 3 games this year isn't what it was for 14 games last year, but so far we are averaging 6.3 YPC and 9.3 YPA. Last year we averaged just 4.7 YPC and 7 YPA. Bigger plays usually mean less plays per drive because you are scoring quicker.
2) We haven't been great on 3rd and 4th down this year. 5/12 and 1/3 vs Furman, 4/13 and 0/1 at A&M, and then finally 7/12 and 1/1 vs GSU. The GSU game was definitely a step in the right direction, but when you combine a relatively poor 3rd down conversion % with bigger plays that you get an offense that is pretty explosive but not very efficient. That's actually the exact opposite of what we've typically had post-Chad.
3) Our defense just couldn't get off the field against A&M. 10 of their 14 drives went for 30+ yards. Our defense had a really good 2nd quarter against the Aggies but basically stunk the rest of the game. Blame it on uncalled holding if you want.
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Hall of Famer [20540]
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Re: Offensive plays per game averaging under 70...
Sep 18, 2018, 2:31 PM
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Every opponent we have faced - and this especially includes A&M and Jimbo Fisher, who is as slowdown a coach as there is - has slowed the game down and eaten clock.
Option teams - and this includes both Furman and Georgia Southern - do it by nature. Jimbo at A&M does it specifically by design.
We weren't going to get a bunch of possessions against any of those teams. Just the nature of the opponent.
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