Last month we delved into Clemson's addition of run-pass options in its offense, and that should ramp up as the season progresses with the Tigers in possession of one of the most lethal run-pass threats you can find in No. 4.
Over in Athens, Mark Richt has often been criticized for his stubborn adherence to a pro style offensive scheme as opposed to a lot of the new-age stuff you see out there.
Well, turns out the Doggies have joined the RPO revolution.
That’s where Georgia’s offense is different under coordinator Brian Schottenheimer this year than it was in previous years under Mike Bobo. Before, the Bulldogs’ always came to the line with the ability to audible to a run from a pass and vice-versa. They still do now.
But they also have a package of plays in which they actually call a run and block for it but have the option of passing on the same play. And Georgia hit big on such plays several times, with Greyson Lambert pulling the ball out of Chubb’s belly and raising up to hit Malcolm Mitchell, Terry Godwin or one of the Bulldogs’ tight ends over the middle of the field.
They were often very, very open, and Lambert was hitting them on the money.
“It all just depends on that defense and their scheme,” said Lambert, who established an NCAA record by hitting 96 percent of more than 20 attempts. “If they stack the box, we’ve got answers; and if they play off, we’ve got answers. So it just kind of depends on what they do. And we’ll be moving at a tempo where it makes them decide really quickly and gives us kind of an advantage, hopefully.”
It took a while to get here. Between power of opponent and the simple aspect of time to get down scheme and timing, Georgia didn’t run as many RPOs in the first two games against Louisiana-Monroe and Vanderbilt. But South Carolina saw it pretty much all night long. And that will likely be the case as the Bulldogs continue into what will soon be the gauntlet of their schedule.
A few Tuesday links:
-- Also in Athens, Georgia has been wonderful in its response to the spinal injury suffered by Southern WR Devon Gales.
Southern University Athletics, along with the Southern University System Foundation, launched the Devon Gales Fund Monday afternoon in an effort to provide financial assistance to Gales and his family to cover medical expenses.
The Devon Gales Fund is the official fundraising platform of Southern University and A&M College. All donations can be made by visiting the Devon Gales Fund webpage.
Contributions to the Devon Gales Fund can also be mailed to the following address:
Southern University System Foundation
c/o Devon Gales Fund
PO Box 9562
Baton Rouge, La. 70813
Gales, a SU wide receiver, suffered a severe spinal injury on September 26, 2015 during the Southern-Georgia football game in Athens, Ga. Gales, who underwent surgery Sunday, is in good spirits and will remain in the care of the doctors at Athens Regional Medical Center until further notice.
Southern University is extremely thankful for the continuous prayers and well wishes that Gales has received from many people nationwide.
-- SI has an entertaining chat with Ben Boulware.
CR: The Tigers' defense last year was one of the best in the country, but it lost a lot of talent to the NFL. What are you guys doing this year to create your own identity?
Boulware: Whoa, whoa. First of all, statistically we were the best last season, not one of [the best]; we've got to get credit for that. I think every one of the guys we lost, they brought leadership. This year we've had the next-man-up mentality, and [have] vowed there won't be a drop-off. So far, through three games, it's been pretty good statistically, and we've been proving what we were saying.
CR: I'm guessing, then, that you believe you play for the best defensive coordinator in the country in Brent Venables. How intense is he?
Boulware: He definitely sets the tone every morning. He comes in and he's wired. It pays off, because we have to try to match his energy every day. It's almost impossible because he's kind of crazy. He's a very intense, very focused individual, but it's part of why he's coached so many top defenses for so many years in his career.
CR: How sick do you get of hearing the term Clemsoning?
Boulware: I definitely heard it when I was growing up, and Clemson proved it a lot of times when they were playing low-level opponents. But I haven't heard it much in the past few years because we haven't really done it. It's kind of a thing of the past and I'm glad I'm not hearing it nearly as much.
-- If you're wondering why newspapers are dying, this article should clear everything up. With people like this running the business, how can they fail???
Big newspapers, like the New York Times and the Guardian, are spending lots of money to grow their mobile audience numbers, releasing fancy news apps and publishing stuffdirectly to social media.
Tribune Publishing CEO Jack Griffin, whose holdings include the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune, says the move to mobile is short-sighted, and that millennials will eventually return to reading print newspapers.
In a recent interview with Crain’s, Griffin expands on his thinking:
“I use these all the time,” Griffin says, laying his hands on a smartphone and iPad. “But I use them to find stuff that I’m looking for, and I read the paper to find out things I don’t know.”
He said he expects young people, like his 20-something sons, will continue to gravitate to newspapers, even print editions. As they move into adulthood and begin to care more about settling into a community, they’ll turn to a newspaper, as generations of Americans before them have, he predicts.
-- Jimbo Fisher says Everett Golson is not at fault for Florida State's offensive struggles.
“What I do think is that when you’re quarterback, you get that ball every play, we want to be perfect all the time,” Fisher said, while assessing Golson.
“No one will never be, but we have to be excellent in the meantime, and I think that’s where he’s going to get to.”
To Golson’s credit, FSU’s offense has yet to commit a turnover through the first three games of the season — a school record for such a stretch.
But FSU’s offense has sputtered at times, particularly in the first half against USF (the Seminoles entered halftime tied 7-all) and after leading a game-opening touchdown drive at Boston College — the last time FSU’s offense produced a score.
In the season opener against Texas State, Golson tied a career high with four touchdown passes — all in the second half.
Fisher said FSU’s offensive miscues have been a result of playing with a number of inexperienced lineman and receivers, and some plays having just one of the 11 players on the field committing a simple mistake.
“I’m very happy with where we are at,” Fisher said. “We’re taking care of the football. The decisions we have been made have been good decisions.
“We’ve got to make a few more throws. But also got to run a route better, got to catch better. There’s a block or two we’ve missed when he’s had an opportunity to make a big play or two. It wasn’t all just effort. It was an accumulation.”
-- Finally, Chris Cornell with an acoustic twist on an old Soundgarden classic:
LW
