Mike Leach Passing Fundamentals

College Football Y'all

Hope you got a chance to catch some of the quality college football match-ups this weekend.  I found a few observations worth mentioning from some of the Air Raid patriarchs.

Mike Leach – I haven’t paid much attention to Leach this spring/summer, opting to rather wait and see how things played out in the fall before offering any editorial.  It appears as though he is picking up right where he left off from a philosophy standpoint (wide splits, vertical attack focus).  On one of WSU’s first explosive plays featured an effective smash adjustment into the boundary, converting #1’s hitch into a post once the split-safety widens to match the (corner) bend of #2, leaving a middle-of-the-field void. 

smash conversion

Noel Mazzone – Like Leach, Mazzone is doing exactly as he had on his last stop; streamlined efficiency centered on horizontal stretch of perimeter defenders. Mazzone has also adapted the Holgorsen, Franklin (TFS), 3-back change-up to capitalize on defensive personnel adjustments. Similar to the two quarterbacks he had at ASU, Mazzone’s UCLA quarterback, Brett Hundley, finished with a more than respectable 75% completion ratio.

Tony Franklin – I am really glad Hurricane Isaac delayed last week’s Louisiana Tech – Texas A&M matchup until October 18, because it should allow enough time for a larger viewing audience to develop an interest.  There is plenty to take note of with Tony Franklin’s offense, much of which we’ve previously written about.  Of note are the contributions of freshmen Tevin King and Kenneth Dixon who came out of nowhere (plenty of depth with solid running backs) with over a 6 yard per carry average.  Those are impressive stats, but I think it also drives home Franklin’s aggressive style for playing offense.  

Tech has incorporated more inside zone this year and you may not find a team this year more adept at quick perimeter screens (particularly solid, rocket/laser with linemen).  Of course, the one thing you can learn from Tech is how committed to tempo they are.  They never move slower than snapping within 20 seconds of the spot and when they operate in “attack” tempo, no defense is safe. Even while leading with only 43 seconds left in the first half and receiving to start the second half, Franklin still attempted to work the clock and drive the field for points.  This style of play helped them break out of their own 1 yard line in the third quarter and score on a 4 play drive.

“They’re going so fast there’s no time to explain what’s happening” 

– CBS Color commentator, Ron Zook, during the Louisiana Tech game broadcast

There is nothing "soft" or finesse about this brand of football.  It is fast and nasty - both UCLA and La Tech relentlessly paced through 94 total offensive plays for over 600 yards total offense with over 250 yards rushing and 5 TDs.

Here are two observations I felt like taking a look at.

Fire (stretch read) with predetermined cutback

Fire (stretch read) with built-in option throw

Mulligan Reprieve (Leach)

Here's my vote for the 2010 Edwin R Murrow Award.

A great summation of the debacle of retardation with ESPN's propaganda with the Mike Leach firing (albeit a month later).

Three sides to every story
ESPN's Alamo Bowl treatment of Mike Leach controversy more biased than balanced
Don Ohlmeyer

Some highlights;

According to ESPN, the Leach story overall generated more complaints to the network than any other topic in the past year (nearly 1,700 calls or e-mails...)

Opinion was stated as fact.

A basic flaw in ESPN's presentation was the premise that Adam James was an innocent bystander.

...the logical question became why James, and why now? Actions don't happen in a vacuum. There was a backstory, at least according to Leach. The broadcast team was aware of it and basically ignored it.

it appears that ESPN spent approximately 28 minutes of the broadcast discussing the controversy

h/t EDSBS