Can Callahan mix it up?

[turkwilliams]

Is it possible that Callahan can implement option into his West Coast offense? I know the WCO has a lot of running involved with it and was just wondering. Maybe split-back veer plays or something? I just can't see Nebraska with no option game, the trademark of the state. It's amazing how one person can come in and change the whole name of the game, huh? This Callahan is a threat to the well-being of the Husker Nation... especially with the game, in all levels, going back to the run. The era of the undersized OL ,DL ,and LB and pocket passer is being phased out. An agile QB, solid running game, and stout D is the core of what you need. This and great special teams. If this is what was working in the past, why change it?

[IrishAZ]

I think a mixed play book would have worked well *last* year as a transition, but now that it's gone this far it's probably better to go through with implementing the WCO as best as possible.

 

That being said, I still hold to the idea that the WCO in college is an awful idea. It's effectiveness is partially due to its permutative complexity - stacking formations, routes and motion into a very large potential number of plays. Defenses have to be able to defend a multitude of potentials from the same formations and personnel sets, and that's a key part of the offense.

 

Given the limited practice time (both on and off field) that level of complexity can't be reached effectively, thus limiting the offense as a whole.

 

IRISH!

[formerfan]

Frankly, cally isnt smart enough to impliment the option into his offense. Also, he is bound and determine to show everybody, come hell or high water, that HIS system will work.

 

That will be what spells the demise of bill the idiot at NU, and big-time football in general.

[DaveH]

No, he won't.

[Eric the Red]

He's going to coach what he knows. He doesn't know the option. You'll have to get over it.

[turkwilliams]

If he doesn't know option or never wanted to run option, why in the hell did he come to NU? He may not know option... but from the looks of it, he is no guru at the WCO either.

[DaveH]

If he doesn't know option or never wanted to run option, why in the hell did he come to NU?

He came to Nebraska because A ) there was a job opening B ) It's a great place to coach football. I am sure there are other reasons. I am also sure there was no stipulation on the job posting like "Must coach option offense". I don't know of a coach would would welcome being forced to coach a certain offense. After all, that's a part of your job.

 

He may not know option... but from the looks of it, he is no guru at the WCO either.

Hardly. Being an offensive coordinator for a coach like Gruden, a guy one rung higher on the WCO coaching tree, I think he has a firm grasp on what he wants to do. Getting it done is another story.

[diehard]

Frankly, cally isnt smart enough to impliment the option into his offense. Also, he is bound and determine to show everybody, come hell or high water, that HIS system will work.

 

That will be what spells the demise of bill the idiot at NU, and big-time football in general.

FF you sound like a broken record. Do you ever say anything else???

[turkwilliams]

If he doesn't know option or never wanted to run option, why in the hell did he come to NU?

He came to Nebraska because A ) there was a job opening B ) It's a great place to coach football. I am sure there are other reasons. I am also sure there was no stipulation on the job posting like "Must coach option offense". I don't know of a coach would would welcome being forced to coach a certain offense. After all, that's a part of your job.

 

He may not know option... but from the looks of it, he is no guru at the WCO either.

Hardly. Being an offensive coordinator for a coach like Gruden, a guy one rung higher on the WCO coaching tree, I think he has a firm grasp on what he wants to do. Getting it done is another story.

I see tradition is one of those things that is beginning to be overlooked by many of today's schools. You can't be afraid to have your own identity. Maybe there was no stipulation like "you must run option" as part of the hiring process for a new head coach... but there should be things that should be understood by the persons looking to be hired as well as the employers. Come on man, kids in the back alleys of the Phillipinnes know that Nebraska runs option-- heavy. NU runs it and has had unprecedented success with it. You don't just change things without reason. Didn't Osborne make examples of WC and spread teams while he was there? Nebraska football (how it was always played) is the way to go for the Huskers... hands down. It's not like the pass can't be implemented with the option or option teams can't send players to the NFL. This is especially true for QB's, I know you see the high demand for playcallers that can get out of the way.

Bottom line is: Bill doesn't belong in Husker Nation, and the NU administration is heading in the wrong direction.

[DaveH]

The "tradition" was starting to erode away when Frank fired his aging staff and he, in effect by a lack of recruiting, put diesel in the big red machine that runs on gasoline. But hey, it's cheaper!!!

 

Don't get me wrong, it was time for those guys to go.

 

Maybe there was no stipulation like "you must run option" as part of the hiring process for a new head coach... but there should be things that should be understood by the persons looking to be hired as well as the employers.

Like what? It is the coaches job to decide how the team is to be run. Period. I don't care what team you are talking about. It isn't the administrations job. Believe it or not, that's the way it has always been here. It's just that you agreed with it until now.

 

Come on man, kids in the back alleys of the Phillipinnes know that Nebraska runs option-- heavy.  NU runs it and has had unprecedented success with it.  You don't just change things without reason.  Didn't Osborne make examples of WC and spread teams while he was there?

 

The Phillipines?

Yes, NU has had success with it. I wouldn't call what Jamal Lord had success.

I don't know what spread offenses you are talking about...examples?

 

I am not saying the option doesn't work. The fact of the matter is it wasn't working as well as it did for Tom in the mid-90's because we didn't have the players. Thus Frank got fired and Callahan was hired. You can kick and scream all you want, but that's the facts.

 

Bottom line is:  Bill doesn't belong in Husker Nation, and the NU administration is heading in the wrong direction.

 

Wow. Doesn't "belong" here? Well who does belong here? Do you have some kind of list? There might be some people I would like to add

 

This is the bottom line: The option won't be played at NU in the near future. No matter how much people kick and scream. There is nothing in the universities by-laws that says "Yup, our football team must run the option or else!!" That idea is ridiculous.

[diehard]

Maybe BC will throw some of you a bone and run a option play sometime then you can scream like a little girl and pee your pants from excitement.

I am ready to see the ball fly at Nebraska. I see Nebraska evolving from walking on all fours to standing up straight. The option is gone GET OVER IT.

[Eric the Red]

Maybe BC will throw some of you a bone and run a option play sometime then you can scream like a little girl and pee your pants from excitement.

I am ready to see the ball fly at Nebraska. I see Nebraska evolving from walking on all fours to standing up straight. The option is gone GET OVER IT.

The option is dead man

[IrishAZ]

The option is dead man

You mean the NU Power-I option, and not the Louisville, Boise St, Utah spread option, right?

 

Just checkin'

 

IRISH!

[Pedro Guerrero]

The option is dead man

You mean the NU Power-I option, and not the Louisville, Boise St, Utah spread option, right?

 

Just checkin'

 

IRISH!

If you run the option 1-5 times a game does not make you an option team.

[IrishAZ]

The option is dead man

You mean the NU Power-I option, and not the Louisville, Boise St, Utah spread option, right?

 

Just checkin'

 

IRISH!

If you run the option 1-5 times a game does not make you an option team.

Well, for some reason completing a pass 4 or 5 times a game made NU a WCO team and Callahan a budding offensive genius, so it only seems a fair comparison.

 

Seriously though, when I saw those teams play, the option was an integral part of the offensive plan. And I think the stats back me up on this. Just looking at the QB rushing numbers makes it obvious called QB runs and keepers were regularly used:

 

Smith (Utah): 135 carries, 631 yards, 4.7 yrd/rush..

Zabransky (Boise St.): 130 carries, 326 yards. 2.5 yrd/rush.

LeFors (Louisville): 71 carries, 333 yards. 4.7 yrd/rush.

 

A QB running down the line with a trailing back who decides to chuck it down field to a dragging TE might rack up passing yards faster than rushing, but without the threat of the keep or the pitch, plays like that aren't as successful.

 

Keep in mind, the option is just that...an *option*. It's an offense based on misdirection. For good or ill, NU ran option the majority of the time from the Power I and telegraphed most of their plays for the last few years and didn't really take full advantage of the misdirection capabilities of the scheme. That's why I made the distinction between power and spread options.

 

They usually had the big horses that could blast through whatever the defense put up against them so it didn't matter if it was a dive, pitch or keep - they were running over the poor sots who got in the way.

 

My contention here is that lacking that pure physical mismatch, a 4th option should be (or for NU should have been) incorporated into the mix - the pass. Also, other formations are viable for use with the option than the I or Wing or Wishbone.

 

In the case of these three teams, they ran option from the spread and shotgun with great effect and had true offensive balance.

 

Having a balanced offense doesn't mean your play calling is 50/50 run/pass, or that you rack up 250 yards of each every game. It's having the ability and willingness to either pass or run.

 

For most teams, this means if they line up in a passing formation, they can and will pass. If they line up to run, they can and will run.

 

But what does a defense do when the opposing team has the ability to either run or pass not just within an offensive series, but within any given offensive play?

 

I mean, it's 3rd and 4 - what would you call as a defensive coordinator against a team that puts 4 WRs on the field (or weak-side trips with a TE), the QB in the gun with a quick scat-back, and has shown they will run anything from any formation?

 

If you blitz, they throw hot. If you drop back into coverage, the QB sprints for an outside option (of the pass option variety no less - safeties have to stay honest). If you spread the LOS to cover the outside, they shuttle pass inside. If you crowd the LOS and play 8 in the box, they go vertical.

 

It's a nightmare.

 

And there's no better way to describe an offense that can optionally do whatever they feel like whenever they feel like it than...well, the option.

 

IRISH!