As the season goes on and teams get better week to week. It will be interesting to see how the playbook expands (or doesn't) in relation to the opponent.
I certainly do not believe IU is playing totally "vanilla" in it's approach to the season. But as I remarked a few months ago, playing this offense with a quarterback that is not an every down running threat and a single back leaves fewer keys for the linebackers to concern themselves with. Note: Nate's running has been a pleasant surprise. Note to Nate: "Don't get killed".
But the offense with Roberson in the backfield was notably different than the Sudfeld backfield. Tre was a true threat to run triple option on any down and teams had to prepare for that. Tre was a threat to run both inside and outside Zone Read Option. And also a threat when the pocket broke down. It was a more diverse offense.
Jordan Howard has been terrific. He's moved the pile like nobody since Anthony Thompson. I suppose Terry Cole or George Taliaferro were notable in that regard but Terry was more of a trap runner and ISO blocker. George was... a bit before even MY time. The point is that IU has had a handful of great runners in my life. Truly GREAT runners. I don't mean guys who got yards down 44-10 and the other team played pass and you kept running it. I mean guys who could PLAY. Those would be: A.T., Vaughn Dunbar, Tevin Coleman and... and... and.. Some could say Levron Williams and he was good but not quite the caliber of the three above. I think Howard is potentially on that list. Injury free and with time on the field, he could well be up on that list. Certainly a potential All Big Ten / All American guy. Potentially.
But with a single back, you know where the ball's going 98% of the time. So that's why the OL is so important. So what other "looks" can IU present down the road vs the Bucks, Sparty, and company?
Certainly play action and quick passes out of a double tight end set. More bubble screen action and faking the bubble screen and looking deep. Part of this offense going forward will be the bubble screen or the outside 2 man screen out of the stack. The idea is that is strictly NUMBERS in the box. If the defense has to stack another defender in the box to stop Howard, the counter is the quick bubble pass to the wing. Under Chip Kelly, Oregon ran it over and over and over until teams took the defender out of the box and used him to defend that. Then they ran inside zone read and power where the offense had a man advantage.
I hope Fuchs cam emerge as another option. I like what Cooper has done. Corsaro's receiving and Paige's receiving aren't likely to cause Urban to take Ambien. So Fuchs as a second receiver would be beneficial.
We hear talk of the possibility of Issac James returning or Magette playing slot. A bigger, faster guy who takes defensive attention would help Jones and Cobbs and give IU some more explosion.
This will be fun to see how Coach Johns, a relatively young coordinator handles the task going forth.
I certainly do not believe IU is playing totally "vanilla" in it's approach to the season. But as I remarked a few months ago, playing this offense with a quarterback that is not an every down running threat and a single back leaves fewer keys for the linebackers to concern themselves with. Note: Nate's running has been a pleasant surprise. Note to Nate: "Don't get killed".
But the offense with Roberson in the backfield was notably different than the Sudfeld backfield. Tre was a true threat to run triple option on any down and teams had to prepare for that. Tre was a threat to run both inside and outside Zone Read Option. And also a threat when the pocket broke down. It was a more diverse offense.
Jordan Howard has been terrific. He's moved the pile like nobody since Anthony Thompson. I suppose Terry Cole or George Taliaferro were notable in that regard but Terry was more of a trap runner and ISO blocker. George was... a bit before even MY time. The point is that IU has had a handful of great runners in my life. Truly GREAT runners. I don't mean guys who got yards down 44-10 and the other team played pass and you kept running it. I mean guys who could PLAY. Those would be: A.T., Vaughn Dunbar, Tevin Coleman and... and... and.. Some could say Levron Williams and he was good but not quite the caliber of the three above. I think Howard is potentially on that list. Injury free and with time on the field, he could well be up on that list. Certainly a potential All Big Ten / All American guy. Potentially.
But with a single back, you know where the ball's going 98% of the time. So that's why the OL is so important. So what other "looks" can IU present down the road vs the Bucks, Sparty, and company?
Certainly play action and quick passes out of a double tight end set. More bubble screen action and faking the bubble screen and looking deep. Part of this offense going forward will be the bubble screen or the outside 2 man screen out of the stack. The idea is that is strictly NUMBERS in the box. If the defense has to stack another defender in the box to stop Howard, the counter is the quick bubble pass to the wing. Under Chip Kelly, Oregon ran it over and over and over until teams took the defender out of the box and used him to defend that. Then they ran inside zone read and power where the offense had a man advantage.
I hope Fuchs cam emerge as another option. I like what Cooper has done. Corsaro's receiving and Paige's receiving aren't likely to cause Urban to take Ambien. So Fuchs as a second receiver would be beneficial.
We hear talk of the possibility of Issac James returning or Magette playing slot. A bigger, faster guy who takes defensive attention would help Jones and Cobbs and give IU some more explosion.
This will be fun to see how Coach Johns, a relatively young coordinator handles the task going forth.
Last edited:
