Offensive Philosophy

StLouisClone · 09-01-2007, 03:51 PM

Chizik has said you need to run the ball and stop the run to win games, and that philosophy was clearly on display Thursday night. After seeing the Kent State game, lets hope that Chizik waits another year or two before he turns ISU into a rushing powerhouse. ISU does not and has not had the right personnel on the offensive line to run the ball 39 times per game like it did against Kent State. JJ Bass had his moments, but he also had a lot of two yard gains that resulted in way too many 3 and outs by our offense.

Against Kent State, ISU ran the ball 39 times for 158 yards and passed the ball 23 times for 148 yards. And that's in a game that ISU trailed for almost the entire game! That's the kind of run/pass ratio you might expect when a team is protecting a lead.

By comparison, let's look at last year's UNI game. ISU's running game was inconsistent in the first half and we trailed UNI 21-7 at halftime. After that point, ISU abandoned the running game and it came back to win 28-27. For the game, ISU had 28 rushing attempts for 81 yards compared to 29 pass attempts for 323 yards. Clearly Meyer is more effective when he is given a chance to get in a passing rhythm... something we didn't see against Kent St.

Who else wants to see Meyer put the ball in the air more than 23 times next week against UNI?

isuno1fan · 09-01-2007, 04:03 PM

As long as we win we can run the ball 75 times next week as far as I'm concerned. A balanced attack, run + pass, is always best in my opinion and unfortunately I don't think we have the talent on O to do either consistantly game to game.

wallace · 09-01-2007, 04:26 PM

Here's a stat to consider...Iowa State is 3-42 in their last 45 games in games they pass more than run. Running wins football games, I don't care how great some of you think Blythe is, you can't have him as the sole weapon on the team. ISU threw to him 9 times by my count on Thursday. Meyer had only 23 passes. That is over 40 percent of the time, you can't ask for much of a higher percentage. Look at what happened to the Vikins offense when they installed the Randy "Moss" ratio..it fell apart.

isucyclone4 · 09-01-2007, 04:50 PM

great point wallace! I think you need to run the ball to set up the pass and that should ALWAYS be your philosophy until "desperation" time where only the pass can bring you back.

cycloneinmonaco · 09-01-2007, 04:58 PM

Maybe so... but passing is how ISU has moved the ball in the past few seasons.

Kyle · 09-01-2007, 04:59 PM

The run is definitely important, although I would like to see us in a few more three wide sets and take more shots down the field. That would keep the defense honest and ensure they don't put 8 in the box. I also think we could get a few big plays if Meyer would just put the fricking ball where Blythe has a chance at it.

In general though I think our execution was just very lacking and can't complain much about the play calling as of yet. It was nice to finally see a screen pass.

isucyclone4 · 09-01-2007, 04:59 PM

Originally Posted by cycloneinmonaco

Maybe so... but passing is how ISU has moved the ball in the past few seasons.

we also haven't WON a lot in the past few seasons.

cycloneinmonaco · 09-01-2007, 05:13 PM

Two seaons ago ISU was a few plays away from a bigtime season. Last season they clearly showed weakness without Blythe. Not that the run isn't important, but the passing attack, in my estimation, is the only chance this season to salvage a bowl or even a single win.

isucyclone4 · 09-01-2007, 05:17 PM

agree to disagree I suppose...I guess I just yearn for the Davis brother years again! The pass game is more exciting, but I really love to see the running game (when it works!!) I am also a big fan of opportunistic defense, which we don't look like we have and like we didn't have last year. the defense in '05 knew how to get pressure and cause turnovers, we just can't get in the other team's backfield anymore.

I wanna see the run setup the playaction pass, but I fully trust Chizik & Co. to run the offense and have the philosophy that we need at ISU. But give it time.

GO CYCLONES!

cycloneinmonaco · 09-01-2007, 05:37 PM

I was just looking... you have to go back to 2005 to find an ISU team that has but up more than 28 points in regulation. That was against a 1-aa team. Desperate times call for desperate measures!

StLouisClone · 09-01-2007, 05:46 PM

Originally Posted by wallace

Here's a stat to consider...Iowa State is 3-42 in their last 45 games in games they pass more than run. Running wins football games, I don't care how great some of you think Blythe is, you can't have him as the sole weapon on the team. ISU threw to him 9 times by my count on Thursday. Meyer had only 23 passes. That is over 40 percent of the time, you can't ask for much of a higher percentage. Look at what happened to the Vikins offense when they installed the Randy "Moss" ratio..it fell apart.

Could you post a link to where you found that stat? Seems like Seneca Wallace won a lot of games with his arm. If it is true, I'll bet ISU was behind at halftime in a majority of those games because they couldn't run the ball effectively.

Texas Tech almost always passes more than they run and their record is pretty good over the last 6 years.

wallace · 09-01-2007, 06:00 PM

Seneca Wallace also had a good running game in 2001....with Ennis Haywood. I have an old media guide with all of the numbers. And I looked up the stat myself. In all 7 wins in 2001 they ran more they passed by a substantial margin (Haywood led the Big 12 in rushing). In 2002, in the Kansas, Tennesse Tech, Troy State, Nebraska, and Texas Tech wins ISU ran more then they passed. The Iowa and Missouri wins were two of the games in which they passed more then they ran. Recall when ISU went pass heavy at the tail-end of the year in 2002 they went into the tank losing to Oklahoma, K-State, Colorado and Connecticut. In all four of those games they relied too much on SW.

Tech has a system that utilizes short passes and passes to the running back. Their running back has led their team in receptions the past 6 years. I have no problem passing, but you can't go vertical every play of the game. It just won't work. You have to have balance, whether that is through the run or short passes to keep the D honest.

guitarchitect7 · 09-02-2007, 07:04 PM

Three and outs were due in part to penalties more than inefficiant running. Also to get 133 yards in a game is something Cyclone fans have not seen in awhile and you dont get that without 2-3 yard runs every once in awhile. I personally saw a guy who made bigger runs out of those could've been 2-3 yard runs. I do agree that you hope to be more balance sometimes, but you do what works, just ask Hawaii.

ketelmeister · 09-02-2007, 07:43 PM

I agree that I State needed to pass more. In fact, it seemed that Chizik had decided before the game to run run run, and it cost us a chance to win the game. If we had thrown 50% of the time, I believe I State would have won the game.

Cyclonepride · 09-02-2007, 07:47 PM

A good running game is critical to get rest for your defense. The ISU teams who were successful under Mac always had a solid running game and good time of possession. If Chizik is going to build for the future, our players need to learn his philosophy inside out, regardless of wins and losses this year.