Football Articles
How Paul Johnson came up with his offense
Posted by HenryJames on August 7th, 2008 under Football
It may be possible to divide offensive coaching into two camps. The first one camp says you should devise your scheme and then focus on finding the right players to fit into what you’re trying to do. The other says you should devise a scheme to fit around your talent at hand. Each system obviously has its merits.
Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson has twice told the story of how he came up with his offense in recent weeks. The most recent retelling was at Georgia Tech’s media day last Saturday. It’s a good read.
I like this story, especially the part involving Erk Russell. The longtime defensive coordinator at Georgia wants to run the I because that’s what they ran at Georgia. Johnson obeys, and then quickly realizes you can’t run the I without a fullback and tight end who are worth a shit. So Johnson changes it and then assures Russell that they’re still going to run the ball. Russell thinks about it for all of fifteen minutes and then gives the go ahead.
Proving once again that necessity is the mother of all invention.
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Sean commented on the blog post NFL Draft: A Mockery 9 minutes ago
Rodgers-Cromartie is still on the Cardinals. He didn’t leave.
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Scipio Tex wrote a new blog post: A Wake Before The Funeral 13 minutes ago
What happens when a stoppable force meets a movable object?
We’ll find out on March 18th. Meet Wake Forest.
This game will be watching drunks trying to brawl. Neither belligerent will land a punch, and it will be viewed by both fanbases with equal measures of horror, embarassment, and amusement.
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skymonkeyhorn commented on the blog post Texas Basketball is Dangerous 22 minutes ago
Some one sent this quote from the Dallas Mornong News to me.
“I’ve had teams in the past that were just where we are right now mentally. And we got it turned around. I had a team in the exact same situation, and we ended up going to the Sweet 16 and ended up losing -
I.M. Hipp commented on the blog post Castille Day 43 minutes ago
He really screwed himself. We probably would have won two more games with him. He was more worried about the “devil’s lettuce” than developing into a solid back. Pathetic.
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Kevin Berger commented on the blog post React-to-Ology: Early Look at the Madness 1 hour, 2 minutes ago
dick, thanks for the heads up on the east bracket. In my haste to get the post up I had a brain cramp on the bracket.
As for KU, when you compare their bracket to Syracuse you have to scratch your head. Even Self mentioned as much.
Scooby, you’re probably right about the 8/9.
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skymonkeyhorn commented on the blog post Texas Basketball is Dangerous 1 hour, 11 minutes ago
I have been thinking that the team quit on Barnes some time during the last 14-15 games.
My brother in Michigan thought the the team fell apart after the 11-12th game of the season I think that it was atm @CC game.
I wonder if Barnes has health issues, he just looks bad on TV and -
dick commented on the blog post NCAA Basketball Tournament Lines 1 hour, 20 minutes ago
Marquette line really surprises me. I like Washington and normally I would be impressed with a conference tourney winner but that falls under the Pac 10 sucks rule to me. I would have liked to see Washington lined up against a different 6 seed.
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Farmer Ted commented on the blog post Quick Bracket Thoughts 1 hour, 21 minutes ago
Call me crazy but I would prefer to face OSU over any of the other three 2 seeds. They basically lost to Michigan (who truly sucks) on Friday, played Illinois even yesterday and beat an exhausted Minnesota team today. They aren’t exactly on fire. As for the other #2’s, I have no interest in playing
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Trips Right commented on the blog post Texas Basketball is Dangerous 1 hour, 30 minutes ago
sky, it’s pretty crazy really. Barnes sounds like he’s mailing it in at this point.
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whiskey commented on the blog post NFL Draft: A Mockery 1 hour, 31 minutes ago
Good discussion. The perception of Clausen is interesting. He might surprise you. Tate is a player that will contribute wherever he ends up. He’s serious.
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Trips Right commented on the blog post Early NCAA Tournament Bets 1 hour, 33 minutes ago
Utah State can really shoot it. They’re the top 3 point shooting team in America. But they struggle against quicker athletes and can be banged inside. the big 12 isn’t getting a lot of credit so the line is short, imo
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skymonkeyhorn commented on the blog post Texas Basketball is Dangerous 1 hour, 34 minutes ago
Is it just me or is Damo sounding a lot like Ricky?
Are they just providing some giggles for the rest of the teams? Or do they think this shit will fly even with the blue hairs ?
Will rick ever live down the quotes that will be recorded in Scipio vast mental vaults -
Trips Right commented on the blog post NCAA Basketball Tournament Lines 1 hour, 44 minutes ago
I posted my picks, but as you stated Richmond looks like easy money.
I think Purdue is a shell and Siena is experienced, athletic and talented. Saints roll.
I’m fading Gonzaga and St Mary’s. Zero athletes on those clubs.
I”m also fading Michigan State with NMSU. They’ll be able to get shots against
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dick commented on the blog post NCAA Basketball Tournament Lines 1 hour, 48 minutes ago
I like UTEP and Wake to add to Trips bets, which I support fully.
Richmond = 4 units
Siena = 3 units -
dick commented on the blog post NCAA Basketball Tournament Lines 1 hour, 49 minutes ago
Just to try and keep it on the same thread, Trips likes:
New Mexico -9
Baylor -12
Louisville pk
Aggs -2
Richmond pk
NM St +12
Siena +4
FSU -1.5 -
Hiphopopotamus commented on the blog post Two Down, One To Go 1 hour, 52 minutes ago
Always interested…good stuff all around.
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dick commented on the blog post Early NCAA Tournament Bets 1 hour, 55 minutes ago
Love Siena, love Richmond, love Louisville. Why is the ags line so small? I’ll take them but that line scares me a bit. Seems like a sucker bet maybe.
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Trips Right commented on the blog post Thank You, dick 1 hour, 57 minutes ago
dick, sounds good on the tournament previews. I’ll try to do some wagering stuff in conjunction with your stuff, but I just posted some bets I pounced on at the open.
As for the future bet, I don’t normally post dollar amounts but I wanted you to know EXACTLY how thankful i was for the
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Trips Right wrote a new blog post: Early NCAA Tournament Bets 2 hours, 2 minutes ago
Got these at bookmakers. Should have totals tomorrow.
03/18/2010 @ 12:00 PM CBB NEW MEXICO -9-110
03/14/2010 by ONLINE at 06:49 PM STRAIGHT BET
03/19/2010 @ 12:00 PM CBB SIENA +4-11003/14/2010 by ONLINE at 06:50 PM STRAIGHT BET
03/18/2010 @ -
dick commented on the blog post React-to-Ology: Early Look at the Madness 2 hours, 4 minutes ago
First, Duke is playing Nova in the Elite 8, not WVU. I still don’t like Duke to cut down the nets in Houston (they do that for reaching FF right?)
Second, I keep hearing the pundits say the same thing about the Midwest but I don’t see it. UNLV isn’t better than any of
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Hiphopopotamus wrote a new blog post: Quick Bracket Thoughts 2 hours, 6 minutes ago
Well… it’s not going to be easy.
First off, let me get this straight. As the committee says, they seed based on an S-Curve. So by that logic, this is how they see the top 16…
1. Kansas
2. Kentucky
3. Duke
4. Syracuse
5. Kansas State
6. Villanova
7. West Virginia
8. Ohio State
9. Georgetown
10. New Mexico
11. Baylor
12. Pittsburgh
13. Vanderbilt
14.SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });
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dick wrote a new blog post: NCAA Basketball Tournament Lines 2 hours, 24 minutes ago
The lines are out:
Thursday:
Ohio +13.5 -102
Georgetown -13.5 -108San Diego State +3.5 -107
Tennessee -3.5 -103Robert Morris +19.5 -102
Villanova -19.5 -108Saint Marys CA -1 -102
Richmond +1 -108E Tennessee St +20 -102
Kentucky -20 -108Wake Forest +4 -108
Texas -4 -102Sam Houston +12 -105
Baylor -12 -105Old Dominion +2.5 -108
Notre Dame -2.5 -102Lehigh +26.5 -105
Kansas -26.5 -105Northern Iowa -1 -105
UNLV -
dick commented on the blog post Thank You, dick 3 hours, 10 minutes ago
i just saw you risked $400 to win $800. That’ll buy a lot of diapers. Congrats.
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dick commented on the blog post Thank You, dick 3 hours, 15 minutes ago
No problem. I do futures all the time so I have obsessed over that decision many times. Letting $100 25-1 odds ride as long as you can is much more intense.
We need to get some more betting previews going here for the tourney. We can link to marchtomarch.com or whatever.
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dick commented on the blog post Thank You, dick 3 hours, 15 minutes ago
No problem. I do futures all the time so I have obsessed over that decision many times. 2 to 1 is just a bet and it wasn’t like you were invested in that bet for a long time. Letting season long $100 25-1 odds ride as long as you can is much
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Trips Right commented on the blog post Two Down, One To Go 4 hours, 1 minute ago
You guys got absloutely screwed. Toughest bracket by far. Even Lehigh is the toughest 16 seed. The committee did you zero favors.
Here are my thoughts if you’re interested.
http://marchtomarch.fantake.com/2010/03/14/react-to-ology-early-look-at-the-madness/
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Kevin Berger wrote a new blog post: React-to-Ology: Early Look at the Madness 4 hours, 32 minutes ago
Hold on a second…give me a chance to pop in some ear plugs as Dick Vitale waxes indignant about some selection snubs. Count down to mocking a Selection Committee member on the world wide leader is T minus 15 minutes. Great television in any event.
Here’s my early rants and reactions to
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Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post NFL Draft: A Mockery 4 hours, 36 minutes ago
Mike Iupati will get taken by the Cowboys if he’s on the board. I wouldn’t hate a Golden Tate pick, but we have much bigger needs along the OL and secondary rather than getting another WR. We already have a ton of money tied up in the position (when we pay Austin).
Whispers are
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James commented on the blog post NCAA Selection show open thread 4 hours, 59 minutes ago
Bob Knight wearing a St. Louis Cardinals polo. Nice.
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Ibas water bottle wrote a new blog post: What ever happened to Luke Schenscher? 5 hours, 9 minutes ago
We earned a 7 seed and will face Georgia Tech in Milwaukee on Thursday. If we survive that we face Ohio State in the second round. Shoot well and we can make the sweet 16. I’m relieved that Lunardi missed on his 8 seed projection for us. I’m much less worried about Ohio State than
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Beergut said:
August 8th, 2008 at 5:26 am
I remember watching some of Johnson’s offense at Hawai’i.
They were running triple option with a motion back from 4 wide sets, something I hadn’t seen anyone else do. They weren’t winning every game, but they were fun to watch.
dedfischer said:
August 8th, 2008 at 8:23 am
I guess we’re about to find out, if Johnson’s offense can move the ball against the Russians.
Ag_in_TX said:
August 8th, 2008 at 8:35 am
I love that flexbone offense – it’s so hard to defend and it controls the pace of the game.
My son’s high school ran that flexbone (Tim Beck, now RB coach at Nebraska, was the head coach at Summit and a flexbone lover) until Chiles showed up and, to their credit, the coaches said to themselves: “Hmmm, we gotta do somethin’ with that!”
ChrisApplewhite said:
August 8th, 2008 at 10:19 am
Urban Meyer did a lot of that spread flexbone motion stuff at Utah. He’s done it less at Florida because he hasn’t found a true double threat yet.
His Utah offense was a beautiful thing to watch.
Scipio Tex said:
August 8th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Anyone remember Syracuse and the freeze option? Of course, that has Veer roots, but Syracuse ran it out of pro-sets and did at an execution level far beyond anyone else. Those yankees were once actually good.
Made Don McPherson a Heisman runner-up in ‘87.
How about Ronald Veal, the QB at Arizona? They ran a balanced wishbone that you could throw pretty effectively out of – if someone other than Ronald Veal was your QB.
The set up was two WRs with no TE, FB, two HBs. Forced the defense to declare strength based on the hash marks or go balanced themselves. They ran true wishbone reads in the running game paired with a deep passing game to the ends. You could do a lot of deceptive stuff. Very interesting conceptually though they didn’t have the skill position talent you need to make it really effective.
There was a lot of this stuff being tinkered with in the 80’s. It’s funny that it took a bunch of high school coaches to hone the different versions of the spread we see today.
In terms of Spreadology, Urban Meyer is a relative latecomer. He just invented his own little brilliant version and has shown the greatest adaptability to personnel of any coach I’ve seen.
Beergut said:
August 8th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
“Urban Meyer did a lot of that spread flexbone motion stuff at Utah.”
Meyer’s running game is based on the single wing, not the flexbone. He studied the shotgun option game at Notre Dame, and used the motion series from the SW to give him an outside threat on the option.
” He’s done it less at Florida because he hasn’t found a true double threat yet.”
Tebow is more of a power-runner than a finesse guy, so Meyer uses a buck lateral SW series with him as his base running game. Alex Smith was a little more finesse than Tebow.
He does do some fun things by motioning Percy Harvin around.
ChrisApplewhite said:
August 8th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
“Meyer’s running game is based on the single wing, not the flexbone. He studied the shotgun option game at Notre Dame, and used the motion series from the SW to give him an outside threat on the option.”
One, no it’s not. Two, he didn’t study the shotgun option at Notre Dame, he create his version there and immediately took it to Bowling Green. Three, he used the motion guy for a lot of things, but mostly as the pitch man in a similar fashion to the flexbone.
Four, just to make sure we both look like jackasses here, saying the option came from the flexbone rather than the single wing is like saying humans came from homo erectus rather than apes.
ChrisApplewhite said:
August 8th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
Actually, I was unclear in what you meant when you say he studied the offense at ND. He did look at Randy Walker and RichRod’s offenses while at ND, but I thought you meant studied it as in learned it from Kevin Rodgers at ND.
Regardless, all he did at BGSU and Utah was take the zone read, add a flexbone wing motion to it, and ran the veer. I don’t really care where those elements came from.
Beergut said:
August 9th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
CA,
Yes, it is.
“Q. At some points last season, did you run double team blocks at both sides of the point of attack for Tebow? Do you have any single wing in your background anywhere, way back?
COACH MEYER: Single wing? No, I don’t believe I have seen single wing. I studied it as we just developed it when we were at Bowling Green. ”
http://blog.al.com/keepingscore/2008/07/full_transcript_florida_coach.html
If you can’t look at Florida offense, especially their short yardage packages for Tebow, and see the single wing, I don’t know what to tell you.
Beergut said:
August 9th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
There are several coaches who added orbit motion to the zone read to add an extra option threat; I’m not sure if Meyer was the originator of that.
ChrisApplewhite said:
August 9th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
Sometimes I wonder if you actually read what anyone says before you pull out your 1921 football almanac and start listing terms.
Urban Meyer has single wing packages in his offense. Single wing turned into the T. the T into the wishbone. The bone into the split veer. The veer into the flexbone, etc.
His “running game” is not based on any one of those anymore than the other. It’s all option, baby.
When he has a more complete team, he runs different things. When he has one guy, he sticks him at QB and pretty much runs a modern single wing. However:
“Urban Meyer did a lot of that spread flexbone motion stuff at Utah.”
Please describe, in your best 50’s noir gumshoe dialect, where this statement contradicts anything regarding the presence of any old single wing stuff.