Interesting quote from Oregon assistant coach and former Nebraska starting quarterback Scott Frost about offensive philosophy:
“The big thing is this: It helps greatly when an offense has a definite mentality to it. It helps greatly when you have a defined personality and set of standards. When I was at Nebraska, our calling card was we were a tough, physical team. Everybody knew it. We knew it. We were proud of it. We embodied it. We embraced it. We loved the fact that we were going to try to completely beat up a defense. Nobody wanted to play us because of the physical nature of our team.
At Oregon, to a man, everybody on our team has bought into the fact that we’re going to play fast, we’re going to wear you out, and we’re going to attack you. There’s absolutely no hesitation. I think when you have that kind of personality as a unit, offense or defense, and everybody knows the common goal and mission, then I think it’s really easy to get everybody on the same page and be successful. When people don’t know exactly what they want to do, they struggle.
It’s easy to point to that and say that’s what’s missing at Georgia, because… well, because that’s what’s missing at Georgia. But here’s what I’m wondering: in the abstract, if you were to ask Richt and Bobo what they want the personality of their offense to reflect, what do you think they’d say? And what would you like them to say?
Get The Picture 
I’d like to hear’em say something along the lines of “We’re going to be the most fundamentally sound team in the country. When a defense plays against us they’re going to have to beat us because we’re not going to beat ourselves”.
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I’d rather SEE ’em play along those lines rather than hear ’em say those things.
Attitude, not personnel, not coaching, not bad luck, not A.J. out four games, is the sole thing to which last year’s abysmal 6-7 record is attributable.
Fix attitude, fix the “direction of the program.”
I gotta believe if we see that attitude on the field on September 3, we’ll see it again September 10.
And we’ll be off to a 2-0 start for 2011.
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On defense I think they would say GATA, but I have no idea for the offense. That is a bit troubling.
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GATA!
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personality of their offense = Schizophrenic
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I’d like for them to not say the word ‘balance’ for the entirety of that interview…
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+1 You stole my thunder.
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Yes, YES, YES!!! This…a thousand times THIS!
Apart from maniacally agreeing with your statement, let me go further. I’d like for Bobo to say that UGA is a team that will always have twice as many blue chip offensive linemen as anyone would reasonably expect them to need and use them to beat the hell out of the opponent’s front seven and run all over them – all the way until the clock strikes 0:00 in the fourth quarter.
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we don’t have an offensive identity. i see very little evidence of any kind of coherent fashioning of an offensive philosophy–a little i formation, a little play action, a little spread, a little wildcat, and so forth. bobo is a spitballer. i know his offenses have scored (with, ahem, several notable exceptions), but i think that’s got a lot more to do with his excellent recruiting and qb coaching than with his game planning and play calling.
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I think the point being made is valid, but only if it’s a simple concept like the ones mentioned… fast, tough… I’m kinda hoping our new S&C identity is going to stick, and result in an identity of ‘endurance’… We’re not going to let up for the whole 60 minutes. Here’s hoping.
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This I like. How ’bout “relentless” (both sides of the ball).
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How about “Junkyard DAWGS” the old Erk Russel saying. Those teams would go at you for 60 min. no matter what was going on. Teams that played them were in a all out fight from the start to the end. That is what I would like to see.
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+ 1. ” Junkyard DAWGS”. For the D.
I would like to see ” We are going to run the ball until you stop us ” with the O. Lately we have to pass to set up the run. That needs to change. GATA.
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They would say, “We burn more timeouts than any team in the country.”
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If we have a mentality distinct from other teams, it should be a high level of qb play. We recruit well at the position and we ask our qb to read through progressions and make a decision (which most spread offenses are designed NOT to make their qb do). Our qb needs to play at a high level for the offense to work. Everything else flows from that.
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Ok, what’s Alabama’s offensive identity?
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I was going to make the same point. You could ask the same question about NFL teams. What’s the Green Bay Packers’ offensive identity?
The answer should be something banal: “punch ’em in the mouth” or “fight for every yard” or “win every snap/series/possession”. But, how many of us, if Bobo said that was our identity (or the identity he aspired for), would write it off as a platitude.
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Alabama’s offensive identity is “We are going to run it until you make us pass”.
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Is this finally the year that they dust me off?
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I read something somewhere where Richt was saying they were getting away form no huddle because the refs stil make them take the time for the defense to get set up. SEC rule. So, it’s kind of not work breaking out the no huddle.
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Grammar police are going to get me.. should be “still” not “stil” and “worth” not “work”.. Sorry.
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Thought I had read more recently that they change that rule back. Auburn, for example, ran some pretty quick no-huddle last hear.
I’m thinking that the hold up now is that the no-huddle is a Mark Richt thing and the offense we’re running now is more Bobo.
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Not only are some teams running no-huddle, but there are teams who make a point of constantly varying how quickly they get the snap off to keep the defense off-balance.
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The Ducks!
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Well, you are not going to send a RS freshman out there to run the no-huddle, except in 2 minute drills. This year, you may see more no-huddle, once the coaches get comfortable with AM’s understanding of the Offense and where to attack a D.
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It would definitely be nice. Let’s not forget that Mark Richt was a genius running the no-huddle at FSU and that offensive brilliance helped him land the job here.
When the SEC made the rule to slow down UGA and other potential no-huddle teams and (if I remember correctly) to please Fulmer, Richt got away from his offense. I believe the rules once again would allow us to run Richt’s offense the way he wanted. I’ve been wondering if that’s the case and why we haven’t switched back if so but I haven’t seen Coach Richt saying anything about it. No one has even asked it seems. Sure would like to hear what he has to say.
Of course, I’d rather him say nothing about it and us just suddenly start running it again next year and surprise people.
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couldn’t find the article i wanted, but here’s some of what i’m talking about from this site.
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here we go:
http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/090201/dog_0902010098.shtml
http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/112703/dog_20031127091.shtml
http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/111401/dog_1114010076.shtml
my favorite: http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/090201/dog_0902010069.shtml
let’s bring it back!!!
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I’m glad someone else remembers that. And I wondered why we didn’t go back to it when the changed the rules to make it easier to run a no-huddle.
Overall, there have been some really good comments about identity.
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I think the answer they would give is professional. We aren’t laborers, but instead insurance agents and middle management. If we are really good at it, we can get rich. If we aren’t that good at it…..
What really makes me think this is that we have a team that is learning pro-style football. Pro sets mainly on offense, and now, on defense. It works, too, in the sense that we have a lot of players transitioning to the pros, even if they aren’t winning while in school. BSU may beat us this year in the Georgia Dome (may, not will – I still think we win that game)
but we’ll send far more to the pros than them in the next draft, and it isn’t only about better recruiting.
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Excellent question. I would like for them to say that Georgia’s offense imposes their will on the defense, not ” we call plays to what they are giving us”. At some point, a coach has got to say ” my man is gonna beat your man”. Example to me was Alabama on the goal line against Texas. Texas was stacked in the box (of course) and Alabama’s o-line created a huge hole for a running back to go through. I am drinking the kool-aid about Coach T and Grantham requiring and developing toughness. I just don’t see it on offense. I’ll keep saying and beat the dead horse again, but who has Georgia beaten that had better talent than Georgia?
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+1. In football the team that is physically tougher usually wins.
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Playing personality? Huh? I would love to hear Bobo and Richt’s answer to this question! Several have mentioned it above, but the word both would use is “Balanced”. Awesome! We want to “Balance” an opponent to death. Just try to stop us as we equal parts run and pass between the 20’s! Stick that in you pipe and smoke it Ducks and Huskers! Fast and physcial? Who needs it when you have “Balance”!
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I think that schools like Oregon and Nebraska have to adopt those offensive identities due to their offensive schemes and the athletes they can recruit. The state of Nebraska has a lot of really big, strond linemen and their offense makes sense. West coast has a lot of smaller, fast guys and so Oregon’s offense makes sense for their geography. The southeast seems to have a lot of big guys and fast guys, so I don’t think it’s necessary to run a gimmick offense. Our offenseive philosophy should be “EXECUTE”. We should be able to throw it, run around defenses or run through defenses. It just depend on who we’re playing and our opponent’s strengths and weaknesses…which is generally what happens in the NFL. If we can execute, we have good enough athletes that no defensive coordinator should ever know what to expect, because we should be excellent at everything…at least that how it looks in my little football utopia.
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Yup, there’s no fast guys anywhere but the west coast, no strong guys anywhere but the midwest, and no strong & fast guys anywhere but the south. Thanks for posting Bobo.
Offenses evolve when coaches get curious and test the limits of their players. That hasn’t happened in Athens in several years. Watch the way we closed the ’02 Tennessee game versus the way we got down to brass tacks in the red zone versus Central Florida last year.
Oregon looks like they’re playing with 12 or 13 men on the field by the third quarter because their players are in such good shape, and KNOW that the other team has only had a week to try to emulate the Ducks’ approach.
It’s a shame offenses in Athens evolve based on who’s nailing the former AD’s daughter. When we quit hiring former players for no better reason than that “they’re Dawgs!!!!!!!” we’ll start getting national title type results.
Clem Out
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And yet Bobo’s offense scored more points against Auburn than Oregon did, how is that possible since by the 3rd quarter Oregon looks like they are running around with 12 and 13 players.
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And since auburn and Oregon run similar up tempo offenses, and they had a month prepare for each other, you think that’s a good basis of comparison?
Go back to giving Bobo a neck massage.
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Well since everyone knows what Bobo is going to call, I do. And yes I get tired of the crap thrown at Bobo, most of us could not call a game if we tried. None of us could teach a QB his job and the offense a tenth as well as Bobo does. Does he make mistakes, yes he is human. But remember the Offenses had a month to look at the defenses, you would have thought they would have put on a better showing, you know to appear to have 12 or 13 guys on the field.
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You can win a title without a brain apparently:
Greg Davis (born April 25, 1951 in Groves, Texas)[1] is an American college football coach. He was awarded the prestigious Broyles Award for the nation’s top assistant coach for the 2005 season which included a national championship victory for the Texas Longhorns. To this day, Greg thanks former Longhorns quarterback Vince Young because without Vince, there is no way this clueless hack who loves these little two yard bubble routes would have even been in the running for this prestigious award.[2][3] As of December 6, 2010, Greg Davis has resigned from offensive coordinator at Texas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Davis_(American_football)
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Cam Newton made HC Gene Chizik look pretty smart, too. Let’s see what happens now.
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Our offensive philosophy seems to be “Exploit what the defense gives you.” We focus on the QB reading the D and getting us into the right play. We have been very successful when we have an above-average running game. Not so good without a credible running threat. I would like to see our record in games where we have a back rush for 100+ yards.
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I think that’s right. Bobo’s problems come when he deviates from that.
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Yea, but sometimes the d will ‘give’ you Carlton Thomas up the middle. Doesn’t mean we should take it. If I’m the D then, I am going to give you the weakest aspect of our offense. Then we try to win with that weakest link, we are simply letting the D dictate our offensive strategy. Now I’ve gone and confused myself….
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Well, there’s the rub as discussed in a previous post about CT. If he averages nearly 5 yards per carry, then CMB is probably going to take it…and should. Problem is that too often he seems to find what’s working, and abandon it for plays that only seem to an effort to strike “balance” which can be infuriating for us Joe Bulldogs.
But, our offensive identity probably IS “balance”. And when effective (ahem…30+ points per game average) then it’s hard to refute that it’s a bad philosophy. Executing a “balanced” attack keeps most defenses honest and in basic coverages. As long as it works and wins.
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+1 (and minus a green book)
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Ideally, I would like to see the offensive identity of this team focus on playmakers. Find different ways to get our playmakers the ball. Make them stop our guys. Don’t focus on balance (that tips our play calling) and don’t focus on getting too cutsy with the play calling.– that’s what teams with less talent do to compensate.
Keep going to our skill guys until they prove they can stop them. Rinse repeat. Do not overthink.
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I respectfully disagree with this. Relying upon ‘playmakers’ (Stafford, Moreno, Green) is what gets us out of the TEAM first concept and into trouble. And I don’t see how ‘balance’ necessarily tips our play calling. IF, as an offense, we can run OR pass with impunity, then how does a defense know what to key on?
Now our EXECUTION of ‘balance’ is another matter. I’d like to see more “Unpredictable Balance” and less “This play has worked all day, let’s try something else so we can be balanced”
Just my 2 cents…
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I can go with unpredictable balance, as long as we get the ball to a variety of playmakers. We had a TEAM first when Stafford and Moreno left, and I don’t recall us executing better.
When the defense expects balance from our offense, I think we can possibly tip our playcalling when we go too many plays run or pass. Just a guess.
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I’ve read this after posting above and think we actually agree. Our philosophy is “balanced”, which is best executed by really mixing things up and keeping the defense on their heels. All too often though, we seem to find a defensive weakness and then fail to exploit it fully in the name of “balance” and trying to find….what?
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Yea, we mix things up, then find something that really is worth exploiting–in which case we should stop mixing things up and keep doing that thing which is so successful. But alas, Bobo goes back to mixing things up for the sake of balance.
I think that’s a common theme that most on this blog seem to agree on.
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agreed… that’s what I was trying to say.
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I think Bobo would say: “ummm….? wait, what?”
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If CMR & CMB didn’t say “balance”, my next guess would be “we’re going to open things up” or “finish the drill” – something that neither describes nor summarizes their philosophy. Many would say we have the ‘helter skelter’ or ‘ad hoc’ offense.
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I would like us to play “surgically”, which would be precise execution that would attack both our opponenets weakenesses and strengths, where you just beat them.
But you have to execute.
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I hope that they are called “The Georgia Bulldogs” with all incumbent expectations that title confers. Hold’em by the nose and kick’em in the ass.
LSU D placed scarfs around their foreheads and were known as the “Chinese Bandits” in the 60s. Don’t think there’s any ferociousness attached, but they liked the penache . ” Junkyard Dawgs” had its place in the lyrics of James Brown’s “Big Bad Leroy Brown” who was “meaner than a junkyard dog”. It didn’t hurt with him on the sidelines also. A metaphor and hyperbola are hard to get the perfect fit and connotation for the time period subscribed (i.e., “Soulja Boy” with the Knowshon team).
You people are the experts with the music here. How about a relevant tune/title/lyric that people could id with? I’m out of my element.
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Forgot “Who Let The Dogs Out’!!
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Well mr Cojones–I believe it was Jim Croce who did :Leroy Brown-not putting you down i am just old and remember—the redcoat band has kinda added that–The grandfather of super funk never mentioned Leroy Brown–peace love and GO DAWGS
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Well that explains why James Brown didn’t return my greeting when he walked down the isle during a transatlantic flight. He just looked at me funny wondering why this white guy was saying something about a “Godog”. I have a friend who plays Jim Croce cds in his pickup and as often as I have ridden with him am sorry to say that I never put it together. That is one reason I qualified with everyone else being the expert in music here. I imagine others caught it also and were too embarrassed to correct an old fart. It was perfect coming from a gentleman such as yourself. Thanks.
True story about Brown, Bruce, and I never take it personally when I mispeak and it is caught…which is often. Hate to admit that I never came across that correction from 1988 to now, but thank you for it. I’ll be 71 soon. How old be you?
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