With this expected to be a defensive battle, I think we'll play conservatively on offense. We don't want any turnovers, just good game management and take our shots when they present themselves. That being said, the Miss St game plan wasn't just conservative, it was simple and predictable. I think we'll see similar types of plays, but a few more wrinkles & less predictable. We ran the ball like 90% of the time on 1st down vs Miss St, which is way to high but we got away with it in that game because we knew that we were eventually going to wear them down & we did. That won't be our plan of attack this game. It was also raining last game, and while there's a 40% chance of rain tomorrow evening, I still think we can expect to see a lot more passes than we saw against Miss St. LaFell could have a big game as VT will likely key in on Early. Even though we'll throw it more, running will still probably be our bread & butter. Hester will probably start, but that doesn't really matter because that doesn't mean he'll get the most playing time. I don't think the coaching staff is completely comfortable with any RB but Hester yet. Hester is the perfect back to chip away at a defense, but he lacks big play potential. Keiland & Scott will get some carries. I think Keiland may eventually seperate himself from the pack, but I don't see this being the week.
I think Crowton was plain vanilla the first game for a reason. Not to give away too much of the offense so Va Tech wont know what to expect. I think he will play consersative this game but he will open it up some unless it is raining. Then I see another plain vanilla play calling game. If the rain can stay away I have a feeling he will open it up a little against the Hokies.
If I recall correctly, the wide open offenses at OSU didn't occur until he turned the offense over to Cale Gundy.
That may be the case, but some here are questioning whether or not he WILL turn over the offense. I think he will, or it would, indeed, be a waste to have someone like Crowton. However, everything is still the responsibility of the head coach, and he must always have veto power.
I believe they will still be careful with the passing attack which we will see more of, but not as explosive, unlike the last season between the seasoned Russell and his trio of mature receivers. I think the play calling will hinge heavily on how well the offensive line performs; if they click, we are in for a nice show because of the strong stable of running backs and good receivers, not to mention the QB. It also very much depends on how well the players have grasped Crowton's offense; no point in trying out too much new stuff when the players run the risk of missing their assignments. In short, I am expecting a mix of the old and some new stuff. The key is the offensive line, IMO.
Some want Miles to step it up and stop playing conservative. Others want to see more out of Crowton and let it loose. If Miles just gave Crowton all the power he wanted with offense, LSU would be a pass first team to set up the run. Our stable that we all feel is the key to our offense would suffer IMO. I am happy to see Miles stick to a more balanced attack while gaining some chemistry with Crowton. Sure the offense looked vanilla against MSU and I am sure we will say the same after this game as well. I believe that Crowton and Miles will add the necessary wrikles needed against VT that werent necessary against MSU. Overall we should use our stable of backs to our advantage. Miles is doing a good job so far of keeping it balanced and this will be good for the VT game. The development between Miles and Crowton will be interesting to watch this season and a key element to the success of our team this year.
All of the reasons given are valid for why the game was called and planned the way it was...another reason is that our OL had a lot of trouble pass blocking, and are much better at run blocking. Yet another reason to run the ball on 1st down most of the time...better to get 4 than throw incom, and int, or take a sack (sloppy wet game afterall). We won't be "wild" in this game, we'll run it more than pass it and keep it controlled...but we will see a different sequence of calls and some new plays we haven't seen before. The proof is in the practice...we know for a fact they have been practicing pass and run plays we did not see...they don't waste practice time with plays they don't intend to run.
Being aggressive on offense doesn't mean you throw it 40+ times a game. You can be aggressive with your playcalling and still run the ball. It has more to do with multiple formations and mixing up the pass/run to not be predictable. You have to think VT (and SEC teams) will focus on stopping the run and make Flynn beat them. Flynn, and our young WRs, will have to prove they can pass and catch before teams will honor the pass. Play action should work early in the game. I don't think we'll have much success early by lining up in the I and running between the tackles.
