I think this hits it. Based on what I've read/heard from CPJ in various interviews (I don't have any specific interview or article to reference), most of the blocking assignment modification comes with the O-Line. There's some blocking changes that affect the strong-side AB (side the play is running towards) that can be made, but I don't think these are complicated, and I think we've done that since the beginning.
I still watch some of the 8-9 games, and particularly the 3rd quarter of the '08 Georgia game and the difference in speed and versatility is remarkable. Somewhere in that time period I recall Johnson being defensive, in denial even, when somebody said that Navy ran the offense faster, but I thought so at the time. Seeing Thomas run it now vs. any other QB, including him or Lee last year, or him the first half of this year, leaves no question for anybody. It is much faster with a bigger playbook. And Thomas has a unique gift of making his blockers look good even when they miss blocks, as a couple of TD runs against MSU or that called back TD run against VT showed.
We might have done it against MSU, but in that instance, why not? But is that an example of a thin playbook because of the skill positions, or because that is what the defense is offering? I still would love to see some explanation from MSU about why the Bback dive was unchallenged.
)One of the reasons Johnson doesn't need a cheat sheet is that folks who say he runs only 6-8 plays a game are not all wrong. Flipping all those blocking schemes on the fly I think qualifies as a different play, but I wouldn't argue the point. Knowing what plays he is going to run is one thing. Knowing when is another. He seems to be running more and more with Thomas, and it will be intriguing to watch what he might do with an almost new full crop of Abacks. The experience of the '14 crew cannot be overestimated. As for Hope Solo -- geez, what a great name for an athlete -- she was boss some time before that, and it got her in trouble. Her husband might have been an NFL guy at some point but Ms. Solo is the alpha of that couple. And it actually is football.I think I agree with most of what people have been saying. To me the playbook probably has not grown into a more complex set of plays, but the adjustments CPJ is comfortable making now allow for more permutations of our base sets. For example, we may run the tripe O three times in a row (and pick the same option all three times), but he is adjusting the blocking patterns and timing of the play in ways maybe not immediately apparent to myself (and other fans). In my mind that causes an immensely larger set of complexity for the defense (but minmizes the change needed on the Offense - for example the OLine may widen their split, but everyone else does this normal job).
The beauty, IMHO, of this offense is the permutations CPJ can make given his experience and intimate knowledge of the base packages. That is why he doesn't need play sheets or oregamed down and distance packages.. He literally shifts the plan in-flight as he sees what the D has been practicing all game. I liken it to soccer when a team comes out in a 4-4-2 and then switches throughout the game as the coaches notice weaknesses to a 3-5-2. The player who adjusted may need to come in with a different midset but the rest of the team plays in their role, and the opposite side now has mismatch issues. (But maybe I just have world cup on the mind - ps Hope Solo was boss this week - sorry mods I know that's not footbal
I need to go back and look at that with a different eye. Thanks. Don't remember where the DC went before the OB, but unless it was a head coaching job Mullen should have told him no. As a result MSU got embarrassed on national TV. (And Mullen sure wasn't much help in the second half.)
Lateral move to Florida as DC; I think Mississippi State had started to believe their own SEC hype. They could win just by showing up. I've seen a lot of Tech games, a lot of Tech Bowl games, and that was one of the most complete performances ever by the Yellow Jackets.
Have to say in terms of geography -- although it is Florida -- it was a sound move. Who in the world could enjoy Starkville, Mississippi? But why the guy would want to go in a lateral position, or would be turned loose by Mullen before the Orange Bowl, loses me. But maybe he saw the handwriting or something.
I think at least one of the scoring plays against MSU was the midline. I don't know enough about it to challenge, but I guess I do: exactly why is the midline the "single most important" play? If there is such a thing, is it not more likely it is the Bback mesh on the option? I'd be curious as to the rationale.
Here's a play you might be thinking about:
I don't necessarily say it's not true, though I do doubt it, but I don't have the x and o skill to demonstrate it one way or the other. Rather, why does one believe that to be true? It does seem to me that if the midline was the most important play, we would see it more than 3-4 times, and if the reason is to keep the ball in Thomas's hands, there are a lot of ways to get that done. And to say we win with it implies we never run it when we lose but ignores what I thought is the underlying principle of all option football: outnumber the suckers some place and go to that place. (A retired Marine general was explained amphibious operations to me in more brutal terms: "The goal is to stand up more men on the beach than they can kill." Harsh but really pretty accurate.)