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Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Free-form football

'Versatility is key,' new coordinator says

By Ryan Wood

Kansas University running back Jake Sharp, center, is congratulated by teammates Derek Fine, left, and Jeff Foster after a long kick return last season against Colorado. New offensive coordinator Ed Warinner expects Sharp and senior Brandon McAnderson to power the Jayhawks' running game in 2007.

Photo by Nick Krug

Kansas University running back Jake Sharp, center, is congratulated by teammates Derek Fine, left, and Jeff Foster after a long kick return last season against Colorado. New offensive coordinator Ed Warinner expects Sharp and senior Brandon McAnderson to power the Jayhawks' running game in 2007.

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Ed Warinner is sure of one thing this football season - he will never let his ego get in the way.

Kansas University's new offensive coordinator insists he won't be married to a game plan that isn't working, no matter how sure he was during the week that it was going to be a hit.

Along with head coach Mark Mangino and the rest of the staff, the Jayhawks will have a modified offensive look this fall. While some of the playbook from the Nick Quartaro years remains in use, other parts were discarded when Warinner was hired to replace Quartaro in January.

In their place will be some new formations, several plays that haven't been seen before and a few different processes to get the plays set up.

Don't get comfortable, though. Warinner is big on being free-formed - adjustments, versatility and options are words that leave his mouth when speaking of his duties. And that's not just during the week.

It's on Saturday, too.

"We're going to take what the defense gives us, and try not to be stubborn and impose our will, so to speak," Warinner said. "Versatility is key."

With the season opener less than three months away, KU's new-look offense still is largely a secret. In a lot of ways, it probably will stay that way until Central Michigan comes to Lawrence on Sept. 1, and maybe even beyond that.

But expect everything. Expect running back Jake Sharp to streak out of the backfield and catch passes more frequently. Look for formations to hint at one thing before the complete opposite is executed. And look for the coaches to think quickly and react to the defense unfolding in front of them while the play clock ticks away.

In football, getting X's and O's to produce is all about evolving. Warinner, for one, thinks that his way is on the right track.

"Because it has versatility, it has the ability to accumulate a lot of yards," Warinner said. "But it also has some big-strike capabilities.

"This system is derived from other places and other systems. When it was used at some other places, it was pretty successful."

photo

Photo by Nick Krug

Kansas University running back Jake Sharp, center, is congratulated by teammates Derek Fine, left, and Jeff Foster after a long kick return last season against Colorado. New offensive coordinator Ed Warinner expects Sharp and senior Brandon McAnderson to power the Jayhawks' running game in 2007.

Familiar new guy

Though a new offensive coordinator comes with a tedious adjustment period, it wasn't nearly that bad with Warinner's arrival.

Warinner coached KU's offensive line in 2003 and 2004 before taking a similar job at Illinois. While in Lawrence, he helped recruit Anthony Collins, Cesar Rodriguez and Ryan Cantrell, three projected starters on the offensive line this year. He saw Brandon McAnderson grow from a Lawrence High great to a promising college fullback.

He's already familiar with Marcus Henry, Marcus Herford, Adrian Mayes and Derek Fine. He even recruited offensive guard Chet Hartley to join him at Illinois last winter. Hartley declined, picking Kansas just weeks before Warinner accepted the KU job.

So, yeah, he even knows one or two of the new guys. There's enough familiarity there that Mangino nonchalantly called Warinner "a veteran of our staff" during the spring.

Still, Warinner recognized that a lot had changed since his first stint. He had never met Kerry Meier or Todd Reesing, KU's two starting quarterback candidates. Weapons like Mark Simmons and Charles Gordon were gone, and respected leaders like linemen David Ochoa and Bob Whitaker had finished up college football by the time Warinner came back.

So that made spring football a critical time for KU. Not only was the offense getting its feet wet with a new system, but Warinner was learning a new batch of players and what their strengths were.

He then built the fundamentals of KU's new playbook from there.

"We were able to accomplish the introduction of that (in the spring)," Warinner said. "I think the players saw the potential of it and what it could give us."

Lots of options

The new offense developed from conversations Mangino and Warinner had during interviews.

"(Mangino) had some ideas about some things he wanted to see changed in the offense, things he wanted to see added," Warinner recalled. "So following that lead, we built on those concepts. A lot of it is his ideas and concepts, and it's a combination of mine and other things that guys on the staff bring to it.

"It's a joint effort, but we're on the same page as far as, 'These are some things that coach wanted, and we made sure they're in there, and then there's a few other things that we added.'"

It's hardly a finished product, though. Warinner said there's more to introduce to his players this summer, and there's more need for the coaches to evaluate which players excel at which plays.

For example, Warinner envisions mixing and matching the backfield to precisely give KU a strength needed to attack the opposing defense. Jake Sharp, a quick jitter-bug tailback, brings one thing to the table. Brandon McAnderson, a 235-pound horse, brings another that's strikingly different.

"McAnderson will definitely be used more this year than he was last year as a ball carrier," Warinner said. "We'll see how much Jake Sharp can handle week to week without wearing him out. I would say that the running back position will be by committee with those two guys being the lead guys. Either one can be in there when there's one back in the backfield, and when there's two backs, they both would be in there as a starting point."

And Warinner expects both to catch passes much more frequently. Those two, along with tight end Derek Fine, can provide solid receiving options underneath while Marcus Henry and the other wideouts go deep.

Options. There's that word again.

"We're trying to spread the field and be able to put pressure on the defense in a lot of different ways," Warinner said. "We want to be able to focus in on a particular coverage or a defensive back or a particular receiver we want to feature."

Keep it quiet

But too many more specifics will stay a secret for now.

The spring game in April featured a couple of quirky setups, like a diamond formation with four receivers in the shape of a square out wide. The Jayhawks appeared to experiment with no-huddle a few times, and some plays obviously were new to those who had seen KU play extensively pre-Warinner.

It's a significant - though not drastic- makeover, although Warinner thinks it's not any harder on his players.

"It isn't complicated internally," Warinner said. "It gives the impression that it could be, but it's not."

Players have hinted that more big plays can be expected. "Uptempoed" was used by more than one player asked to describe it in the spring.

But really, the only foe that has a good idea is KU's defense, which faced the new offense for 15 practices during the spring.

The film will start to circulate after KU plays Central Michigan on Sept. 1, but that's OK. Though the premise will be the same, Warinner will never get comfortable, never be predictable.

And he'll try his hardest to never, ever be boring.

"I see it," Warinner said, "being a lot of fun."

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Comments

hawkfan20 (anonymous) says...

Sounds exciting! I'm definitely looking for a little more out of the offense this year. And especially better execution during crunch time.

June 13, 2007 at 6:55 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

bmcmich1 (anonymous) says...

WOW!!! Assuming Warriner is true to his word, us 'Hawk Football fans are in for a fun year. I am so tired of seeing the same predictable plays run ( DRAW, anyone?? ) year after year. Sounds like our new coordinator actually grasps the concept that so many of our previous coodinators did not: you must ADAPT to what the defense is giving you!! Being able to change in-game is KEY. This is not to say that you don't come in with a game plan, but Warriner understands that you don't have to follow it to a t.

oh my god i'm so excited for 'hawk football!!!!!!!

June 13, 2007 at 8:34 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

fabolous_bg (anonymous) says...

I just hope they took out the stupid wide receiver screen pass that never worked...

June 13, 2007 at 8:36 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

bmcmich1 (anonymous) says...

Oops--Warinner! I was so excited; I spelled his name wrong =)

June 13, 2007 at 8:36 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

TrueBlue92 (anonymous) says...

I hope this doesn't mean throw throw throw. Effective running teams with strong defenses win a lot of games.

This sounds like the Vermiel Chiefs on the surface:
"Well, we ran the ball twice and only got two yards, so we called 18 pass plays in a row"

I'm hoping it's more like Coach Herm's Chiefs!! Wear on them for three quarters then control the 4th!

June 13, 2007 at 8:42 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

rolo2383 (anonymous) says...

In Terry Allen's last year he went to a spread, no huddle, offense. It was a disaster. He did it out of desperation b/c he pretty much had hit bottom as a coach here.

I went to the spring game and noticed we were running a spread offense and the first thought that ran thru my head was Mangino is getting desperate. The only thing that is different is this team has a lot more talent. And maybe the plan isn't to run the spread all the time but they sure seemed to do it a lot during the game. I was a little concerned.

Having said that I still see this team easily winning the six games needed for a bowl. I also see this team having an opportunity to win up to 9 games if we play much better defense than we did last year.

June 13, 2007 at 9 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Jimmy_Dean (Alan Halvorsen) says...

Trueblue, did you ever watch the chiefs with Vermiel? They had a guy named preist holmes. They did throw many times which just opened up the run gates even more for the priest. A good passing game is how you get a good run game. (That's the reason Dick had a much better offense than Herm does) If we would have had a better pass game last year, who knows how many yards Cornish could've run for. You gotta be unpredictable, (which is why I love to hear Warinner say he will be) when they're in the 4-3 you pass....when they are in the nickel or dime, you hand it to sharpe.

June 13, 2007 at 9:16 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

bmcmich1 (anonymous) says...

Six wins does not guarantee a bowl berth, as we all witnessed last year. I should sincerely hope the boys have in mind a little loftier number than that in the win column.

June 13, 2007 at 9:18 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Jimmy_Dean (Alan Halvorsen) says...

7-5 bare minimum....looking forward to 8-4

June 13, 2007 at 9:29 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

sevenyearhawk (anonymous) says...

this DOES sound exciting!

I hope they've taken the shuffle/shuttle/shovel pass out of the playbook, or at least moved it toward the back ...

that was effective once, maybe twice a game at best!

June 13, 2007 at 9:54 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

bmcmich1 (anonymous) says...

HA! you're too generous sevenyear--try more like once, twice a season! Man I hated that play...

And I agree Jimmy Dean, the wins doubling the losses is certainly an attainable goal, and one we should reasonably expect as fans. Nine would be great, but also a miracle, and double digits is a pipe dream. I'm a positive realist, so I'm thinkin' 8-4 and dreamin 9-3. Either one would be a vast improvement over last year's debacle.

June 13, 2007 at 9:59 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

sevenyearhawk (anonymous) says...

i probably was too generous ...

ten wins, wow ... that would be incredible!

June 13, 2007 at 10:33 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Jimmy_Dean (Alan Halvorsen) says...

I don't know you guys, I kinda liked the shuvel pass....I think it probably was overused. It seemed to be a farely effective weapon. Of course it's kinda like a great circle change up in baseball, its a great pitch if you only throw if four or five times a game. If you ever use it more than that it will be predictable and nothing is easier to hit than a change up that you know is coming! My point is, if like you guys say, use it probably like once a game in key situations....it could be real useful. The play that needs to bounce are those danged WR screens, how many times did we use that against Toledo.

June 13, 2007 at 10:53 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

bmcmich1 (anonymous) says...

The shovel is effective ONCE a game, and you have to use it in the perfect situation. But I agree, when it does work it works big. I also agree that the WR screen might very well be the most hated play amongst KU fans.

The WR screen's premise is great, though--it does allow for an athlete to make a move, then bye-bye!! I'd equate it's situation with us fans to a great new song that came out at the beginning of the summer. You LOVE it, and everyone else loves it, but then the radio station starts playing it over and over, every bar you go to plays it at least 2000 times a night, and a pack of coed bimbos screams on the way to the dance floor every time it plays...long story short, you HATE the song by the end of the summer. That, to me, is the WR screen played by the DJs (Coaches) WAY too often.

June 13, 2007 at 11:34 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

KURUSH1530 (anonymous) says...

Thank you for hiring a coach that will not be afraid to try something new when the old plan isn't working. We have a problem with that from our Coaches in many sports here at U-of-K. Although I'm excited for football season, because it seems as though once again, we will have the talent to compete. Oh wait, we play in the big 12. Maybe if we were in conference usa or something like that we'd be alright. Come on Mangino, show us that you are worth the money and commotion of bringing you in. Ill be in the stadium every saturday, even on away games, rooting for the Hawks. Let's go out there and win 7 or 8 or 9.

June 13, 2007 at 11:45 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

fabio (anonymous) says...

kurush- The big 12 isnt the SEC and we dont have to play the two best in the conference. We will be alright.

June 13, 2007 at 1:50 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

sevenyearhawk (anonymous) says...

now now fabio, can't fault the enthusiasm ...

and it is weird we're KU but Univ of Kansas, and UK is Kentucky Univ.

When I lived in Florida and flew my Kansas "Battle Flag" with the blue and white stripes and the big K in the middle, inevitably and always some knucklehead would ask if that was for Kentucky!

Grumble, I'd say: where is RED in the UK school colors?

***

I also take my hat off to KURUSH for wanting to hit all the games, home and away ... that takes more out of you than you'd expect!

June 13, 2007 at 3:03 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

fabio (anonymous) says...

Yea, no garauntees yet but Im gonna TRY to make all 4 of KUs road games this year. If there was ever a year to go to all of KUs games this would be the year. The only 2 games with significant driving time are Boulder and College Station and those definately arent unreasonable. Besides, I have the same long term goal as sevenyear- to go to all the stadiums in the Big 12.

June 13, 2007 at 6:31 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

sevenyearhawk (anonymous) says...

11 down, one to go - College Station!

June 13, 2007 at 8:28 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

sevenyearhawk (anonymous) says...

Well it's unanimous:

Lindy's, Sporting News and Athlon all have KU picked to finish fourth ...

One has a picture of Aqib Talib in #28, come on people that was TWO seasons ago.

Sporting News has KU picked to either play Kentucky in Shreveport (which would be cool, KU vs UK on the gridiron) or KU vs Cincy in Houston ...

/so excited that there are college football magazines out already!!!

June 13, 2007 at 9:46 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

CasperCorps (anonymous) says...

Is it time yet? I'm ready..

June 13, 2007 at 11:26 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

N2sports (anonymous) says...

Hey, Ku fans. Hope your season goes well. I've been hearing alot about RB Sharp & McAnderson. What's going on with the TX. RB Bean. I watched him alot in high school He was hot and he wasn't even given the rock much his SR. yr & JR. yr. I hope your KU coaching staff realize the talent they'll be over-looking. I really thought he should've chosen Purdue. Anyway, good luck KU, Texas fans will be watching.

June 14, 2007 at 12:42 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

bmcmich1 (anonymous) says...

Thanks N2sports, don't think you'll be disappointed!

Just to double-check sevenyear, that's picked to finish fourth in the NORTH, right?

And, wouldn't it be great to cap off a 2007 dominance (basketball & football) of that school we are always getting confused with? I sure think so!

Rock Chalk KUFB!!!!!

June 14, 2007 at 8:26 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Jimmy_Dean (Alan Halvorsen) says...

N2-I don't think he's being overlooked....he's just a freshman. personally I've been excited about Bean since we signed him. He'll be a solid player for us. As for texas watching over us........?

June 14, 2007 at 8:45 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Jimmy_Dean (Alan Halvorsen) says...

While I'm on here, anyone know any news about Brandon Duncan, and Jason Thompson? Are they expected to not return to the team, as Athlon says? Or will they be joining us sometime in the future? I sure hope so....those are two ballers!!

June 14, 2007 at 9:07 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

greatabu (anonymous) says...

Jimmy_Dean:

Those two are gone, as well as D'Marcus Lang. I believe they are academic casualties, but I may be wrong. The point is they aren't coming back.

June 14, 2007 at 9:52 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

sevenyearhawk (anonymous) says...

bmcmich1

yes, 4th in North ... I think Athlon had us picked 2nd last year.

Most of the articles are well written, there's actually a blurb in Lindy's from KUSports' own Ryan Wood (might have been sporting news, but I think they had a writer from Omaha)

I'm so excited about college football, I've even been watching the odd game or so on ESPNU.

***

Hey N2sports, I'm trying to get this new KU tradition started with a hand gesture like the Texas schools, do you think that's cool or lame?

http://www.beakem.org

***

And just in case anyone is wondering, I don't want any kind of credit for this new tradition, I'm just "the messenger" as it were ...

June 14, 2007 at 9:58 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

bmcmich1 (anonymous) says...

Gotcha sevenyear, thanks--that could be a blessing in disguise because KU teams usually perform better without a lot of pressure or expectations heaped upon them (see: 6 seed in '88) SO, let's hope for a great season this fall!

June 14, 2007 at 1:27 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Jimmy_Dean (Alan Halvorsen) says...

Man that sucks! Jason Thompson, Demarcus Lang, Brandon Duncan, and Aaron Mack....that really sucks.

June 14, 2007 at 2:23 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

fabio (anonymous) says...

Not as much as you suck Jimmy Dean....................just kidding!

June 14, 2007 at 4:12 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Jimmy_Dean (Alan Halvorsen) says...

you dambed fabio, I can't believe your not butter!

June 14, 2007 at 7:08 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

sevenyearhawk (anonymous) says...

we have some interesting names here ...

Jimmy_Dean, as in sausage I presume?

fabio, do you have the long locks?

bmcmich1, from or in michigan?

sevenyearhawk, well ... I was in Lawrence for a long time, 13 years if you include summer camps, and I actually have a grad school interview in Emporia on Saturday (another reason we're not getting season tickets this year) everyone wish me luck!

/Lots of people go to college for seven years ...

June 14, 2007 at 7:59 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

N2sports (anonymous) says...

Jimmy Dean I just mean the Tx. fans. Not the school.

Seven yr. Hawk I don't think the hand sign is going to work. But, good luck anyway.

June 14, 2007 at 8:46 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

fabio (anonymous) says...

Ya know sevenyear- I dont look at damn thing like the actual fabio. Ive got short dark hair and I have absolutely no accent.
N2sports- One of these years we're gonna beat one of those Texas schools. I dont know when, but its gonna happen.

June 14, 2007 at 11:16 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

seattlehawk_78 (anonymous) says...

The chant and the wheat are cool. The beak em hand signal will get us laughed at.

June 14, 2007 at 11:38 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

sevenyearhawk (anonymous) says...

seattlehawk, et al ...

i know it's kinda weird, but we already had the phrase "beak 'em" in use, i guess it was all my trips to Texas for games that made that pop into my head.

we've already been doing the big "gator champ" at games, for nearly ten years(?) i just shrunk it down and connected it with the words ...

June 15, 2007 at 7:25 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

rolo2383 (anonymous) says...

6 - 6 would make us bowl eligible but I doubt it would get us into a bowl. I do see us winning 8 games this year. I think it's going to be an exciting year.

Those are some big names that are no longer on the roster. This happens pretty much every year though so I do my best to ignore it when people leave the program.

It's early in the recruiting season and it's impossible sometimes to tell how well the kids they do recruit are going to end up as players but it looks like this years recruiting class is starting off solid. (How was that for a long sentence?) Anyway, Mangino and company need to take the next step this year or he's gone. I'd also like to see us move away from the Bill Snyder school of non-conference scheduling. I don't mind seeing us play a patsy or two but I also don't want to go see four home games against McNeese State every year. We can schedule against some mid level schools from other major conferences. It won't kill us and it will look better to potential recruits.

June 15, 2007 at 8:36 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

bmcmich1 (anonymous) says...

Sevenyear--

Good guess, but I am not from nor am I currently living in Michigan, although I did attend Michigan football camp in HS which ranks right up there with the coolest experiences of my life thus far. Out of good fun, I'll play mysterioso with my handle and let ya keep guessing...

There seems to be a lot of similarities between us, though...when it was all said and done, it took me six and 1/2 years to graduate, round that up, it's seven...

Also, and most importantly, I want you to know that there is a small faction of 'Hawk fans, namely my closest friends, acquaintances, and associates from my time on the hill, that have been doing the 'beak 'em' for more than four years now. It was started at The Hawk during the NCAA tourney (think it was prior to the start of the Marquette game) by one of my closest friends, and it started when he asked me to cup my hand as if it had bird feed in it, and he made the 'beakem' you have been speaking of and chowed down. Then, he is obligated to turn it around and be the feeder while I beaked him. We called it the beak 'em, and it has been a pre-game ritual ever since. As you know, we destroyed Marquette that day, and the winning percentage throughout the years when we are all together doing the beak 'em is something like .850. Most notably, we were both indeed there to perform the beak'em in Fort Worth, Texas. We have just spread it through word of mouth and inebriated demonstrations, but I love how you're taking it a step further. beak 'em hawks!!!

June 15, 2007 at 8:58 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

rolo2383 (anonymous) says...

The bball team destroyed Marquette and the football team whipped Houston in Ft Worth b/c my friends and I were wearing our lucky KU hats on backwards and inside out. Hmmmmm j/k

I look forward to our next bowl game. I had a blast in Ft Worth two years ago.

June 15, 2007 at 10:32 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

sevenyearhawk (anonymous) says...

bmcmich1 ,

that is an awesome story!

i'll send you my personal e-mail, we need to get that story on the beak 'em site, and keep spreading the word ...

I don't want glory or credit, that's why you really won't see too much about me on the site, I just want another way to honor my alma mater, and it was influenced by the Texas schools.

***

I look at it like this, when two people are in a relationship, the traditions from the two families become intermingled - that's kind of what's happening with the Big 8/SWC in the Big XII ...

And if I'm out somewhere, outside of the Midwest, and I see a KU person across the way (or out on the highway) I want someway to say to them: "I'm a Jayhawk, too" and you can't always yell Rock Chalk at the top of your lungs ... believe me, I've tried!

June 15, 2007 at 10:38 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

bmcmich1 (anonymous) says...

I'm with ya rolo, can't wait for another bowl--and I'll keep on believing that me and my friends hold the key to victory, as I'm sure a lot of other idiots do too, but hey--we're happy idiots! =)

And awesome sevenyear, I'd love to throw the story on the website--anything to carry it on! Glad you liked the history of beak 'em, too--thought you would!

June 15, 2007 at 11:29 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Jimmy_Dean (Alan Halvorsen) says...

all about the sausages.

June 15, 2007 at 4:09 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

actorman (anonymous) says...

seven year and bcmich, I love the idea of doing the beak 'em. I don't get to too many games (maybe one football and one basketball a year), but I'll try to do my part to spread the word. It's original and yeah a little funny (what's wrong with that), and it's certainly better than doing that tired old Gator chomp. I hate it when we copy other schools.

As for football season, I've had my hopes up in previous years and had them dashed by too many pitiful performances at the ends of close games. Until MM convinces me that he knows how to close out games, it's hard for me to get overly excited about this season. Let's face it, this is a make-or-break season for him and he knows it. If they don't win at least 8 games this year, he has to go.

June 16, 2007 at 1:36 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

JBurtin (anonymous) says...

I'm really excited by what I hear about the new offense. They aren't trying to re-invent the wheel (ALA Texas Tech) or hanging on dogedly to a particular philosphy for forty years (ALA Nebraska). Both can be very successful, but bring certain problems with them. Nebraska could never recruit good quarterbacks so they had to depend on defense too much if the run game didn't work, and Texas Tech's defense always wears out in the fourth quarter because they can't run any clock.

Our coaches are just using common sense to take what the defense is giving them. If the safeties play close, throw long to keep them honest, if they play deep, run the ball or dump off to a short route and grind out some yards. Mangino did this against us when he was at OU and absolutely dismantled us and pretty much everyone else with it.

It doesn't have to be brain surgery to have the same play executed more than one way depending on how the defense looks when the QB gets to the line. You just have to change your primary target/s and that can be signalled in to the QB from the sideline.

As for the shovel play and the WR screen. I think Quartaro had a tendency to fall in love with something once it worked a couple of times for him. When we had Bill Whittemore the WR screens to Gordon and Simmons were working incredibly well, but if other teams see you run a play a thousand times they will prepare for it before they play you. I've also seen the shovel play work over and over again against a team that was dumb enough to keep falling for it (Missouri three years in a row), but every dog has its day and that one's day was over before last year ever started. I don't mind if these plays are still in our arsenal, I'm just glad we've got a coach that likes to play a style where he's not married to a particular philosophy.

Warriner's description kind of has a nice Bruce Lee ring to it, his style is the style of not being married to a style. Very sage.

June 16, 2007 at 3:58 a.m. ( | suggest removal )