By now, those who follow Kansas University football know that dropped passes have plagued the KU offense during the first two weeks of the 2013 season.
But instead of using the Monday Rewind to look back at which players dropped the most passes and who is struggling the most in that department (You can find that here), I figured it might be a good idea to check out the opposite side of things and see if some kind of fix can’t be pulled from that.
What the F, right?
No. Stick with me. I’m not talking about *that* F, I’m talking about KU’s F position, which currently is manned by Tony Pierson and Brandon Bourbon, two players who have been Jake Heaps’ most reliable targets through the first two games of the season.
A week ago, when KU football coach Charlie Weis was asked on his weekly radio show which player had the best hands, his answer revealed something that might be worth trying for the struggling Kansas offense.
“I’d say Pierson has the best hands,” Weis said. “And Bourbon’s next. The guys playing the same position might be the two guys with the best hands.”
So why not put them out there at the same time a little more often?
Because I don’t have a playbook nor a helmet and shoulder pads, I don’t fully understand Weis’ offense and all of the intricacies that go along with it. But I do understand the idea of first-string and second-string players, and maybe it’s time to promote Bourbon to first-string along with Pierson.
Both have looked sure-handed catching the ball this season. Both have the ability to line up anywhere on the field. And both have the speed and toughness to run good routes and get open. From where I sit, that means both should play as much as possible.
Unlike many of you, I don’t quite see this as a sky-is-falling situation. Not yet, anyway. It’s still early, I think this team is made up of several tough-minded individuals and maybe doing something this drastic with the offense is not what needs to happen right now.
KU’s strength remains its running game and finding ways to get James Sims, Darrian Miller, Taylor Cox and especially Pierson some more quality carries seems like a good place to start — at least until Heaps and the passing game get fully comfortable and the offensive line becomes more solid.
But if drops continue to be a problem and KU’s pass catchers fail to step up, letting Pierson and Bourbon carry more of the load might be the answer — offensively, at least.
The defense is a different story altogether. Not only is that unit playing better and improving by leaps and bounds each week, but the KU defense darn near won the Jayhawks last weekend’s game. How long has it been since you could say that?
