Eric Boles

I think an aspect that could put Duck fans at ease, regarding this play, is that the run option is the last option. By the time the QB gets that third option, the box should be fairly empty.

Really, you’re trying to catch them off guard with the alignment. There’s nobody really assigned to the tackle, so there’s no real tendency to take advantage of. The offense uses that huddle and getting to the line quickly to hide the alignment of their players. The defense would have to recognize what’s happening pretty quickly.

Charles and I were just talking yesterday about the possibility of using Conerly for this. In that case, you probably wouldn’t have to use the huddle to disguise things either.

Thank You! Speed definitely seems to be a point of emphasis the last couple off-seasons.

I’m glad you enjoyed it!

I’m glad you enjoyed the article! They’re definitely going to be able to stretch the field!

There were a couple good options! That crossing receiver beat his guy from the start. But I just read the other day what Don Coryell would tell his QBs; don’t pass up an open receiver. So as soon as a guy is open in the progression, that’s where the progression stops.

Thankfully, that physicality is also a hallmark of Coach Lanning’s program, so I think there’s a good chance!

Thanks! They’re always fun writes.

The 14 in the name of the formation is a little misleading, because when we see it we’re thinking 14-personnel and 4 TEs.

You’re right, there’s a ton that they could run from this formation.

There is a ton they can do from this formation. Anything that a team like say Stanford could do out of their 22-personnel, Oregon could do out of this one in addition to the option game. And a quick note on the 14J; it only uses three TEs also. Conerly comes in to play an in-line TE spot, but it’s really a 6 OL formation.

More than likely, if the LB doesn’t blitz, he’s covering someone else of the defense is playing zone. The read would be the same, but the slot would adjust his route a little to get upfield a bit more.

If the QB had gone the other direction, the RB would have picked up nice yardage too!

The really nice part is that Coach Stein’s offense is pretty much the same as Coach Dillingham’s but with a bit of an uptick in RPOs. So it should be a pretty smooth transition.

Nice piece, Joshua. Exactly as you say, I expect the offensive scheme and identity to remain mostly unchanged this coming season. The only two things I expect to differ is the amount that both RPOs and the pistol are used.

Possibly. Still not 100% on that one. But even if there are, and you’re not sure a QB can execute all of it, options can always be taken out of a play by design.

He’d definitely be a problem on this play.

Yeah, if you’re talking about an RPO, there’d be a lot going on there. Timing is the issue I run into, but I’m sure there are people smarter than I that could work it out.

If you did that as a play action, there’d be nothing to worry about. But if you found a way to make it an RPO, and was able to make the timing work, you can always just have the receivers run routes instead of blocking. You would have to go with the more traditional Power Read blocking and read the edge guy that the TE is no longer blocking. Otherwise you have to first level playside guys unblocked.

All for getting the TE involved! I am almost certain that there is no option for the QB to run the ball in this play. That would be a ton of first level reading to have to read a playside defender and then a backside. I’m not sure how the timing would work out on that either. But, you could probably run a constraint that looks exactly the same with the read being the backside, but then you’ll want to block that playside guys so your QB isn’t blasted looking the other way.

Harbor? I could have swore he was a 5-star, but he’s a freakish athlete either way. It’d be a nice get for Oregon. The TE does man one of the slots in their 10-personnel look and 11 when there are two out there.

That could be a possibility, but something also happened during the bowl game that made me think. Whittington got some time in the slot. I wonder if that’s a possibility with the amount of quality depth that RB position has. A lot of what the slot is asked to do in the Stein system would suit a player with RB skills. Whittington will more than likely stay at RB, but it did make me wonder.

Also, this list is in no particular order. It was also a bit longer until I shaved it down right before writing. Mack Leftwich’s Incarnate Word offense is scoring 53 points per game. Andy Kotelnicki’s Kansas offense is very creative, but he’s not a QB coach. Whether that last part matters or not depends on who you ask.