What “Balance” Means
October 26th, 2018
Talks balance.
Yesterday, the light bulb flipped on in Joe’s head. And it wasn’t a way to lure Rachel Watson into his lair.
The concept of “balance” within an offense is not what we think it is.
For example, most think in football terms that “balance” means half-run, half-throw. That’s not exactly the way Bucs offensive coordinator Todd Monken defines balance.
“We do talk balance and that is about all of your skill players touching the ball,” Monken said. “I think we’ve done a good job of that. I think a lot of our skill guys have touched the ball and have added to what we’ve done offensively.”
This immediately reminded Joe of what Washington State coach Mike Leach said in recent weeks. He was asked about a balanced offense and he said those that think a balanced offense is “50 percent run and 50 percent pass [is] 50 percent stupid.” Instead, Leach said, a balanced offense is when you spread the ball around to your playmakers.
Leach is regarded as one of the great offensive minds. A lot of his stuff he did at Kentucky and Texas Tech is being used in the NFL these days. Leach even noted that a good wishbone offense rarely passes the ball.
Last night Joe watched Georgia Tech blow out Virginia Tech running a triple-option and the Yellow Jackets didn’t complete one pass.
So balanced isn’t half-run/half-pass, it is spreading the ball around to your playmakers, which the Bucs have done for the most part this season.
Balance, according to @Coach_Leach and nothing more true has been said. pic.twitter.com/zFaYkCzoGg
— Drew Piscopo (@DrewCPiscopo) October 2, 2018
October 26th, 2018 at 8:33 am
Balance in the Passing Game
October 26th, 2018 at 8:46 am
We sure know how to keep playmakers off the field..ROJO.
October 26th, 2018 at 8:49 am
I think Joe is recommending “someone” to be the Bucs next head coach here.
October 26th, 2018 at 8:54 am
Balance the turnovers.
October 26th, 2018 at 9:03 am
Lol 😂 they will all get fired. Did anyone ask why they get a big play on a swing pass to Rojo and never decided to run it again or why they refuse to do slant passes to d jack or jack explain why they aren’t running the slant plays oj Howard was scoring on last year? Excuses excuses excuses for why you can’t run the ball. Ok guys go ahead and pretend like running the ball wasn’t important enough that you went out and spent a second round pick on a runner that rarely passes blocked or caught passes in college.
October 26th, 2018 at 9:16 am
Love mike Leach!
Inspirational dude, hardcore, great offensive mind, not afraid of Craig James, shoots from the hip and the heart.
I wish Koetter could have Leach come in and give this team a pep talk.
October 26th, 2018 at 9:20 am
I hated the wishbone and all the tomfoolery.
October 26th, 2018 at 9:22 am
Joe,
What’s the stats on our offensive line knowing who to block?
October 26th, 2018 at 9:25 am
Lol joe really likes Rachael Watson
October 26th, 2018 at 9:36 am
Joe- Did you have to remind me about THAT game?! It took copious amounts of Jim Beam to wash that memory from my brain. 400+ rushing yards, ZERO passing yards! Insane. That game was over the moment Tre Turner let that punt ricochet off his facemask.
Even as a Hokie fan, I had to admire the precision with which Georgia Tech ran the triple-option.
As to Monken’s comments, I’m not sure that I agree. In a way it sounds like he’s saying that we are trying to get touches to playmakers as opposed to taking what the defense gives us. Sounds forced, not balanced. To me, a balanced attack is one that keeps the defense on their heels, unpredictable.
October 26th, 2018 at 9:43 am
If the Bucs or the NFL keeps stats on that, they keep that in-house.
October 26th, 2018 at 9:49 am
I definitely understand your point, Joe, but I still believe for all my heart & soul that BALANCE between the running game & passing game is still crucial, also. — Both for the success of the offense AND the defense to perform at their best ability.
October 26th, 2018 at 9:56 am
Until the past handful of weeks used to believe that as well. Monken (and Leach) make a helluva point: If the ball isn’t in the hands of your playmakers, it’s almost a wasted play. Guessing, in a roundabout way, Monken is saying, “Do you want the ball in Peyton Barber’s hands 15 times a game or in DeSean Jackson’s hands 15 times a game?
Guessing it boils down to, what player(s) gives you the best chance to score, Jackson, Godwin, Evans, OJ or Barber?
October 26th, 2018 at 10:02 am
DB55:
Joe *loathes* the wishbone but Leach makes a helluva point. A wishbone, when run right, is a work of art and rarely does a wishbone offense throw, yet it distributes the ball to several players.
Joe remembers Oklahoma’s wishbone offenses with Billy Sims and that was some freaking beautiful football. Sims would take that pitch from J.C. Watts and — poof! — he’s gone.
Of course, Oklahoma’s offensive line was like five dump trucks. They just BLEW people off the line. To run a wishbone right, you have to have a monstrous offensive line. Oklahoma’s offensive line back there was so good, Watts (and Thomas Lott) would stand flat-footed and fake pitches and not even get breathed on.
(Not sure if you watched Georgia Tech last night but their offensive line was manhandling Virginia Tech’s defensive line. Looked like they were playing a high school, which is why they damn near had 500 yards rushing.)
October 26th, 2018 at 10:11 am
While the theory may sound “exciting” for an “air raid-style” offense, it is flawed for winning in the NFL or even in the SEC, for example. While Leach has won 2 games in his career w/o any yards rushing, he has failed to “balance” his teams by recruiting a defense and/or a complementary running back, which should be one of the playmakers that touch the ball as it is “spread” around. His offense is fun to watch and I am a fan of it but is not sustainable by his definition of offensive balance. If it was, he would not be in the PAC 12 at Washington St. where this style resides and practically defines the conference.
October 26th, 2018 at 10:18 am
Joe,
Sorry I meant “What’s the status on our offensive line knowing who to block”
October 26th, 2018 at 10:34 am
I want Winston to be our QB. With that said, not hitting Jackson on deep balls as we did in the first two games makes this offense unbalanced. When you are not hitting on all cylinders you are underachieving even is you are better than the rest of the NFL.
I DO NOT WANT FITZ AS OUR QB.
I WANT FOR WINSTON TO BE ABLE TO HIT THE DEEP BALL AS HE DID IN PRESEASON.
No hater here. I just want things balanced.
Go Bucs!!!
October 26th, 2018 at 10:35 am
That GA. Tech triple option is wicked. You would have to have the personnel to run it; (which, ultimately is probably why it won’t transfer to the big league) massive offensive line & 2 quarterbacks but, I think it could have a place in the NFL, definitely in short yardage situations. Where is Tebow?
October 26th, 2018 at 10:47 am
Notwithstanding any definition of “balanced”, still no excuse for not having a running game in the NFL. There is no way to spin it, the Bucs can never claim to have a balanced attack until they have a running game. Pathetic.
October 26th, 2018 at 11:00 am
I like the Rams offensive balance
QB. Elite
WR. High Quality
OL. High Quality
RB. Elite
TE. Above average
I think this is the balance that teams should strive for
October 26th, 2018 at 12:22 pm
2nd and 6 with and empty backfield is not showing balance. Everyone in the world knows you are PASSING. It’s like a pitcher tipping his pitches. 3rd and long is the only time that formation should be used. You know like when the other team knows you are passing regardless of formation. That’s what happened on the strip sack of Winston by Miles Garrett. Winston gets blamed for a fumble but that should go on the OC or LT. Hopefully we don’t see that formation unless it’s 3rd down.
#Get After It!
October 26th, 2018 at 1:12 pm
JOE- ENOUGH ALREADY ABOUT GEORGIA TECH!!! I am still in recovery mode as the resident Hokie (Virginia Tech) Alum! PLEASE!
October 26th, 2018 at 1:13 pm
The league is changing. The powers have changed the rules dramatically to favor scoring and more open offense.
The rules and mindsets have changed “balance”. I love Leach’s definition but if you want to look at how often teams run how often they pass…
https://www.footballdb.com/stats/play-selection.html
NO team this year is running more than they’re throwing it!
The Bucs are in the bottom half of running % but they’re not that far off the average. No team runs it 50% of the time so I’m not holding my breath waiting on a triple option returning to the NFL.
October 26th, 2018 at 2:05 pm
The Rams has 219 Rushing Attempts
219 Passing Attempts
October 26th, 2018 at 3:32 pm
LakeLand, the Rams have 231 passes and 219 runs. Close, though.
October 26th, 2018 at 4:29 pm
Lakeland
Certainly accept your point about the Rams being the closest to reaching 50-50.
My point is that if you look at the overall league stats the Rams are the exception not the rule.
One thought that comes to my mind is if RB’s are going to make a comeback in terms of the draft. Gurley…is a powerhouse.