Post by rainman on Oct 10, 2007 5:51:47 GMT -5
Breakaways: Everyone must perform his job
By Bob Hertzel
For the Times West Virginian
MORGANTOWN— At the midpoint in a season in which West Virginia University’s football team is scoring a whole lot of points, one glaring difference has emerged in the offense.
Is it a problem?
The coaches don’t seem to think so. The players don’t seem to think so.
So why worry, especially coming off scoring 55 points at Syracuse, the most points the Orange ever allowed on its home field?
Well, because West Virginia football is built upon the big play, the breakaway run, and the man most likely to pull that off over the past couple of years has been Steve Slaton.
And that’s what’s been missing.
Slaton, who last season rushed for a school record 1,744 yards, is on a pace to gain just 1,355 yards through a 13-game season, including a bowl game. What’s more, in Slaton’s first two years, he had 13 runs of 40 or more yards but this season has but two runs of more than 40 yards, those against Western Michigan and East Carolina.
Coach Rich Rodriguez refuses to panic.
“It’s just the way they’re playing him,” he said. “In our offense, you have to be unselfish. They are keying on him and trying to take him away.”
The problem is that they seem to be accomplishing that. Slaton has gone two games without reaching 100 yards rushing and his carries have dropped from 24 against Marshall and 26 against Maryland to 13 and 15 in the past two games.
Is it frustrating?
“It’s only frustrating when we lose,” he said. “Teams can key on me, but we have other options (such as fullback Owen Schmitt who scored twice against Syracuse) because this team has a lot of weapons.”
Slaton seems to be running harder than ever, but what has become most obvious is that he hasn’t been able to take advantage of his game-breaking speed for the long runs that have become as much a part of WVU football tradition as the Pride of West Virginia Marching Band and the Mountaineer mascot himself.
We, therefore, decided to look into the difference between a long, breakaway touchdown run and a 5- or 6-yard gain.
Surprisingly, it isn’t very much of a difference.
“Sometimes it’s a missed tackle; sometimes it’s a safety or linebacker,” said Rodriguez. “Sometimes it’s an explosive player or a player that makes a miss or who has a bad angle. Sometimes everything just matches up right; execution was there. It was the right play against the right defense and it all matches up right. It’s a lot of variables.”
Get a missed tackle, a bad angle by a defender, the right call at the right time against the right defense and you have a breakaway.
All that and more
Quarterback Patrick White knows something about breakaway touchdown runs
“Sometimes it’s the matter of someone being in the wrong place or being blocked. Sometimes it’s one step by the ball carrier that can make the tackler miss,” he said.
Again, little things that add up.
What WVU tries to do is get Slaton or White, and now Darius Reynaud and Noel Devine, one-on-one in space with a defender and let the playmaker make the play. When Rodriguez says he takes what the defense gives him, that’s exactly what he means … a one-on-one situation in space.
However, to get that you need the offensive line, which has a couple of new additions this year and a new coach, to do its blocking. You need White to make a good read, and you need the wide receivers to block downfield.
“If everyone does the job, we’re never too far from hitting it,” Slaton said.
He then went on to explain exactly what he meant.
“It’s the offense doing all the right things, the back making all the right reads, the offensive linemen making their blocks and the receivers hustling downfield. That’s how big plays come,” he said.
“It’s exciting. I know my big boys, if they get me to the second level, if the receivers are blocking, if a guy challenges me in open space, I’m supposed to make him miss.”
There have been far fewer situations this year that have worked out that way, however.
Why?
“A play that’s not so big, maybe the linemen will make all the blocks but the receiver falls down and lets the cornerback get you,” Slaton said, quite matter-of-factly.
In other words, sometime the Big Bad Wolf even gets to eat dinner in a big brick house.
By Bob Hertzel
For the Times West Virginian
MORGANTOWN— At the midpoint in a season in which West Virginia University’s football team is scoring a whole lot of points, one glaring difference has emerged in the offense.
Is it a problem?
The coaches don’t seem to think so. The players don’t seem to think so.
So why worry, especially coming off scoring 55 points at Syracuse, the most points the Orange ever allowed on its home field?
Well, because West Virginia football is built upon the big play, the breakaway run, and the man most likely to pull that off over the past couple of years has been Steve Slaton.
And that’s what’s been missing.
Slaton, who last season rushed for a school record 1,744 yards, is on a pace to gain just 1,355 yards through a 13-game season, including a bowl game. What’s more, in Slaton’s first two years, he had 13 runs of 40 or more yards but this season has but two runs of more than 40 yards, those against Western Michigan and East Carolina.
Coach Rich Rodriguez refuses to panic.
“It’s just the way they’re playing him,” he said. “In our offense, you have to be unselfish. They are keying on him and trying to take him away.”
The problem is that they seem to be accomplishing that. Slaton has gone two games without reaching 100 yards rushing and his carries have dropped from 24 against Marshall and 26 against Maryland to 13 and 15 in the past two games.
Is it frustrating?
“It’s only frustrating when we lose,” he said. “Teams can key on me, but we have other options (such as fullback Owen Schmitt who scored twice against Syracuse) because this team has a lot of weapons.”
Slaton seems to be running harder than ever, but what has become most obvious is that he hasn’t been able to take advantage of his game-breaking speed for the long runs that have become as much a part of WVU football tradition as the Pride of West Virginia Marching Band and the Mountaineer mascot himself.
We, therefore, decided to look into the difference between a long, breakaway touchdown run and a 5- or 6-yard gain.
Surprisingly, it isn’t very much of a difference.
“Sometimes it’s a missed tackle; sometimes it’s a safety or linebacker,” said Rodriguez. “Sometimes it’s an explosive player or a player that makes a miss or who has a bad angle. Sometimes everything just matches up right; execution was there. It was the right play against the right defense and it all matches up right. It’s a lot of variables.”
Get a missed tackle, a bad angle by a defender, the right call at the right time against the right defense and you have a breakaway.
All that and more
Quarterback Patrick White knows something about breakaway touchdown runs
“Sometimes it’s the matter of someone being in the wrong place or being blocked. Sometimes it’s one step by the ball carrier that can make the tackler miss,” he said.
Again, little things that add up.
What WVU tries to do is get Slaton or White, and now Darius Reynaud and Noel Devine, one-on-one in space with a defender and let the playmaker make the play. When Rodriguez says he takes what the defense gives him, that’s exactly what he means … a one-on-one situation in space.
However, to get that you need the offensive line, which has a couple of new additions this year and a new coach, to do its blocking. You need White to make a good read, and you need the wide receivers to block downfield.
“If everyone does the job, we’re never too far from hitting it,” Slaton said.
He then went on to explain exactly what he meant.
“It’s the offense doing all the right things, the back making all the right reads, the offensive linemen making their blocks and the receivers hustling downfield. That’s how big plays come,” he said.
“It’s exciting. I know my big boys, if they get me to the second level, if the receivers are blocking, if a guy challenges me in open space, I’m supposed to make him miss.”
There have been far fewer situations this year that have worked out that way, however.
Why?
“A play that’s not so big, maybe the linemen will make all the blocks but the receiver falls down and lets the cornerback get you,” Slaton said, quite matter-of-factly.
In other words, sometime the Big Bad Wolf even gets to eat dinner in a big brick house.
