Yeah, I know I'm going to get a lot of sarcastic comments like, "Block somebody, anybody!, Try not getting our Quarterbacks killed!, or Catch the dadblamed ball!" Those are accepted and understood with the frustration from which they will be written, but I really believe we have to look at where a coach is coming from to have starting point of what we can be as an offense. So let's look some at KSU a little from last year...
- Scoring - 37 point per game and 10th in the nation with the personnel he had to work with. Howard and the backup QB from the games I watched were efficient, but it Coach Klein's schemes, usage of personnel toward their best skill sets and solid line play was what got the job done. We should look for at least the same type of scoring, even with the step up in competition.
- Red Zone Efficiency - We were really close together with KSU in scoring the red zone but the huge difference was KSU was 51 for 65 scoring touchdowns, or 78%. Let that sink in for a moment. How many more games would we have won last year if we'd been better scoring TDs in the red zone? I know it's ifs. (Aye, and if my grandmother had wheels, she'd be a wagon...thank you, Mr. Scott...) I am expecting a huge jump in our play calling, time management and scoring.
- Protecting the Ball - KSU, even with a 55/45 run/pass ratio only fumbled 7 times, losing only 2. My friends, with QB runs built in, you can plainly see an emphasis on holding onto the football when running the ball 41 times a game. And it's not like they didn't throw it around the yard, they threw 32 times a game with only 10 picks, that's 2%, a very good rate. The QBs were sacked 25 times, a little higher number than we'd like, but not awful. If there's one thing we've seen from Conner thus far in his limited starts, he's been good at protecting the ball. I think Coach Klein is going to make him that much better.
- Balance - I believe Coach Klein may have been a little run heavier than he'd like to have been last year. I think he wanted to be more explosive down the field in the passing game but he simply didn't have the players to do it on a consistent basis. Still, one can't argue with 204 yards on the ground at 5 yards a pop. However, whenever your leading receiver in yards & TDs is your H Back and your yards per attempt is middling, as a coach, you're likely working from a talent disadvantage, as in this case. I said my post yesterday that I don't believe our WR has "the guy" in it right now, unless Bussey moves there full time, but we have a lot of very capable playmakers and that's all Coach needs. TE, I'm not worried about at all. He's proven what he can do there. I am really excited about the RB room because in there I think we have two backs who can be, if not 1000 yard rushers, perhaps 750 plus something very productive in the passing game as well. Giddens the RB at KSU was featured out of the backfield. I do think we have two "Dudes" back there!
