My thinking on this fluctuates a lot.

by domer.mq , Thursday, June 11, 2009, 09:28 (6257 days ago) @ Jay

As Spesh points out, these "too cute" plays sure as hell make a defense take notice, and at the very least will put the LBs on their heels just a bit, even if it's SC vs. ND in '07.

Then again, I always go back to that whole, "3 things can happen when you pass, and 2 of them are bad" notion.

Then again, I'd really like to see a breakdown over the last 30 years in CFB of passing vs. running from within the 10, and what results in TD, what results in INT, and what results in Fumble. And then I'd like to see what happens as we approach present day, because my hunch is passing has gotten much, much better over the years, and is far more efficient today than in 79 or 89, and probably even a fair bit more efficient than in 99. The notion of "2 of them are bad" drives me a bit bonkers because it's "playing scared" of a very powerful piece of the game, and it strikes me as a bit odd for a program that revolutionized passing in the sport.

BSU's statue-of-liberty play in their BCS win a few years ago was "too cute," but it was friggin brilliant. So was the hook-and-lateral a few plays before.

Oftentimes, these discussions of "good" versus "bad" offensive tactics strikes me a bit too much like a bunch of efficiency experts talking over "best practices" in the world of business, looking to completely eliminate creativity because they fear risk. Give me grand strokes and splatters and brilliance. Just give me winning while it happens too.

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Sometimes I rhyme slow sometimes I rhyme quick.