Brian Kelly and the Running Game?

[Duo]

Several posters here are saying now that ND has the horses this is the year to unleash the Lou Holtz type power running game. Question is that would kind of go against the grain for the type of offensive attack BK has been running ever since his success at Cincinnati. Do you think BK will continue his pass first philosophy (finesse style offense emanating from the Mouse Davis type "Run and Shoot") or change up his plan and go a little more towards a power running game approach (a la Urban Meyer, Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher)?

Pass or run.........where will the emphasis be in 2015 and what do you think BK will do?

 

[IrishHerb]

Not sure.

But from everything I've seen Kelly do at Cinn & ND … he seems to have "pass first" in his DNA. I'm just not sure he can change. Maybe for a game or two, but I'm afraid he'll always go back to throwing the ball all over the place.

 

[floridairish]

ND was a 50/50 run/pass team last year and that was with a defense that was awful the last half of the year.

Lou Holtz ran the I formation at ND and that was almost 20 years ago. The I formation is virtually extinct and so our under center QB's. I watched a National Championship Game that was 100% Shot Gun.

ND under Brian Kelly will never look like ND under Lou Holtz. ND will run the football when the numbers are in their favor and ND will run the ball to close out games. If the ND defense can restore some respectability, maybe ND can stay patient and not feel the need to score every possession.

I tell my team that any possession that ends with a kick is a quality possession. But if your defense can't stop anyone, then a FG becomes less exciting and a punt is a disaster. ND needs to get stops on D and the running game will improve.

 

[Duo]

ND was a 50/50 run/pass team last year and that was with a defense that was awful the last half of the year.

Lou Holtz ran the I formation at ND and that was almost 20 years ago. The I formation is virtually extinct and so our under center QB's. I watched a National Championship Game that was 100% Shot Gun.

ND under Brian Kelly will never look like ND under Lou Holtz. ND will run the football when the numbers are in their favor and ND will run the ball to close out games. If the ND defense can restore some respectability, maybe ND can stay patient and not feel the need to score every possession.

I tell my team that any possession that ends with a kick is a quality possession. But if your defense can't stop anyone, then a FG becomes less exciting and a punt is a disaster. ND needs to get stops on D and the running game will improve.

Florida Irish,

Re: "ND was a 50/50 run/pass team last year". Was that run first or pass first and then run. It seems like many here feel BK is "pass happy" and runs a predominantly pass first attack.

And Re: "I watched a National Championship Game that was 100% Shot Gun." Very true! And have you noticed how many plays are running plays out of the shotgun by the power teams?

 

[Duo]

Ara 64,

Re: "Coach Sanford said earlier in spring practice that he wants the QB to trust the play called, and not change it at the line of scrimmage."

Seriously? You're thinking there will be no more audibles? That's kind of hard to imagine. What if the QB sees a defensive backfield mix up and there is a wide open hole? Will he have to stick with the play from the sidelines? (BTW and FWIW, that's pretty much how Paul Johnson and GT does it.)

 

[Irish Grandeur]

If I am not mistaken, BK was not always a 'pass first' coach and went to the spread sometime in the last few years he coached at GV. I can see BK aligning his system along the same lines as UM ran OSU's offense last year which produced a healthy 260+ yards/game average.

 

[floridairish]

I'm not sure what you're trying to say? You mentioned Lou Holtz who ran the I Veer at ND (I own the 87 playbook) and Mouse Davis who ran the Run & Shoot (I own the 1983 Houston Gamblers playbook)

Both those offenses resemble nothing of what ND has ever done under Brian Kelly.The I Veer was an option based attack and 75% run and the Run and Shoot was 70% pass,4 wide with No TE...ever.

ND is what the statistics clearly say they are and that's 50% pass and 50% run. The run blocking needs to improve and Greg Bryant needs to improve but ND is not pass happy whatsoever. Sure when they are way down on the scoreboard or the other guys have too many box players or they're just getting their ass kicked...Kelly will start slinging it everywhere but what's the alternative? Run, Run, 3rd Long and Punt? That stuff worked in 2012 because ND had a defense. The 2014 defense made that strategy ineffective and pointless.

As the great Alex Gibbs said "Don't run it into 9 until the whooping begins"

 

[Duo]

Re: "Both those offenses resemble nothing of what ND has ever done under Brian Kelly.The I Veer was an option based attack and 75% run and the Run and Shoot was 70% pass."

Posters here have suggested BK should run the ball more and have pined for the days of Lou Holtz. Also, posters here have complained that BK passes the ball too much or passes first in order to open up the run and have wished BK would do it the other way around...........run first in order to open up the pass.

I mentioned the two styles because they are opposites..........run vs. pass and wonder if BK will choose to run the ball more. Again, posters here are saying in 2015 because of the type of personnel they believe BK will change his style and feature the run more often.

Speaking of Alex Gibbs (Mr. sliding down the line zone blocking and cut blocking on the backside) himself, he more than anyone else was responsible for making Terrell Davis a 2000+ yard rusher and winning 2 Super Bowls for the Broncos. That required agile and quick linemen and a back that was able to make lightning quick decisions on which way to cut (forward or cut back) without any hesitation. If ND could run those zone blocking schemes and cut block on the backside with a super quick back they would have a very potent ground attack. Yep, 2015 will be a very interesting year to watch for ND.

 

[Original_Irish]

Have you guys all forgotten the 2012 season? That was by no means a pass first team.
But with that, this team should be an even better running team and a more dynamic running team. I think that this is the year where we really get to see a great balance on offense with the run setting up the pass. I think that our play action game is going to be on point this year and we are going to see some wide open touch downs. I love the way the Procise was used in the slot in the bowl game. It really creates an opportunity to threaten the defense with the entire field.

I'm not saying that we will be Ohio State on offense, but if we can be close, then this offense will be very scary. OSU won the national championship while running 3 total plays. And the implementation of the slot running game was a huge part to that.

 

[Kelso86]

If you watched the NC game, then you saw an Ohio State team effectively run the ball with POWER out of the shotgun formation.

ND has a team that is built much like that OSU squad -- big OL (and even more important -- DEPTH!), 2 QB's that can run and thrown, excellent receivers who can stretch the field and catch, and a very good stable of RB's.

Now -- what will Kelly do? that is a good question.

 

[Duo]

The offense is sounding more and more like the "full meal deal". Any ideas on who will start at QB and whether or not both will play. Yeah, I realize it's only conjecture but that's what the off season is all about. What about QB's protecting the ball and ball control? Is that still a problem?

 

[ND Don]

You can still put a QB under center and run the ball to win. Georgia Tech has proven that. If you notice defenses have no idea how to stop a good running game this day and age. The art of good defense has disappeared for the most part.

 

[IrishBlooded]

Lets be really honest here.

1. Many of the poster on here would love to see more of the Ohio State offense from last season and less of the ND offense from last year. Us wanting that won't change anything.
2. There is WAY to much talent in the receiving for ND for them to be a power run team. Seriously there is more talent at WR, and TE then anytime in Kelly's era.

I think ND might have a 1000 yard rusher this year. But they won't have anything near the rushing yards Ohio State had last year.

Ohio State had basically twice the ground game ND did last year. Mind you they did play a couple more games then ND. However ND did have about the same amount of passing yards as Ohio State in 12 games, that Ohio State did in 15.

 

[88ND]

Several posters here are saying now that ND has the horses this is the year to unleash the Lou Holtz type power running game. Question is that would kind of go against the grain for the type of offensive attack BK has been running ever since his success at Cincinnati. Do you think BK will continue his pass first philosophy (finesse style offense emanating from the Mouse Davis type "Run and Shoot") or change up his plan and go a little more towards a power running game approach (a la Urban Meyer, Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher)?

Pass or run.........where will the emphasis be in 2015 and what do you think BK will do?

BK will start with trying to do the right thing by running but he can't help himself.

The one thing I can say about him is he is a great recruiter but he does out coach himself at times.

His play calling against FSU needs to happen more. He was as close to perfect as one can get.

 

[floridairish]

Calling plays on offense when you have a defense that is giving up 40 points a game- is a nightmare. It feels like 5 things can happen and 4 are bad.

1. Turnover BAD
2. Punt. BAD
3. FG BAD
4. Quick TD BAD
5. TD Long Drive GOOD

It's like having a loaded gun to your head all game long. I went through it last year on Friday night and then on Saturday watching ND play.

It's hard to do what ND did to LSU and keep in mind they had a month to come up with that game plan. ND has got to start forcing punts and bowing up in the Red Zone.

 

[BGI User 1596]

Brian Kelly's running game is like the woman in the Crying Game - you think its going to be the real thing and then you find out its the exact opposite.