I chuckle every time I hear Doman say we need to use the run to set up the pass. It's ironic because the theory that you have to use the run to set up the pass has been debunked for over 40 years and three of the biggest debunkers are BYU guys -- LaVell Edwards, Andy Reid and Mike Leach. (Others include Sid Gillman and Bill Walsh.)
I'm not saying it's not a viable theory to use the run to set up the pass. Plenty of teams still do it. But the teams that do it successfully usually have physically dominating players -- like tailbacks that look a lot more like Darren McFadden and a lot less like J.J. DiLuigi.
It's ironic that 40 years after LaVell saw what Stanford was doing with Jim Plunkett and realized that the only way to play with the big boys was to use the pass to set up the run, we have an offensive coordinator who thinks we have to use the run to set up the pass. BYU does not and normally will not have the personnel to consistently pound elite teams in the run game. We can pound on San Jose State and Idaho and go 8-4 every year, but it's never going to get us to an elite level. Then again, we may never be able to consistently get to an elite level anyway. Either way, I'd rather see us chucking it around 50 times a game so we at least have a shot. And have more fun.
I'm not saying it's not a viable theory to use the run to set up the pass. Plenty of teams still do it. But the teams that do it successfully usually have physically dominating players -- like tailbacks that look a lot more like Darren McFadden and a lot less like J.J. DiLuigi.
It's ironic that 40 years after LaVell saw what Stanford was doing with Jim Plunkett and realized that the only way to play with the big boys was to use the pass to set up the run, we have an offensive coordinator who thinks we have to use the run to set up the pass. BYU does not and normally will not have the personnel to consistently pound elite teams in the run game. We can pound on San Jose State and Idaho and go 8-4 every year, but it's never going to get us to an elite level. Then again, we may never be able to consistently get to an elite level anyway. Either way, I'd rather see us chucking it around 50 times a game so we at least have a shot. And have more fun.
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