Talking The Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde Offense
posted by Scott Hood, Monday, April 06, 2009
Will the 2009 offense be more like the first scrimmage when the offensive line produced so many “loafs” you’d have thought they were working in a bakery, or more like than the second scrimmage, which head coach Steve Spurrier found “encouraging”?
One thing is obvious: whatever the offensive coaches did during the week of practice between the scrimmages to correct all the mistakes and lackadaisical play appeared to work. Maybe running sprints after practice is good medicine, after all.
Of course, it was far from a Picasso performance. There were still plenty of mistakes, and the offense has a long ways to go if they expect to score an adequate number of points against an opposing major college defense.
But there was improvement, and I’m sure the fans who were there to watch the 90-play scrimmage departed Williams-Brice Stadium with a lot better feeling than a week earlier.
The good news is USC has 32 practices and a whole summer of workouts remaining before they travel to Raleigh for the Sept. 3 season opener against what should be a better N.C. State team bent on revenge for what happened last season.
Stephen Garcia will be the face of the Gamecocks’ offense in 2009, if not the entire squad, so everything must begin with him. If he is injured or unable to play for whatever reason, USC will be in major trouble.
His throw to Moe Brown on the 59-yard TD play down the middle of the field was a thing of beauty. And, most importantly, it came off a play action fake that sucked the safeties in.
As we’ve seen over the last four years, Spurrier doesn’t like to utilize play action much in his overall offensive system. But G.A. Mangus told me soon after he was hired as quarterbacks coach that while he has coached Spurrier’s system for most of his coaching career, he’s added a few tweaks here and there.
Clearly, play action passes are one of the different looks Mangus will bring to the table this season. As we saw in Saturday’s scrimmage, it can be fairly effective if executed properly.
No question, it was a productive afternoon for the USC running backs. Brian Maddox is clearly a different – he’s much tougher and more aggressive - ball carrier this spring. He’s definitely No. 1 on the depth chart right now and would be the starter if the season opener against N.C. State was next week, and deservedly so.
In fact, Spurrier went so far to concede that USC probably should have played Maddox more last season. Instead, he received just 32 carries and totaled 121 net yards, a fact that plainly annoys Maddox to this day. When you talk with him any length of time, it’s obvious he feels he should have gotten the ball a lot more last season.
Who’s No. 2? That’s a trickier question. But based on what I heard from Steve Spurrier and RB coach Jay Graham after Saturday’s scrimmage, they’re leaning towards Jarvis Giles.
Why Giles? As I've said before, he certainly brings a different dimension to the running back position that USC has lacked in recent years. He has incredibly quick feet and is able to sidestep and run past defenders before they know what's happened.
Remember, Giles initially committed to Tennessee. Imagine Giles wearing orange running against USC in about two years. No, it’s not a pleasant thought.
That brings us to the offensive line. Frankly, there’s no way to fairly describe their performance in the first full-team scrimmage without violating multiple anti-profanity laws.
To their credit, they took advantage of last week to improve. New offensive line coach Eric Wolford has made strides with this unit, without question, with his refusal to accept excuses when someone fails to perform their assignment.
One of the memorable moments from Saturday’s scrimmage came when Wolford screamed “Don’t make excuses!” to one of his players after a forgettable play. I’m sure he endeared himself to plenty of Gamecock fans during that moment.
Wolford will be the first one to tell you that the offensive line isn’t close to being ready to play in a game. Wolford’s in-your-face style is not for anyone, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a few offensive linemen decided to transfer at the end of the semester.
In short, one positive scrimmage does not make a productive offensive line. Show time will come this Saturday during the spring game when there are a lot more people in the stands.
Then the long, hot summer beckons, when a player’s commitment level to himself, his teammates and his coaches is tested to the max.
Only then will we found out if this group of players has the desire and determination to become winners.
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So, what should South Carolina fans make of a Gamecock offense that’s been like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in the first two full team scrimmages of spring practice?
Will the 2009 offense be more like the first scrimmage when the offensive line produced so many “loafs” you’d have thought they were working in a bakery, or more like than the second scrimmage, which head coach Steve Spurrier found “encouraging”?
One thing is obvious: whatever the offensive coaches did during the week of practice between the scrimmages to correct all the mistakes and lackadaisical play appeared to work. Maybe running sprints after practice is good medicine, after all.
Of course, it was far from a Picasso performance. There were still plenty of mistakes, and the offense has a long ways to go if they expect to score an adequate number of points against an opposing major college defense.
But there was improvement, and I’m sure the fans who were there to watch the 90-play scrimmage departed Williams-Brice Stadium with a lot better feeling than a week earlier.
The good news is USC has 32 practices and a whole summer of workouts remaining before they travel to Raleigh for the Sept. 3 season opener against what should be a better N.C. State team bent on revenge for what happened last season.
Stephen Garcia will be the face of the Gamecocks’ offense in 2009, if not the entire squad, so everything must begin with him. If he is injured or unable to play for whatever reason, USC will be in major trouble.
His throw to Moe Brown on the 59-yard TD play down the middle of the field was a thing of beauty. And, most importantly, it came off a play action fake that sucked the safeties in.
As we’ve seen over the last four years, Spurrier doesn’t like to utilize play action much in his overall offensive system. But G.A. Mangus told me soon after he was hired as quarterbacks coach that while he has coached Spurrier’s system for most of his coaching career, he’s added a few tweaks here and there.
Clearly, play action passes are one of the different looks Mangus will bring to the table this season. As we saw in Saturday’s scrimmage, it can be fairly effective if executed properly.
No question, it was a productive afternoon for the USC running backs. Brian Maddox is clearly a different – he’s much tougher and more aggressive - ball carrier this spring. He’s definitely No. 1 on the depth chart right now and would be the starter if the season opener against N.C. State was next week, and deservedly so.
In fact, Spurrier went so far to concede that USC probably should have played Maddox more last season. Instead, he received just 32 carries and totaled 121 net yards, a fact that plainly annoys Maddox to this day. When you talk with him any length of time, it’s obvious he feels he should have gotten the ball a lot more last season.
Who’s No. 2? That’s a trickier question. But based on what I heard from Steve Spurrier and RB coach Jay Graham after Saturday’s scrimmage, they’re leaning towards Jarvis Giles.
Why Giles? As I've said before, he certainly brings a different dimension to the running back position that USC has lacked in recent years. He has incredibly quick feet and is able to sidestep and run past defenders before they know what's happened.
Remember, Giles initially committed to Tennessee. Imagine Giles wearing orange running against USC in about two years. No, it’s not a pleasant thought.
That brings us to the offensive line. Frankly, there’s no way to fairly describe their performance in the first full-team scrimmage without violating multiple anti-profanity laws.
To their credit, they took advantage of last week to improve. New offensive line coach Eric Wolford has made strides with this unit, without question, with his refusal to accept excuses when someone fails to perform their assignment.
One of the memorable moments from Saturday’s scrimmage came when Wolford screamed “Don’t make excuses!” to one of his players after a forgettable play. I’m sure he endeared himself to plenty of Gamecock fans during that moment.
Wolford will be the first one to tell you that the offensive line isn’t close to being ready to play in a game. Wolford’s in-your-face style is not for anyone, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a few offensive linemen decided to transfer at the end of the semester.
In short, one positive scrimmage does not make a productive offensive line. Show time will come this Saturday during the spring game when there are a lot more people in the stands.
Then the long, hot summer beckons, when a player’s commitment level to himself, his teammates and his coaches is tested to the max.
Only then will we found out if this group of players has the desire and determination to become winners.
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Scott Hood. Since February of 2005, Scott has covered the South Carolina football, men's basketball and baseball programs for GamecockCentral. He may be reached by email at scottblog(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.