Trojan Football Analysis

Dennis Erickson 1 Back Philosophy

artoftroy — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 04:41:53 +0000

Below are some links to posts on Matthew Brophy’s site about the basic one back philosophy of Dennis Erickson over the years. His coaching background includes moves from Idaho to Wyoming to Washington State to Miami to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL then back to college and to Oregon State then San Francisco in the NFL , then Idaho (again) then finally Arizona State where he currently coaches. Erickson was an early innovator and huge believer in the one back running concept in order to displace a defender from the tackle box. It earned him success at the college level and two national championships at Miami. His run offense centers around fundamental inside zone runs and then more vertical routes in the passing game coupled often with wide (horizontal stretch) wide receiver splits. Of course this all depends upon personnel and match ups. His current offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone has put on some additional wrinkles but stayed pretty true to the Erickson basic one back fundamentals.

For those interested in specifics here are a couple of posts worth reading before the upcoming USC versus Arizona State game this weekend. Even casual USC fans should watch the following 7 minute video of an Erickson presentation from the past. It is far superior to what you will pick up on the telecast this weekend from the broadcasters about his offensive beliefs. For those obsessed more with details and history I will also upload the five coaching presentations that I have from Erickson dating back to 1989.

Links to the articles on Brophy Football and Smart Football.

http://brophyfootball.blogspot.com/2011/09/why-noel-mazzone-dennis-erickson-and.html

http://brophyfootball.blogspot.com/2011/08/attack-nodes-running-from-gun.html

http://smartfootball.com/offense/the-original-one-back-spread-offense

Link to the Erickson video explain the basics of the one back philosophy.

Dennis Erickson One Back Philosophy from ragin caucasian on Vimeo.

Link to Erickson Presentations

Erickson One Back WSU 1989

Erickson One Back Miami 1990

Erickson One Back Miami 1992

Erickson One Back Miami 1993

Erickson ASU 2008

2001-2010 USC Main Offense Trends

artoftroy — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 16:43:51 +0000

Here is how the USC offense stacked up in 2010 compared to past Trojans teams since 2001. As shown here the USC offense in 2010 was off to a great start averaging 470 yards and 35 points per game through the first two thirds of the season. Then the wheels fell off the final part of the season. Injuries to key players and lack of depth at certain positions contributed to the problem. Execution sharpness also went down though and the team lacked a spark down the stretch. Place your bets and predictions on how the 2011 squad will fare. The ten year trend is outlined below for key offensive stats.

2001-2010 USC Main Defense Trends

artoftroy — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 16:52:46 +0000

Here is a look at how the 2010 USC defense compared to previous squads. There was very little good about the 2010 defense. The squad closed on a better note versus UCLA but overall it was among the worst units ever to set foot on the field for the Trojans. Here is how the squad fared when compared to units of the past ten years in main defensive categories.

2010 Offense Game by Game Trends

artoftroy — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 05:05:05 +0000

I finally got around to updating the 2010 USC stats on a game by game basis for some basic areas. The offense was pretty strong through about through seven games averaging 35 points per game scoring and 470 yards of offense. Unfortunately it then fell off a cliff due to injuries, mistakes, bad execution, and other problems. Unless players remain healthy and improve that situation could repeat again. Here is a look at the main game by game trends in review.

2010 Defense Game by Game Trends

artoftroy — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 05:13:54 +0000

In 2010 at least the USC offense has a a seven game stretch where it looked in good shape at times (see trends). However the defense in contrast did not even have a stretch of 7 quarters let along 7 games where it looked good in 2010. This was by far the worst defense played in the past decade for USC and in reality some of the numbers were among the all time worst ever for USC. It is hard to believe the the defense could possible be this bad again in 2011. Pressure from the front seven should be better and the secondary will have another year of experience. LB play is still a big question mark and depth overall is of course a concern. Here is a look at the 2010 game by game stats for review.

Kansas State Wildcat Play: Naked Roll Out Pass

artoftroy — Sun, 29 May 2011 05:06:59 +0000

In addition to the eleven different run plays out of their Wildcat formation here is the third of three pass plays Kansas State also likes to utilize.

Kansas State Wildcat Play: Option Pass

artoftroy — Sun, 29 May 2011 05:05:41 +0000

In addition to the eleven different run plays out of their Wildcat formation here is the second of three pass plays Kansas State also likes to utilize.

Kansas State Wildcat Play: Jump Pass

artoftroy — Sun, 29 May 2011 05:03:32 +0000

In addition to the eleven different runs out of their Wildcat formation Kansas State offers up three different pass plays as well. Here is the first of the three.

Kansas State Wildcat Play: One Back Stretch

artoftroy — Tue, 03 May 2011 04:45:14 +0000

Here is another look at a Kansas State play run out of their wildcat formation. This one is the one back stretch outside zone play. The example calls it a one back play but a blocking fullback is in the video and blocks the alley defender.

Kansas State Wildcat Play: One Back Option

artoftroy — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 20:49:15 +0000

Here is another play that Kansas State likes to run out of their version of the Wildcat formation.