Interesting season opener between the Wisconsin Badgers and the University of Las Vegas Running Rebels.
The Badger offense looked great. Of course, given how terrible UNLV's defense was supposed to be, it remains to be seen how that will translate to other games. The offensive line again looks to be the strength of the team.
Running back James White looked as good as he did last year and (to my eye) Montee Ball looked significantly BETTER. I think his decision to drop 25 lbs gave him that extra boost of speed that will make all the difference. Last year I thought he looked like a plodder. This year, he seemed to have an extra gear.
Quarterback Russell Wilson looked to be exactly what he was advertised to be. His ability to avoid the rush and turn broken plays into huge gains by running the ball will add a very difficult to defend dimension to the Badger offense. On the other hand, I felt his accuracy in passing when passing on the run left a bit to be desired. He missed several wide open receivers. The wide receivers and tight ends had a good night too (when they got a chance), although I am not sure about depth at the wide receiver position. If either Toon or Abredaris goes down with an injury, it could hurt. Depth at quarterback is a SIGNIFICANT issue. If they lose Wilson, they are in BIG trouble.
Defense was another story. I found the defensive performance VERY troubling. A competent offense would have scored significantly more points than UNLV. The defensive front got very little push and applied not nearly enough pressure. I thought the linebackers lined up too close together and did not make good quick decisions on where to go or what to do. The defensive ends did not hold the corners well on runs, and tackling was poor by everyone.
On the other hand, the announcers claimed the Badgers used very simple defensive schemes and did little if any blitzing. They seemed to think that was an intentional decision to stay bland because they did not need to do anything fancy to beat UNLV and they wanted to avoid showing their defensive hand to future opponents. If so, fine. I HOPE that is the case. I also heard some of the defensive players talking after the game that they did not know UNLV was going to use the "pistol" offense and that they were unprepared for it.
If Wisconsin WAS unprepared for it (as the players claimed after the game) that might help explain the poor showing of the defense. On the other hand, it makes me VERY wary of - and disappointed in - our new defensive coordinator. Here is an article from the Las Vegas Review Journal newspaper from March 5, 2011.
By any name, pistol figures in Rebels' plans
Because rival UNR invented the pistol offense, UNLV football coach Bobby Hauck would rather call the formation by a different name -- if only he could think of something else. Until then, Hauck might simply refer to it as "that offense." The Rebels have incorporated the Chris Ault Special -- OK, that name might not work -- into their offense during this spring session. "We'll have to see after spring ball how we like it," Hauck said. "It doesn't change the run game a whole bunch, but it changes some of the angles and some of the tempo. The people that are doing it are having great success in the run games." That's something a coach like Hauck, who believes strongly in a powerful run game, would love to have. UNLV averaged just 3 yards per carry and 103.3 per game last season.
In the pistol, the quarterback lines up between the center and running back rather than the typical 5- to 7-yard drop next to the ball carrier in a shotgun formation. "When it first came out, I didn't know what to think of taking the shotgun snap at that depth," Hauck said. "I thought that would be a problem, and it hasn't been."
Given that publicity, why WASN'T the Badger defense prepared for the "pistol?"
Generally speaking, special teams looked good. Our placement will get better once Welch returns from his injury. The returners ran well. Once they started playing back-ups there were too many penalties, but I suspect that will get cleaned up.
In the pistol, the quarterback lines up between the center and running back rather than the typical 5- to 7-yard drop next to the ball carrier in a shotgun formation. "When it first came out, I didn't know what to think of taking the shotgun snap at that depth," Hauck said. "I thought that would be a problem, and it hasn't been."
Given that publicity, why WASN'T the Badger defense prepared for the "pistol?"
Generally speaking, special teams looked good. Our placement will get better once Welch returns from his injury. The returners ran well. Once they started playing back-ups there were too many penalties, but I suspect that will get cleaned up.
