Is the Pistol the Answer?
While there is much worry about what direction the offense is going to go(rightfully so). I have no idea what will happen, but I do know the Pistol allows for power running and you can utilize the quarterback in the run game. Maybe this could be the hybrid bridge that will allow our coaches philosophy and our current talent shine at the same time.
January 13th, 2011 at 11:53 AM ^
In some regards, a shotgun might be more effective. Or a .50caliber muzzleloader.
January 13th, 2011 at 12:20 PM ^
But when your ammunition (Denard) is for a howitzer, a pistol or shotgun would hardly work.
January 13th, 2011 at 11:53 AM ^
Oh wait
January 13th, 2011 at 11:56 AM ^
All I know is that I feel like we at least have someone in charge who get it. And by it, I mean me.
January 13th, 2011 at 12:01 PM ^
I actually think the Pistol could be a great transition scheme. With a big back like Hopkins and some smaller backs like shaw and smith, you could attack the D in "multiplie" ways. One thing that always frustrated me was the way RR used Smith. In the pistol he could be the scat back that he is and Hopkins can be a force inside. Add in DRobs ability to run. We might actually score points to go with our massive amount of yards!
January 13th, 2011 at 12:02 PM ^
I think we will definitely see some forms of this and I think you are correct in that, it will help bridge some of the gaps between where we were and what we'll be working back towards.
January 13th, 2011 at 12:04 PM ^
Based on the initial comments in this thread, I'm guessing this isn't a popular idea. I'm not sure why it would be totally shot down. Bama runs a "pro style" offense, and they had many offensive sets that utilized the pistol formation, with decent to great success.
I'm not sure it needs to be a base formation, but there's no reason not to use it as a change of pace.
Personally I'd like to see Pistol, shotgun, under center I formation, double tight end packages, etc... As long as execution is solid the more that we can throw at opposing defenses the better.
January 13th, 2011 at 12:06 PM ^
I would use cyanide. Less of a mess.
January 13th, 2011 at 12:59 PM ^
is always 20/20, eh?
January 13th, 2011 at 1:14 PM ^
60% of the time, it works all the time.
January 13th, 2011 at 12:08 PM ^
But, I am also not an offensive coordinator, so who knows. When listening to the Nevada/BC game recently, the color guy was very convincing when he described how the formation is versitile enough to incorporate both spread and power running concepts in the same scheme. If Borges can use it effectively why not? I'm sure they were forced to take a good look at it while in the MWC.
January 13th, 2011 at 12:10 PM ^
Not a half bad Idea to implement into some form in the playbook... tSIO employed this at one point too...
http://www.elevenwarriors.com/2008/10/that-pistol-thing-is-working.html
January 13th, 2011 at 12:11 PM ^
I really don't care what scheme they use as long as they are finally able to get short yardage when they need it. How many times the past three years did they totally screw up when the QB actually had to go under center and get 1 yard?
January 13th, 2011 at 12:16 PM ^
Honest to God, I jumped on here to start a thread about the pistol before I saw this. It's a great idea. I have no idea why anyone would think it's a bad idea.
January 13th, 2011 at 12:21 PM ^
Almost over does it when talking about adjusting scheme to personel. Its the first thing he talks about in every interview. Im sure db made it very clear that we need to win now. Bh has been coaching a long time and knows dr is a very rare talent. Im sure he is very excited to have him
January 13th, 2011 at 12:29 PM ^
You do realize that there is an expert on the Pistol (or some version of it) right there in Ann Arbor. Coach Anthony Pratley the OC at Concordia puts on clinics around the country teaching the Pistol to coaches on all levels. There are local resources available.
January 13th, 2011 at 12:32 PM ^
I don't believe running the pistol as a full time offense is the answer. But, I believe any good pro-style offense in the future will have elements of the pistol incorporated into it.
January 13th, 2011 at 12:35 PM ^
The problem we will face in any offensive set other than a pro-set will be that our OC will be unfamiliar with it as he's never run it before.
See Greg Robinson circa 2010 reference point 3-3-5 for additional clarification of how this works.
January 13th, 2011 at 1:09 PM ^
I have been thinking about the same thing. Kind of like what Florida ran with Tebow, or what Nevada ran with Kappernick. I kinda wanted the Nevada coach for that exact reason
January 13th, 2011 at 2:25 PM ^
The best thing that should have happened would have been to hire a spread coordinator so we could stay in the top tier of total offense, but since "spread offenses don't work" we hired someone who will run the "Gulf Coast." You can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig, and right now the media is busy putting as much lipstick on Hoke as they can.
January 13th, 2011 at 6:52 PM ^
The answer is: Dominate both lines of scrimmage, then you can run whatever scheme you want and analyze it with whatever metrics you want.