Is Ault’s ace better fit in the spread formation?
Nevada coach Chris Ault has to change his offensive strategy.
The Pistol offense is very innovative and schools across the country are copying it, with good reason. But with today’s high-tech offenses, programs around the nation are using a little of everything: a little of the Pistol, a little of the spread, mixed with option-reads and a strong vertical game. That is what Missouri brought Saturday.
The Wolf Pack has to change because quarterback Colin Kaepernick is too valuable to waste in the run-first Pistol offense.
Kaepernick runs the option-read, where the quarterback fakes a handoff to the tail back and then reads the defensive end’s movement, to near perfection. But Ault has to start spreading opponents’ defense with Kaepernick’s arm as well. The Wolf Pack should use the read option with a spread-offense attack mixed with the Pistol. Nevada has the weapons on its receiving corps and it has the quarterback with the skills.
When Nevada’s most skilled receiver, Marko Mitchell, was asked if he wanted to get the ball downfield more often, he smiled and looked away. He didn’t want to answer the question because he didn’t want to stir the pot, but the answer was clear.
So why is this talent being wasted with play action passes and handoff after handoff to a depleted Wolf Pack running game? It really is disheartening to watch all the productive spread offenses throughout the nation and then watch Nevada with many of the tools, but none of the scheme.
In Saturday’s 69-17 loss to Missouri, Kaepernick was the only bright spot.
With 8:07 left in the second quarter, Kaepernick showed his ability to evade tacklers and make something out of nothing. From Missouri’s 14-yard line, Kaepernick ran left with a heavy rush and then spun backwards. The sophomore quarterback then ran a letter-C toward the opposite sideline and back forward near the line of scrimmage. The scene looked like a Benny Hill chase where dozens of pursuers would run after the British comedian, but would always come up short. After nearly 10 seconds of running, Kaepernick threw to open tight end Virgil Green, who dropped the pass. The poor play by Green took nothing away from the Superman effort of Kaepernick, who received raves from the Missouri press box.
The defense was the reason Nevada lost Saturday, not the offense, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the Wolf Pack has to pass the ball more often. How does a team trail for 60 minutes, but still run the ball more than it passed the ball? That is what Nevada did Saturday.
Ault doesn’t have to change his offensive strategy forever, but he does have to change it to fit his talent-filled quarterback because Ault has never had this much skill at the quarterback position. Quiet down, Jeff Rowe Fan Club.
Ault has an ace up his sleeve with Kaepernick and he has to change his strategy to fit that ace—not try to turn that ace into a Joker by changing Kaepernick to fit Ault’s strategy.
Kaepernick threw for 152 yards Saturday and led the team with 71-rushing yards. He also had touchdowns, both on the ground and through the air.
For this season and the next two seasons, Kaepernick is Nevada’s offense, not Ault.
Ault is a great coach and has displayed the ability in the past to be a great football tactician, but in the case of Kaepernick he is putting a Ferrari’s engine inside a 1976 Pinto.
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September 16th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
I agree, he needs to change it up a bit. Defenses are adapting to his offense and he needs to realize that.
Kaepernick has been seriously misused thus far.
But, once Ault realizes that, I believe the offense will be more high-powered than ever!
September 18th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
The best that CK ever played was in that Boise game last year, Ault let him roll out and allowed him to be creative and use his legs to make plays, we are not going to be able to run the ball the rest of the year, Taua is a capable guy but he just isnt the horse that lippincott was. If I were Ault I would swallow my pride (which, he is incapable of doing) and I would watch some 2005 Texas tapes. That team couldnt run, but VInce Young was able to win a Nat’l title.
The spread is the way of the future in high school, college, and now the NFL. I hope Ault plans on letting Kaepernick use his athleticism more!!!!