The defensive scheme that Narduzzi and Conklin will run is well known and analyzed. To oversimplify, it’s a 4-3 base with Quarters coverage that adapts to what the offense presents them (I have a long post on the defense that I haven’t been happy with that’s been in the works for over a month). The offense however, is a bit of an enigma. Jim Chaney left Arkansas due to the disagreement with Brett Bielema as to what direction the offense should go in. It is important for the head coach and coordinator to be on the same page and that disparity is why Chaney came to Pitt. This means what Chaney did at Arkansas isn’t necessarily what he’ll do here. At Arkansas, there were plenty of 2 TE sets and power runs. However, Chaney also has a long history with the spread offense.
Based off of what has been stated publicly, what can we expect Chaney’s offense to look like?
Let’s start with the obvious: Tyler Boyd and James Conner will see the ball a lot. The question is HOW they will get the ball. The first difference is that James Conner will see the field more on third down:
Chaney said he plans to give Conner more opportunities in the passing game.
“James Conner has the ability to do whatever James Conner wants to do,” Chaney said. “I look for him to be a big part of our passing game.” Conner has caught eight passes in two seasons. He caught two for 50 yards in the scrimmage Saturday.
Previously, Conner came out of the game on passing downs, with former coach Paul Chryst not wanting to burden him with pass protection. “I think that was one of Paul’s philosophies,” Chaney said. “Personally, it’s not one of mine.
“I think James has the ability to be a good pass protector. My goodness, he’s big, and he’s physical. I think he can do that and stay on the field more regularly on third down.” Such thinking might avoid situations such as the second overtime of the Duke loss when Conner never touched the ball.
As Jerry points out in the article, that could prevent scenarios like the Duke game where Conner was off the field in overtime. In my opinion, it could also mean fewer touches. That may seem counter-intuitive, but if Conner is on the field for all three downs, he’ll be on the field more often when he doesn’t touch the ball. This takes away a little bit of predictability of the Paul Chryst scheme where it was a virtual lock to be a passing play when Rachid Ibrahim came onto the field. I doubt Conner will be on the field even more often than last year, so it likely means fewer touches with the same amount of time on the field. I view this as a net positive. Fewer touches for Conner keeps him fresher and it’ll enable someone like Chris James to step up and take a larger role.
The second hint came courtesy of Chris Peak with his interview of new QB commit Thomas MacVittie. Here’s what MacVittie had to say about the offense:
I talked to Coach Chaney about the offense and what they want to do, and he said they’re going to be a pro-style offense but he said he wants to adapt to some run-and-gun stuff and some reads in the future,” MacVittie said. “I’ve never played in a pro-style but I’m curious to try it and I feel like I’m a good fit for that. I feel pretty confident about the plays and concepts from what I saw in the practice and in the quarterbacks meeting when I sat in.
I’ve also heard rumors of the offense using a lot of the pistol formation, which syncs up with Chaney’s spread offense history. However, I highly doubt anything close to the modern spread will be used. The offensive lineman recruiting seems similar to under Chryst (such as recent commit Brandon Ford, who was also offered by Chryst) which doesn’t sync up with lighter, more mobile OL often needed for a spread offense. What I read here is more up-tempo, more lineup versatility (as evidenced by Chaney’s refusal to commit to FB use), and more use of option-type plays.
Chaney likely saw the same thing most people saw: the offense improved as the season went on and one element of that was Voytik running the read-option. The reason I believe that worked is it let Voytik use his legs AND think less. The advantage of option plays is that the QB will only have to make one or two reads. Compare that to a standard pro-offense where a QB drops back and has to make more than two reads quite often. For example, in a read-option, the QB only has to read one unblocked pass rusher to determine if he keeps or hands off the ball. All of this leads me to the conclusion that I expect Chaney to use a lot of “packaged plays.”
Chris B. Brown describes packaged plays as “combining running and passing concepts — meaning the offensive line typically blocked a run play while receivers ran pass routes or screens, leaving the quarterback to decide whether to hand off or throw it out wide — often at a no-huddle pace.” For example, the exact same play call could be an eight yard run from a RB, a QB run for 13 yards, or even a pass to two different receivers. This will all be based off of one or two reads after the snap typically. Unfortunately if you click the article, you’ll realize the example used was Ole Miss against Pitt in the Compass Bowl on their second quarter touchdown drive. On that drive Ole Miss called the exact same play five times and each play had a different result. Watch the video, then imagine Vince Sanders of Ole Miss (#10, caught two passes and the touchdown) is Tyler Boyd.
Here’s how these plays were setup for the touchdown:
The quarterback’s job was to first determine if the defense had enough defenders near the line to stop the run. If not, he read the read-option play, handing it off or keeping it himself. If the defense did have enough defenders inside, he either threw the screen pass or the quick hitch to his left. Ole Miss combined a very simple play concept with an extremely fast version of the no-huddle, and, while it is the defense that dictated whether the statisticians counted it as a run or pass, the offense got what it wanted — a touchdown.
Take note of what the QB had to do: count the amount of players inside and based off of that, he had one read after the snap. If the defense was setup to prevent a run, he had two passing options. If they weren’t, he had two running options, keep or hand-off based on the unblocked pass rusher as mentioned above. It’s not complex at all, but when the no-huddle is going and the defense is on its heels, the offense can move the ball in chunks quickly. It enables the offense to run a play more suited to what the defense is giving them without forcing the QB to call an audible. By running the no-huddle, the QB can take his time to read what the defense is doing pre-snap if necessary because there’s plenty of time left on the play clock.
I’m not saying the entire offense will be packaged plays. What I’m gathering from various sources is an offense that will have variety. Chryst’s offense was almost always a FB and TE or two TEs. Three WR sets were deployed only due to necessity on third and long. That won’t happen under Chaney. I expect to see three WRs, pistol, read-option, packaged plays, and your standard power runs. If Chaney can institute all of these elements, the variety will keep defenses on their toes and the offense could be even better than it was in the second half of 2014.
There is a free article posted on Pantherlair today about QB commit MacVittie and found the following paragraph to be interesting:
“I talked to Coach Chaney about the offense and what they want to do, and he said they’re going to be a pro-style offense but he said he wants to adapt to some run-and-gun stuff and some reads in the future,” MacVittie said. “I’ve never played in a pro-style but I’m curious to try it and I feel like I’m a good fit for that. I feel pretty confident about the plays and concepts from what I saw in the practice and in the quarterbacks meeting when I sat in.
—————————————
BTW, there was nothing in the article about him having a wooden knee.
(I have to quit reading the Blather and doing work assignments at the same time)
That being said, our personnel set fits that kind of offense well; having a option QB, a huge O Line, and a true power running back. If our WR’s keep improving we’ll be an offensive force, so long as the complexity of the new offense can be mastered.
As good as our offense was last year, the lack of originality caused it to bog down at some critical times. Hopefully we will see a little more creativity.
Anyone who followed Ole Miss the last few years were mystified by the inconsistency of Bo Wallace .. who made some very poor judgments (throwing into double coverage, misread on options, etc) .. he had good days but had terrible ones also, up to the very end. Maybe there was too much on his plate.
link to csnphilly.com
I remember watching that Compass Bowl and how gassed our D was.
Variety is great as long as the players know what they’re doing.
And it’s not necessarily a bad thing if guys voluntarily transfer elsewhere for more playing time, especially after this year with such a small senior class. The open scholarships are needed.
I think it is valuable to have a player of his caliber and experience, a JR this season, on the team but if he gets shut out during the spring he could move on.
Parrish is a huge kid at around 270 and the staff may want him smaller or may just have other plans for the position altogether. Which I think is ridiculous because if you watch Conner’s highlights of last season you’ll see Parrish opening holes in the LOS for him on almost every play. Conner is a straight ahead runner after he gets the handoff and he can’t dance his way through the line… once up to speed he is good at cutting direction but he needs that big body in front of him to allow him to get a head of steam up.
Justin, welcome back! I will disagree with the Conner piece about not touching the ball in the 2cnd overtime with Duke. He didn’t touch it because he was gassed! Conner took himself out of the game because of conditioning and didn’t get back in. When he gets gassed, he also fumbles in my opinion. Everybody barked about him not getting touches or being in the game at critical spots and blamed Chryst. In my opinion it wasn’t Chryst holding him out, it was his conditioning.
That said, he is a big man and I get that he gets gassed often. That goes with the territory of being big and getting hit….alot. He doesn’t have a junior’s body. Too many carries and hits will force him to the nfl. I think he can play in the nfl and will be a 2 down back there.
I also like the pro-style offense for recruiting linemen, with a spread/pistol to help recruit outside speed. Spread the field and let the road graders have some fun!
As for Parrish, maybe (hopefully) Chaney is still figuring out how he will use the fullback/h-back position. This article does a great job of detailing variety and I’m confident Chaney will find a way to get him on the field. How could he not? Watch Connor’s highlights and you’ll likely see Parrish paving the way and destroying any would-be tacklers in his path. I know Narduzzi said he didn’t watch entire game tape but he did say he watched film and I’m sure Chaney knows that he has in Parrish.
H2P
You don’t have to be an offensive genius to see that Parrish (6’2″ & 270) was a big part of the offense last season and if they do sit him down they should have a decent replacement for him. There is talk, and I wrote about, trying Orndoff (6’5″ & 266) at that H-Back position and I’m all for that, however I don’t see him being a lead blocker for Conner. Not at that height and inexperience in the FB position.
Do we need a FB on every play? No and we didn’t have Parrish in all the time last season, but on 1st & 2nd down when we want Conner to grind out yards toward the sticks? Yes.
Justin, again – this article and the discussion generated is why this is the best PITT sports blog around. You’re the best and deserve a pay raise.
Here is the thing I think I am looking forward to most on both sides of the ball..
U-N-P-R-E-D-I-C-T-A-B-I-L-I-T-Y !!
In 1984, he was traded to the New Orleans Saints, reuniting him with his former Oilers coach O.A. “Bum” Phillips. The trade was controversial in New Orleans, as it was widely believed that Campbell’s skills had diminished, and the Saints already had the young George Rogers in the backfield. Campbell played in a diminished role in 1984 and 1985, and retired during the preseason of 1986, feeling that the beating he had taken during his career had taken too much of a toll.
Reinforces that playing QB is the toughest job in sports – at least playing it well.
If this offensive approach opens up more options than Connor and Boyd, I’m all for it. Those guys are superstars, but if the defense focuses on them, then we have to be able to take advantage elsewhere. Something we didn’t do very well last season…
Orndoff and Holtz have to be added as weapons. I’d like to see Ibrahim given a shot in the slot – he’s too good to sit.
Go Pitt.
If Conner isn’t gone to the NFL come April 2016, I’ll be very surprised, then all of a sudden come 2016 Ibrahim is right in the mix, so nobody will be transferring anywhere.
Now concerning Parrish, if Chaney has no intention of utilizing a FB like him in the run game, I’d be surprised because he was a bulldozer blocker for Conner. But just in case he is not used, then why not put his skills to the test on the defensive side of the ball too? At 270 tell me he doesn’t have the size to play DE.
Anyway Pitt vs. WVU tonight. Better win this one after being swept by Wolfpack.
Conner is bigger, stronger, and faster than Andre Williams who went in the fourth round last year. Williams had a slightly better ypc as a senior (6.1 vs 5.9 last year for Conner) but Conner had waaay more touchdowns.
If Conner can improve his receiving skills he’ll be a top 100 pick next year.
I love the concept! A truly competitive game, played for bragging rights for the entire summer break.
Compete, compete, compete. Win, win, win. Narduzzi’s mantra is emerging. I like it.
In those six games Voytik put on the best passing game we have seen in a long time in terms of productivity: 82 of 127 for 1192 yards, 65% completion rate and 7 TDs to 1 INT. Also, that breaks down to a ypc of 14.5 and ypa of 9.8 – both outstanding.
In those six games Conner was 126 for 806, 6.4 ypc, with 15 TDs. On the season Conner broke Dorsett’s record of most TDs and tied him for TD’s best year of yards per carry of 5/9.
Paul Chryst built a very good offense for 2014 and there is no denying that. Had we had any sort of a defense at all we would have won 10 games.
As far as Cheney being a better OC I’ll beg to differ:
2014 PC 31.8 ppg JC 31.9 ppg PITT / ARK
2013 PC 26.3 JC 20.7 ” ”
2012 PC 26.6 JC 36.2 ” ”
2011 PC 44.1 JC 20.3 Wisky / Tenn
2010 PC 41.5 JC 27.0 ” ”
2009 PC 31.8 JC 29.3 ” ”
Looks to me like PC produced more points and some dramatic differences in 4 of 6 years and they were about equal in one. Only one year did Chaney really better PC and that ’12. However in ’11 and ’10 PC was 20.8 and 14.5 ppg better than Chaney and that is a huge difference.
If anything Chryst was the ‘rockstar’ of offense when he was at Wisconsin and averaged 39.1 ppg. while Chaney averaged 29.6 ppg at Arkansas and only 25.5 while at Tennessee.
That’s why I can’t understand why PITT fans were and are so jacked up about Chaney when it looks to me that he has been pretty average, and sometimes downright poor, over his last OC two jobs.
PPG PC JC
2014 31.8 PITT 31.9 ARK
2013 26.3 “ 20.7 “
2012 26.6 “ 36.2 “
2011 44.1 UW 20.3 TENN
2010 41.5 “ 27.0 “
2009 31.8 “ 29.3 “
We couldn’t have handed a better scenario to this offensive staff – two All-Americans, a rising, experienced QB, two very good TE’s, three back-up RB’s who could start at many P5 schools and an O-line with five starters and much depth. Oh and let’s not forget the FB who was a beast of a blocker. Boy, Cheney either is messing around this Spring to see what he has, or he has a big ego and wants his fingerprints on the O. Good or bad…
What really happened at Arkansas? – I don’t know much about Coach B – I hope – no, I won’t go there.
I’m rooting for JC – both coach and star RB. Humble pie can taste ok if you know how to mix the proper ingredients AND WIN at the same time.
sounds like a defensive end.
let him smash the QB instead of LB’s
PANTHER LAIR has just reported that Jamie has landed a 5* and 4* center. Both are 7 footers. April Fools! :<(
Which is kind of ironic because I feel that Narduzzi and Conklin have the exact opposite waiting for them on defense. I do think there is talent there to be tapped and used well to produce stingier defensive outcomes. I like the idea that Conklin & the HC have been using guys who were on the bench last season – but they have been pretty adamant that they want speed and “FBI” (football intelligence” across the the defense.
I’m ‘wait and see’ on the whole staff but moreso on offense.
April Fools jokes like that only work if the people who read it would be disappointed!
The case of Conner on third down is a primary example. It drove me nuts that they took him out of the game on third and passing downs. Why the hell would you take your biggest run threat out of the game on third down? I wouldn’t want to be a linebacker who had to worry about the pass as well as the thought of Conner running a draw play down my throat. Sounds like he’s a pretty good receiver out of the backfield, as well, and no DB is going to be a match for him in the open field. The guy is a weapon – hopefully Chaney will use him in a less limited way than the previous staff did.
