Use of the "Jerry Rice" formation at Utah.
by displacedute on Apr 8, 2009 1:18 PM MDT
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When Jerry Rice was at MVSC his coach would line him up solo on one side of the field and would line up 4 receivers on the other side, who would all run crossing routes. If the opponent double- or triple-covered Jerry then the didn't have enough guys to cover the other wideouts and the QB could hit them for a big gain. If the opponent single-covered Jerry (like only an idiot would) then he'd get wide open for a huge gain or touchdown.
The blog author talks about which SEC teams could use the formation, and against which SEC opponents, but I was looking at it and thinking it would work GREAT at Utah, at least in some situations. There are very few MWC teams that have 5 talented and fast cover corners who could cover Utah's wideouts one-on-one (TCU is the only one who comes to mind). Every other MWC opponent would have to make the choice between letting the outside man get open deep (I suggest using David Reed or Aiona Key as the outside man) or double-covering him and leaving one of our smaller/quicker receivers (Brooks, Lacy, Matthews, Wesson, etc.) open for a shorter but still decent gain. Not saying we should use it every down, but when we're running no-huddle with five-wide, it would certainly be interesting.
Links below:
Speed Kills SEC blog about which SEC teams could use the formation.
Smart Football Blog post that inspired the Speed Kills post
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Daffy Duck
Just sayin’.
We been doing such things for quite some time.
I love the idea and the effect when you do have a Julio Jones type player out there to toss one to.
Who is Utah’s go-to receiver next year or will there be one? Is there one guy on the team we could do that with? He’ll have to establish himself during the season because no one stands out that much as of yet. we hear so much about Aiona Key, will he ever play though?
I am betting we don’t have one guy who will be that singled out. We like to spread it around, rather have 4-6 guys with 35 catches than one with 60, ya know?
by MeanBobMean on Apr 8, 2009 3:22 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs
I miss the Duck. I almost feel like bringing a duck call to the UNLV game and breaking it out for red zone situations.
As for our “go-to” receiver, I agree with you that we won’t have a “go-to” receiver. We haven’t really ever had one.
But if we DID have one, I’d say it’s David Reed. He had over 420 yards last year and 7 TD catches in his first year as a Ute. Not to mention he was big in the Sugar Bowl (only 2 catches, but one for the third-quarter TD that ended their momentum and the other for the 30 yards for the big first and goal from the 2, which ended in the Asiata TD run).
Everyone hates a pink-shirt-wearing communist.
by displacedute on Apr 8, 2009 4:11 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
Reed
Is quite good.
Paris Warren in 2003/2004. 76 and 80 receptions. Bryan Rowley pulled in about 3200 yards receiving in his career.
So, we have had receivers who were focal points, that often occurred when we had great offenses and it did not stand out as much in light of our enormous production. A guy like Julio Jones stands out because Alabama don’t toss much.
by MeanBobMean on Apr 9, 2009 11:22 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs
J. Jones
I agree that Jones stands out because whenever Alabama throws the ball, they look for him first. We don’t do that because we throw so often (post-Urban) that we had multiple receivers averaging more than 2 receptions per game (Godfrey, Brown, Casteel and Brooks) and we had multiple receivers averaging more than 25 yards per game (the four mentioned above, plus Reed).
But I think that actually works in our favor. If we have one guy (and I would say it’s Reed based on last year’s performance, but maybe Matthews or Key could be the guy) that is big AND fast and will burn single coverage 75% of the time or better, then we have such a talented stable of wideouts that we could put 4 fast/shifty guys on the other side that would cause nightmares for opposing DBs.
In fact, one great idea is to make Christopher the 5th WR (the last guy in the 4-stack). He’d be the safety valve running a flat or a short crossing route. He’s fast enough and slippery enough (from reports) that he could get 5-9 yards every time even catching the ball behind the LOS. But if Christopher is your dump-off guy then the Defense can’t just crash in as soon as he catches the ball, because he’s also your #3 QB and could hit the #2 WR on the post or the wheel for a huge gain.
Everyone hates a pink-shirt-wearing communist.
by displacedute on Apr 9, 2009 12:04 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
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