Could the "Option" Offense work at Arkansas?

[The Boar War]

I don't know how successful it'd be in the SEC, but it sure is fun to watch.

At arms length.  You're right.  It's fun to watch but I wouldn't want to rely on it.

[ThisTeetsTaken]

Whatever Enos wants to run is fine with me.   He's the main ingredient right now in what success we are having.

[DeltaBoy]

Missing those 2 field goals is what beat GT!

[arkbuck]

If you run the triple option correctly, you can't defend it. Problem is that it is extremely hard to run right, and you have to have the right players.

[elviscat]

We won more games running the bone than any other offensive. Hatfield years were some of the best but the fans complaint to Broyles and told KH to get rid of some coaches and throw the ball.

[SoCal Hog]

I was an option QB in the wishbone back in the day, and I ran the wishbone when I coached HS football back in the 1980s. Here is what I loved and hated about the option.

I loved the clock control aspect of it. It was a ball control offense. If you had a good O-line and could control the line of scrimmage the other team had a very reduced time of possession and a harder time scoring. If you had any kind of defense at all, the other team was forced to take chances on offense and that quite often led to turnovers.

What I hated about it was getting behind, especially by multiple scores. It is an offense that makes it hard to come from behind. The lack of a good passing game really limits what can be done.

[Razorbackers]

Not a debate about CBB being fired and Georgia Tech coach coming to Arkansas kind of question.  Just simply put...could the offense work at Arkansas?  Could it work better in terms of overall wins than what the team is getting now?  Do we have the recruits?  Would it work in the big bad SEC West?  Would the fans support it?  What say you?

This board has been screaming about going back to a spread like when the last coach was here. I'd almost want Jeff Long to hire a coach to run the triple option here just to see the meltdown haha.

Almost.

Not really though. It only kinda works for GT, who should be a better team year in and year out since they're in the largest southern metro area, have a great school, and are so close to so many recruiting hot spots. But they don't have a place for a lot of the players near them because they haven't run the option in HS.

[Atlhogfan1]

Defense is the problem and will be the problem for Arkansas unless our recruiting base has some miraculous change. 

The option as GT runs it is difficult for defenses because of its uniqueness.  It gives them a chance to be competitive even with more restrictive recruiting.  I wouldn't want to see it. 

[hawgfan4life]

The mantra for using spread is that it gives less athletic players a chance to be successful.  TN and GA both have far more talented rosters than GA Tech.  Yet, GA Tech beat GA and was a play away from beating TN with their offense.  They have less talent top to bottom than TN.  The academies, when they have better teams are light years less in talent than the P5 schools yet they seem to give them fits and they upset several along the way.  The fact is that true triple option football gives lesser talent a better chance when it is run correctly.  Paul Johnson runs it correctly.  TN should have been able to run away with that game if you go by stars as should most teams GA Tech plays.  If any team were to recruit top 25 talent every year, fully commit to this offense, and run it to the efficiency that GA Tech does, they would be a force in D1.  The catch is most elite players do not want to play in this type of offense and fans will not appreciate it when the team is struggling.  I would venture to say that Paul Johnson is as good a "Coach" as any in D1 football today.  We mistakenly rank coaches on wins and championships.  The true measure of a coach is to get a player to buy-in to what you are asking him to do, him operate that scheme to near perfection, and to be successful against teams you should be successful, win most of the toss up games, and be competitive and win games you shouldn't.  GA Tech optimizes this in college ball today.

[GunnerHawg70]

Very few teams execute the Option / Flex / Wishbone offense these days.  Navy, Ga.Tech runs the triple-option veer formation....though it is still a far cry from the wishbone, it does have its similarities.

Nebraska, Oklahoma and Hogs ran the offense years ago and I can't really see it working against SEC defenses because of the speed and strength of current defenders compared to years ago and other smaller conferences. 

[ballz2thewall]

I was an option QB in the wishbone back in the day, and I ran the wishbone when I coached HS football back in the 1980s. Here is what I loved and hated about the option.

I loved the clock control aspect of it. It was a ball control offense. If you had a good O-line and could control the line of scrimmage the other team had a very reduced time of possession and a harder time scoring. If you had any kind of defense at all, the other team was forced to take chances on offense and that quite often led to turnovers.

What I hated about it was getting behind, especially by multiple scores. It is an offense that makes it hard to come from behind. The lack of a good passing game really limits what can be done.

perfect nutshell.

[Michaelt]

Let's bring the veer offense back.

[Hawghiggs]

Seems like the only reason a particular offensive style must rely on a "stout defense" is that that offense doesn't score lots of points. If I follow that logic.

Anyway, I vote with the "Yes it would work some, but not win championships."

  The reason that the option must have a good defense is that it relies on clock management. Limiting the offensive possessions of the other team. But yeah, that pretty much hurts every offense, and its not like we are winning championships any way.

[ShadowHawg]

We won more games running the bone than any other offensive. Hatfield years were some of the best but the fans complaint to Broyles and told KH to get rid of some coaches and throw the ball.

Hatfield benefitted by the whole SW conference being on probation. Inflated w/l % due to awful competition and easy schedules.

I don't think he ever won an ooc game against a big time out of conference opponent with several of those losses being full blown embarrassments.

[Hawgphat]

Could the "Option Offense" work for Arkansas?

Well, - - - - - - - - what are our other options?


                                   

[PorkSoda]

Yes it could and we wouldn't need some type of generational quarterback to be effective. The main issue would be building and keeping a stout defense. That is a must for a option based team.

lol

[Pudgepork]

Hog fans have already experienced the flexbone offense.   It worked well against weaker teams but not so well against talented teams.  Jimmy Johnson taught everybody how to stop it.  He took the best players and put them on defense and totally shut down the sooners. The sooners at the time had the players best suited for that offense and the sooners switched from the wishbone because it wasn't effective against talented defenses

Hatfield thought Kordell Stewart would be perfect for his flexbone.  Stewart wouldn't come to arkansas to run the option and went to Colorado. 

The modern day best athletes wodon't come to.a school to run that offense. I've also seen it said that practice time limits don't give enough time to really get the timing right.   It takes a truly special qb to
handle the reads, pitches and the hits every play whether he has the ball or not.

GT ran the ball 55 straight plays last night.  They happened to br ahead in that game.  As a Hog fan, it wasnt much fun to experience them running the ball every down, and burning clock while behind 14 pts.  I remember games where not 1 pass was thrown in the 2nd half.   The problem. With that offense is if things aren't working, you can't switch to a different style attack during the game because you've used all your practice time perfecting the wishbone timing

You are dreaminG if you think DMac, FJones, MJones, Hillis would have come to Arkansas to run the bone

[elksnort]

The 1989 Arkansas offense had one that could also pass and they were rather prolific if I remember correctly. Couple the 89 offense with the 88 defense and you're looking at a potential national championship. But like most schools, Arkansas rarely if ever puts it all together in one year

[elksnort]

And these posts stay up. SMH

This is kind of a dumb post.

[elksnort]

If it worked Saban would already be doing it.

That's the thing that makes him such a great coach. He isn't married to a particular system and is constantly looking for ways to stay ahead of the field.

Take it a step further. Why isn't it used in the NFL? Longer season for one but the other reason is the speed on defense. The SEC is loaded with athletes on both sides of the ball.

It would be a great offense for any program that considers 8 wins a great season.

the NFL is a different game it is getting more and more or less watchable

[ShadowHawg]

the NFL is a different game it is getting more and more or less watchable

The NFL has the most talented football players in the world. They also have unlimited practice time. If the option running attack were as prolific as some in this thread believe, they would do it at least some of the time.

Agree that the NFL is boring these days though.