:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/17009229/20130716_jla_sg8_089.0.jpg)
With camp only four days away, the preview articles have begun. Before you settle in for the Gold Cup finals (right??), here are a couple of fun pieces to read.
KC Star: Missouri plans on using faster offensive tempo
"During spring ball, we got a real good taste of it," [Evan] Boehm said. "We were out there, firing off and firing off and then the fifth play comes around and we’re just like, ‘Whoa, all right.’"
It wasn’t just Boehm, either. Just ask junior running back Henry Josey, a sculpted 5-foot-10, 190-pound ball of speed and muscle, how fast Missouri’s new offense might go under new offensive coordinator Josh Henson.
"At times I could barely breathe," Josey said. "That’s how fast it’s going."
The Trib: Franklin, Tigers open practice with agendas
Franklin says he's healthy and is taking on this season with a renewed vigor. He's spent his offseason honing his fundamentals and taking a more active role in offseason workouts.
But if he struggles in preseason camp or early in the season, the Tigers could find themselves looking down the depth chart for someone else. Franklin said he's trying to be more intelligent about scrambling this year in hopes of staying healthy throughout the season.
"I actually don't really like running the ball. I've just always done it because I trusted my legs more than my arm," Franklin said at SEC media days. "When I do run the ball, I need to get down. It's something I'm thinking of applying to my game this year."
That should help. So should getting four starters back on the offensive line.
From what we gathered at the spring game, the "faster tempo" thing will depend on how many good plays Mizzou is actually generating. The times we saw the hurry-up in effect, it was almost like a Chip Kelly thing: rip off a nice run, then blaze up to the line and run the same play again. One of the primary goals of any offense is to steal yards wherever you can get them. I expect Mizzou to be pretty intent on 1-2 punches -- land one, then immediately try to land another. It's a rhythm thing, and it requires you to land one punch first, obviously (a problem last year), but it was intriguing.
Happy Sunday!