Mizzou Offensive Analysis: We Diagram What We Do

Despite very legitimate concerns about the offense (inexperience at receiver/a quarterback who hasn’t completed higher than 53% in a season thus far), Mizzou stands a chance at being a very successful offense this year. The key to doing that is getting the ball to our best playmakers with a chance to make a big play.. Here we take a look at a few things Mizzou’s offense has been doing, will do this year, and would do if I had any say in the matter, in order to try and score points on some tough SEC defenses.

What we do:

The Go Read.

A playbook rendering of Go Read

A staple of any receiver’s route tree is the Go route. Also knows as the fly and streak, there’s nothing a receiver likes more than to just line up and beat a cornerback deep. But if a corner is prepared for the Go route, it can be extremely difficult for a receiver to win that battle. Thus the reason for Go Read. In this play, all four receivers are instructed to run Go routes. However, if the cornerbacks are playing deep enough to make a Go route difficult, the receivers break their routes off and convert them into Comeback routes. For this play to be successful, both the QB and the receiver need to make the same read on the cornerback. (In fact, this play is one of the biggest culprits for causing a QB and receiver to not be on the same page). When ran correctly, it can be a very difficult play to stop.

What we will do:

Lean on the run game.

A playbook rendering of Power run with 1 TE and 3 WRs

For Mizzou’s offense to be successful this year, it will likely need to rely pretty heavily on the legs of Russell Hansbrough, and a potentially powerful offensive line. Returning 4 senior starters (plus Brad McNulty, who proved capable in his time) means that the explosive Hansbrough and a young, exciting RB core should have plenty of opportunities to make big plays. One play that could be a big one (especially with Russ in the backfield) is Power, a longtime favorite of run-first teams. When running Power, the guard and the tackle put a double team on the defensive tackle, creating a big hole for the other guard to pull and block the linebacker attempting to make the play. With that linebacker taken care of, Hansbrough should have a running lane more than big enough for him to burst through.

What we should do:

Stick to the basics.

A playbook rendering of the Stick pass concept

With an inexperienced group of receivers and a quarterback who seems to have trouble with his reads, the best way to help them along is to simplify. One basic play that can gain solid yardage is the Stick concept. On Stick, usually run with three receivers to one side, the outside receiver runs a fade route, intending to draw the cornerback’s attention away from the quick out route the middle receiver runs. The furthest inside receiver runs a quick stick route, forcing the alley defender to decide between covering the stick or the quick out. This is a simple read that has the potential to get the ball to good athletes out in space. Combining Stick with a run play can make it even tougher for the defense to stop.