If you are a believer in Lincoln Riley, then you probably stumbled across this page searching for information about his offense.
I don’t blame you and after Jalen Hurtz just blew us all away with the first game of 2019 record setting performance. I would be too!
You can just see Alabama fans cringing. This story just keeps getting better!
I personally don’t have a bone to pick in this match, but what I do what to do is share with you why Lincoln Riley is really killing it these days.
Following is an article I wrote two years ago when Baker Mayfield was throwing it down at Oklahoma. It still applies as to why Riley’s offense is so potent.
I’ll also add in a few snippets about why Jalen is also making it even better.
From Two Years Ago:
The past two weeks have practically flown by it seems. When you spend every spare moment you have breaking down the Oklahoma offense and then drawing every play up (74 to be exact), the days start to blur together.
I also held off on my full analysis of it until the end because I wanted to know all the details before I gave a big picture summary.
Here’s one of my 5 top findings:
Play Action (The Pop Pass)
Oklahoma has an outstanding play action game.
But let’s talk first about what a play action play is? Most games you go to on Friday nights will have a few play action plays in them. Play action is when you pretend to run the ball but then pass it instead.
Sounds simple right? Just be a great pretender and you can be great at play action!
Quick side note…Bill Walsh believed that the best executed play action play was the most difficult play in football to defend.
Easier said than done because every single movement for the first three steps of the play needs to look exactly like a run play.
That means the offensive line has to fire out at their defenders like it’s run. The Quarterback and Running Backs have to sell the handoff perfectly. That means actually putting the ball in the belly of the running back before pulling it out. It also means receivers and blocking backs starting on the exact same path for their first three steps before releasing on a pass route.
And boy is the Oklahoma offense good at all this.
Even as I watch in slow motion for the lineman and running back keys it is very hard to tell right away when a play action is not a run play.
Because of the BOB or Man on Man pass protection scheme, the guards are taught to pull around to pick up a rusher. This completely screws with linebacker reads because most LB keys are to attack the run if a Guard pulls.
By the time Baker Mayfield (and now Jalen) pulls the ball out from the play action (which he sells better then any other QB I’ve seen in a long time) the LB’s are sucked up in the run game and the receiver is behind them.
How can teams stop the Oklahoma Offense Play-Action?
One way is to play man to man coverage so LB’s don’t have to cover any passing zones.
The problem with this is that Oklahoma has a series of outstanding man beaters and pick plays that put a ton of pressure on defensive backs to stop. And if you sacrifice deep safeties, the talented Oklahoma receivers will get behind you.
I’m very impressed with how effective this “play action” pass protection is executed. Lineman fire out but don’t get downfield. Lineman make the play action look like a zone run or even a gap run.
Even though RPO’s get all the publicity, Oklahoma does not need to rely on them because they can effectively control linebackers with their play action.
Linebackers who play against Oklahoma have to be disciplined to see backs releasing on the pop pass instead of just keying the line and the backs. These three pieces of information for a linebacker to process are not something easy to do in just fractions of a second.
Zone Run
Oklahoma’s zone run game is top notch obviously. They run the traditional Zone-Read, Split zone and Zone Duo. Their zone read is effective because they have a dual threat QB so the defense has to protect against him running as well as against the play action. When they go to a two back set like Split backs they also add in a F-Screen as the second option if the zone is taken away. As for their split zone play, this is usually a called give. The Zone Duo – where the F is a wing and blocks the unblocked end at the back of the zone is also highly effective. Off that same Wing look, Oklahoma sometimes slips the the ball to the F right behind overreacting linebackers.
Power Read/Counter
Running a second gap scheme that also challenges defensive fronts is another key component of Oklahoma’s offense. Their counter pulls both the Guard and Tackle from the same side with the Guard kicking out the End and the Tackle leading up on the play side linebacker. As simple as this is, when Oklahoma adds a jet sweep to put the unblocked End in a bind, the defense has to decide quickly whether to pursue a full speed Jet Sweeper or stay put and defend the onslaught of blockers coming with the counter.
Screens
Any Air Raid team worth their salt has to be effective in the screen game and Oklahoma is no exception. Bubble Screen can come on the outside at any moment a DB is playing too soft. And if defenses get too aggressive defending them watch out for the Bubble Slant or Bubble go that is even more deadly off their play-action blocking up front. Ohio State learned this one the hard way!
Jalen Hurtz
Accurate, on-time, throws completions, fast as heck, mature, decisive, coachable. He’s the complete college QB package. Runs the game, motivates, makes good decisions and just flat out makes things happen. Every player Lincoln gets has strengths, and it is exciting to see Jalen thriving in his offense!
The Oklahoma breakdown is still a solid example of the Lincoln Riley offense from Baker’s day. You will get a lot of Pop Pass, Zone, Counter, Power and Screen ideas out of the Air Raid Philosophy. Check it out for it’s lowest listed price here…
Awesome!