Sounds Like Good Planning

We fans like to talk about the things we see:  crunching blocks, tight ends hurdling would-be tacklers, crumpled opponents.  It's tough to talk about what we don't see because, well, we don't see it.  On this point, it sounds like Mizzou's coaches had a good plan to block the Illinois defensive line and the players mostly executed the plans to perfection.

Midway through preseason camp, offensive coordinator Dave Christensen unveiled a game plan for the season opener, starting up front with a blocking strategy to answer Illinois’ aggressive defensive front, essentially the same cast of defensive linemen that stonewalled MU’s running game last year. The Illini linemen rely on a variety of loops and twists after the snap, but Missouri exploited all their movement with effective counter runs.

"Our blocking scheme was just awesome," Jackson said. "They’ve got really fast D-ends, and they like to shoot upfield. We did a great job of cutting that off and just sticking the ball upfield."

To win you've got to have more talent than the other team, and not necessarily talent on the field.  The talent on the sidelines is part of the equation too.

Comments

[Chance]

What about offensive play calling? Is it overrated, or is it that important to call the right plays at the right time?

[Phil]

Sure, the play calling is important, but it's a bit more obvious than general overall schemes. The players, training, the game planning, the play calling, the film study... all that stuff goes into making a team what it is.