Our first look at Tim Lester's new offense for the Syracuse Orange was... not what we expected, thanks to an unfortunate injury to Terrel Hunt early in the first quarter. But you know what? We ended up seeing some great things take place on the field just the same, and a lot of them worked out much as Lester described over the summer. Yes, it's Rhode Island. But if nothing else, these plays give us a great introduction to what this season could look like from a planning standpoint. We'll get to the execution stuff -- doubt we're replicating this production every week (though it would be nice if we did!).
First Quarter
DRIVE 1 | ||||||
Time | Down | Ball | Run/Pass | Player | Direction | Result |
14:47 | 1st and 10 | URI 47 | PENALTY (Delay of Game) | Hunt | N/A | 5 Yard Loss |
14:47 | 1st and 15 | SYR 48 | Run | Morris | Dive L | 7 Yard Gain |
14:15 | 2nd and 8 | URI 45 | Pass | Hunt | Short R | Interception |
DRIVE 2 | ||||||
Time | Down | Ball | Run/Pass | Player | Direction | Result |
14:05 | 1st and 10 | URI 45 | PENALTY (Personal Foul) | Morris | N/A | 16 Yard Loss |
13:41 | 1st and 26 | SYR 39 | Play-Action; Pass | Hunt | Deep M | Incomplete (Estime) |
13:34 | 2nd and 26 | SYR 39 | Run | Morris | Off-Tackle L | 5 Yard Gain |
12:57 | 3rd and 21 | SYR 44 | Run | Morris | Dive R | 9 Yard Gain |
DRIVE 3 | ||||||
Time | Down | Ball | Run/Pass | Player | Direction | Result |
8:28 | 1st and 10 | URI 49 | Run | Morris | Dive R | 5 Yard Gain |
7:56 | 2nd and 5 | URI 44 | Pocket Breakdown; Run | Hunt | End L | 2 Yard Gain |
7:24 | 3rd and 3 | URI 42 | Run | Philips | End R | 2 Yard Loss |
DRIVE 4 | ||||||
Time | Down | Ball | Run/Pass | Player | Direction | Result |
4:47 | 1st and 10 | SYR 37 | Run | Fredericks | Off-Tackle R | 31 Yard Gain |
4:17 | 1st and 10 | URI 32 | Run | Fredericks | Dive R | 0 Yard Gain |
3:36 | 2nd and 10 | URI 32 | Pocket Breakdown; Run | Dungey | Dive L | 0 Yard Gain |
2:57 | 3rd and 10 | URI 32 | Pass | Philips | Screen L | 32 Yard Gain; TD |
Play-Call Breakdown: 7 runs, 5 passes
A disjointed start made it hard to really get a read on things, as Hunt turned the ball over and the run game really leaned on basic hand-offs to the starting back George Morris. Philips was the only glimpse of the hybrids, and he went one-for-two on his chances -- though the successful touch was VERY successful (and on a screen, no less). You could also see the speed which Fredericks brings right away, since his first touch was a 31-yard gain. Explosive plays will be a theme, and most are accounted for by freshmen, really.
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Second Quarter
DRIVE 5 | ||||||
Time | Down | Ball | Run/Pass | Player | Direction | Result |
14:05 | 1st and 10 | SYR 19 | Run | Fredericks | Dive R | 6 Yard Gain |
13:28 | 2nd and 4 | SYR 25 | Run | Fredericks | Dive L | 1 Yard Gain |
12:57 | 3rd and 3 | SYR 26 | Pass | Ishmael | Short L | 8 Yard Gain |
12:27 | 1st and 10 | SYR 34 | Play-Action; Pass | Dungey | Deep R | Incomplete (Estime) |
12:21 | 2nd and 10 | SYR 34 | Run | Fredericks | Off-Tackle R | 12 Yard Gain |
11:55 | 1st and 10 | SYR 46 | Run | Dungey | End R | 5 Yard Gain |
11:49 | 2nd and 5 | URI 49 | PENALTY (Personal Foul) | Hill | N/A | 15 Yard Gain |
11:32 | 1st and 10 | URI 34 | Run | Morris | Off-Tackle L | 0 Yard Gain |
10:53 | 2nd and 10 | URI 34 | Pass | Dungey | Deep R | Incomplete (Cornelius) |
10:47 | 3rd and 10 | URI 34 | Pass | Lewis | Middle M | 16 Yard Gain |
10:18 | 1st and 10 | URI 18 | Run | Fredericks | End L | 12 Yard Gain |
9:45 | 1st and Goal | URI 6 | Run | Fredericks | Off-Tackle R | 1 Yard Gain |
9:06 | 2nd and Goal | URI 5 | Play-Action; Pass | Dungey | Short R | Incomplete (Philips) |
9:01 | 3rd and Goal | URI 5 | Pass | Dungey | Middle R | Incomplete (Ishmael) |
8:57 | 4th and Goal | URI 5 | Field Goal | Murphy | FG is Good | |
DRIVE 6 | ||||||
Time | Down | Ball | Run/Pass | Player | Direction | Result |
8:41 | 1st and Goal | URI 9 | Run | Fredericks | Dive R | 0 Yard Gain |
8:02 | 2nd and Goal | URI 9 | Play-Action; Pass | Philips | Short R | 9 Yard Gain; TD |
DRIVE 7 | ||||||
Time | Down | Ball | Run/Pass | Player | Direction | Result |
5:53 | 1st and 10 | SYR 24 | Run | Dungey | Dive R | 7 Yard Gain |
5:13 | 2nd and 3 | SYR 31 | Run | Morris | Off-Tackle R | 2 Yard Gain |
4:33 | 3rd and 1 | SYR 33 | Run | Morris | Dive L | 2 Yard Gain |
3:59 | 1st and 10 | SYR 35 | Pass | Estime | Middle L | 9 Yard Gain |
3:21 | 2nd and 1 | SYR 44 | Run | Morris | Off-Tackle R | 9 Yard Gain |
2:49 | 1st and 10 | URI 47 | Run | Lewis | End L | 1 Yard Loss |
2:08 | 2nd and 11 | URI 48 | Pocket Breakdown; Run | Dungey | Dive L | 9 Yard Gain |
1:23 | 3rd and 2 | URI 39 | Pass | Avant | Short L | 5 Yard Gain |
1:13 | 1st and 10 | URI 34 | Pass | Dungey | Deep M | Incomplete (Philips) |
1:08 | 2nd and 10 | URI 34 | Run | Morris | Off-Tackle R | 7 Yard Gain |
1:00 | 3rd and 3 | URI 27 | Pass | Dungey | Short L | Incomplete |
0:56 | 4th and 3 | URI 27 | Field Goal | Murphy | N/A | Missed FG |
Play-Call Breakdown: 14 runs, 12 passes
In the second quarter, Dungey looked more settled in and the offense really got cooking. Repeated, continuous runs in the middle of the line drew the defense further in and close to the line of scrimmage, allowing the team to start exploiting the edge and downfield passing game more. This is the core concept of this offense for Syracuse, and it's worth watching out for how effective it is as the season wears on. As the announcers mentioned during the game, the hybrids don't need to be heavily involved to hurt the number of defenders in the middle, either. Their mere presence distracts from stacking the box, allowing these inside runs to work. Then, rinse and repeat.
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DRIVE 8 | ||||||
Time | Down | Ball | Run/Pass | Player | Direction | Result |
14:53 | 1st and 10 | SYR 28 | Pass | Ishmael | Middle M | 10 Yard Gain |
14:25 | 1st and 10 | SYR 38 | Run | Morris | Off-Tackle L | 13 Yard Gain |
13:53 | 1st and 10 | URI 49 | Run | Morris | End L | 11 Yard Gain |
13:22 | 1st and 10 | URI 38 | Run | Morris | Off-Tackle L | 1 Yard Gain |
12:35 | 2nd and 9 | URI 37 | Pocket Breakdown; Run | Dungey | Dive L | 4 Yard Gain |
11:58 | 3rd and 5 | URI 33 | Pass | Ishmael | Middle M | 11 Yard Gain |
11:27 | 1st and 10 | URI 22 | Run | Fredericks | End L | 4 Yard Gain |
10:57 | 2nd and 6 | URI 18 | Play-Action;Pocket Breakdown; Run | Dungey | Dive L | 5 Yard Gain |
10:12 | 3rd and 1 | URI 13 | Run | Fredericks | Dive R | 13 Yard Gain; TD |
DRIVE 9 | ||||||
Time | Down | Ball | Run/Pass | Player | Direction | Result |
8:35 | 1st and 10 | SYR 9 | Run | Strickland | Sweep L | 21 Yard Gain |
8:05 | 1st and 10 | SYR 30 | Run | Hill | Dive L | 2 Yard Gain |
7:27 | 2nd and 8 | SYR 32 | Play-Action; Pass | MacPherson | Short R | 3 Yard Gain |
6:46 | 3rd and 5 | SYR 35 | Pass | Dungey | Short L | Incomplete (Cornelius) |
DRIVE 10 | ||||||
Time | Down | Ball | Run/Pass | Player | Direction | Result |
4:58 | 1st and 10 | SYR 31 | Botched Snap; Run | Dungey | Dive L | 3 Yard Loss |
4:17 | 2nd and 13 | SYR 28 | Play-Action; Pass | Cornelius | Middle R | 11 Yard Gain |
3:36 | 3rd and 2 | SYR 39 | Play-Action; Pass; Sack | Dungey | N/A | 7 Yard Loss |
DRIVE 11 | ||||||
Time | Down | Ball | Run/Pass | Player | Direction | Result |
1:50 | 1st and 10 | SYR 32 | Run | Fredericks | Dive L | 2 Yard Gain |
1:14 | 2nd and 8 | SYR 34 | Run | HIll | End R | 5 Yard Gain |
0:38 | 3rd and 3 | SYR 39 | Run | Hill | Counter R | 1 Yard Gain |
Play-Call Breakdown: 11 runs, 8 passes
"Garbage time" probably starts around drive 10, but it's still worth paying further attention since the Orange -- breaking in a ton of new players on offense, including a new QB -- were still willing to try out some new things. Drive 9 should stand point for its first play: a jet sweep with Dontae Strickland that you'll probably see at least once per game going forward. His speed to the outside is enormous here, and is also set up by a boatload of (effective) runs up the gut on the previous drives. Drive 11 begins the arduous task of running out a full quarter of clock. Keep in mind the 11/8 split here in terms of run/pass, since this is the last true quarter to evaluate with regard to ratio, etc.
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DRIVE 12 | ||||||
Time | Down | Ball | Run/Pass | Player | Direction | Result |
13:58 | 1st and 10 | SYR 45 | Pass | Wilson | Screen R | Incomplete |
13:54 | 2nd and 10 | SYR 45 | Run | HIll | Off-Tackle L | 7 Yard Gain |
13:17 | 3rd and 3 | URI 48 | Run | Hill | Off-Tackle R | 14 Yard Gain |
12:42 | 1st and 10 | URI 34 | Run | Hill | Off-Tackle R | 11 Yard Gain |
12:01 | 1st and 10 | URI 23 | Run | Hill | Dive R | 2 Yard Gain |
11:27 | 2nd and 8 | URI 21 | Run | Strickland | Sweep L | 21 Yard Gain; TD |
DRIVE 13 | ||||||
Time | Down | Ball | Run/Pass | Player | Direction | Result |
9:20 | 1st and 10 | SYR 14 | Run | HIll | Dive R | 4 Yard Gain |
8:47 | 2nd and 6 | SYR 18 | Run | HIll | Off-Tackle L | 4 Yard Gain |
8:07 | 3rd and 2 | SYR 21 | Run | Hill | End L | 9 Yard Gain |
7:31 | 1st and 10 | SYR 30 | Run | Hill | Dive L | 1 Yard Gain |
6:52 | 2nd and 9 | SYR 31 | Run | Hill | Off-Tackle R | 4 Yard Gain |
6:15 | 3rd and 5 | SYR 36 | Run | Perkins | Off-Tackle L | 5 Yard Gain |
5:35 | 1st and 10 | SYR 41 | Run | Hill | Dive R | 1 Yard Gain |
4:56 | 2nd and 9 | SYR 42 | Run | Hill | End L | 5 Yard Gain |
4:09 | 3rd and 4 | SYR 46 | Run | Fredericks | End L | 16 Yard Gain |
3:33 | 1st and 10 | URI 38 | Run | Fredericks | Off-Tackle L | 3 Yard Gain |
2:54 | 2nd and 7 | URI 35 | Run | Fredericks | Off-Tackle R | 2 Yard Gain |
2:13 | 3rd and 5 | URI 33 | Run | Hill | Off-Tackle R | 3 Yard Gain |
1:29 | 4th and 2 | URI 29 | Run | Hill | End R | 1 Yard Gain |
1:00 | 1st and 10 | URI 28 | Run | Hill | Dive R | 1 Yard Gain |
0:16 | 2nd and 9 | URI 27 | Kneel | Wilson | N/A | 2 Yard Loss |
Play-Call Breakdown: 18 runs, 1 pass
We'll be brief here. The one pass shook me into flashbacks of McDonald's offense (an awful, misguided bubble screen that should have never been thrown. The rest? An impressive feat that was either a result of a fatigued, bummed Rhody squad or a formidable second unit on the O-line. Primarily relying on walk-on freshman Jacob Hill, the Orange closed the game running on 21 of 22 plays, and... somehow gained 121 yards plus a score. That's a phenomenal rate when you consider a) telegraphed, b) walk-on frosh, c) SU had been doing largely the same thing all game, even though it had different looks throughout.
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- Overall play-calling breakdown: 50 called runs vs. 26 called passes. That rate's a much more realistic 32:25 through three quarters, and that's the ratio you should probably focus on more.
- First half play-calling: 21 runs vs. 17 passes (29:9 in second half)
- First downs: 23 total (17 rushing, 5 passing, 1 penalty; all but one in Q2-Q4)
- First down play selection: 30 called runs, 6 called passes
- First down play selection on subsequent sets of downs: 20 called runs, 3 called passes
- First down plays for five or more yards: 12
- Second down play selection: 13 called runs, 11 called passes (pass-heavy until Q4)
- Third down play selection: 10 called runs; 9 called passes (pass-heavy until Q4)
- Third down conversion: 11-for-19 (6 runs, 5 passes)
- 39 of Syracuse's 76 play calls (51 percent) took place in URI territory; if that doesn't seem overly high, remember the number of explosive plays (7 of 15 or more) helped drive those play numbers down.
- Two jets sweeps resulted in two 21-yard gains. In the hands of Philips, Fredericks or Strickland, these play-calls will work well.
- Play-action was 2-for-5 this week, and Dungey accounted for 2-for-4 of those. This has the potential to work like gangbusters this fall if we're going to stay heavily committed to the run (likely).
- We glossed over explosive plays above, but they really did have a HUGE impact on this offense. Along with the seven that went for 15 or more, another nine gained between 10 and 14 yards. And there were another six plays that tallied nine yards. That's over a quarter of Syracuse's plays going for nine yards or more. That's extremely good.
Adding a little bit more onto the above, for the last two seasons, the team seemed pretty dependent on the passing game to get big gains. No more, it appears, as big plays were largely earned by way of the run game -- a huge development that takes a ton off of Dungey's shoulders. Speaking of, he really didn't have a bad ball in his 17 throws. They weren't all perfect, mind you, but nothing was "bad" either. He was a couple drops away from another TD and another 50-plus yards through the air.
There is SO much more that needs to be explored about the run game. With McFarlane back next week, and Jacob Hill likely headed back to the bench, things will look very different as the team tries to split carries properly. Expect them to juggle touches between D-Mac, Morris, Fredericks and Strickland, with at least one needing to take on a diminished role at some point.
The team certainly tested Seamus Shanley plenty in the first half, sending 20 plays to the right side of the line. Where things might be slightly concerning is the involvement of the team's multitude of receivers -- and in particular, tight ends. Cam MacPherson was the only tight end targeted, and well after the game was in hand. Ishmael was utilized in an interesting, short-route manner, while Estime appeared to be targeted deep. Maybe those two should be switched? We definitely need a larger sample size there.
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Anything else? Share any and all thoughts below.