2011: Season in Review (The Offense)

Source: LJ World

With College Football officially over, it is finally time to put a wrap on the 2011 Jayhawks. While we would like to forget the past year entirely, it is out there all the same. There were several areas that ailed the Jayhawks and will continue to ail them if they are not accounted for (hopefully they will be in about 48 hours), so we will try to bring those weaknesses into the limelight. Today we will start by breaking down the offense (the defense will be saved for a later date, thankfully).

It was my new year’s resolution to post more often, but as you can tell, that mission has been short-lived. Give me a chance to redeem myself. Football news is back in the foreground with signing day fast approaching.


(Apparently I am not the only one hacking away about KU Football? The program is starting to get some free press and pub, BTW. All press is good press, you know.) 

Let's stick to the knitting. I had intended to write this review on the heels of the National Championship game, but I pushed it off because of other commitments. Now I finally have a chance to give an in-depth breakdown of the 2011 season that was, and hopefully never will be again.

The Offense:

Just to run the numbers, the Kansas offense ranked 106^th nationally in total offense and last in the Big 12 by nearly 17 yards per game. It ranked last in the Big 12 and 95^th nationally in scoring (53^rd at home, 113^th on the road). If there is one thing that I want you to take from this post, consider the home/away splits and the progressively crappier quality of play as the year dragged on month by month.

Kansas averaged 22.3 points per game on the year, a number quite low for recent KU offenses. Now granted, 22.3 points per game isn’t absolutely terrible in the grand scheme of things, but in the Big 12, a league that averaged 35.8 points (Kansas not included) and rarely tackled with great skill and frequency, the Jayhawks were on the tail end of the bell curve. The Big 12 averaged 58.2 touchdowns on the year to Kansas’s 36 and 18 field goals on the year to Kansas’s 6. Yes, the defense needs a major overhaul, but the only way Kansas can really get its foot in the door is if the offense can be relied on every once in a while. Giving up less than 30 points in a Big 12 game is note-worthy, so Kansas has to be able to score more often.

In order to tell it fairly, it wasn’t all bad. In September, Kansas was ranked 5^th in the conference in scoring at 37 ppg. Not bad at all, tremendous in fact. But the once fine-tuned machine, Jordan Webb and the Kansas offense, started to rust. In October, Kansas was last in the league with just 20.0 ppg, and in November, they managed a meager 14 ppg. It’s been stated that the Big 12 isn’t known for smothering defenses, but nevertheless, it held Kansas to just 17.4 points per game.

The offense was drastically better at home, scoring 31.5 ppg and ranking 6^th in the conference, but on the road (Arrowhead included), the Jayhawks were dead last with just 13.2 ppg.

Kansas was last in total yards and yards per play at 326.8 and 4.65, respectively.

For those who still claim that Kansas owns the best stable of running backs in the Big 12, try to swallow these numbers. Kansas was ninth out of ten, averaging just 159.5 yards per game. That was good for 58^th in the country out of 120 teams. They were 95^th in yards per rush and 13^th in attempts per game, so they really didn’t get much bang for their buck in that department: they were last in yards per rush, 3.52, and last in touchdown, 20. This proves that the yards per game stat can be a little misconstrued.

As you all should know by now, I haven’t been a big advocate for former strength and conditioning Coach, John Williams. Although I’m not going to pin every problem on the strength and conditioning, I will for most. Trust me; there is a method to my madness. In the first half of all of the games, the Jayhawks were 7^th in the conference at 3.80 yards per attempt, but were last in the second half at 3.24. Not a substantial drop-off, but a drop-off nonetheless. Here is where I best demonstrate my evidence. In the first quarter of each game, Kansas averaged 4.47 yards per rush, and in the third quarter, they averaged 3.36. That, my friends, is a very substantial drop-off in the second and fourth quarters. So, what does that tell us? Fatigue? Poor conditioning? We are looking squarely at you, John Williams.

When losing by 15 points or more, Kansas averaged 2.46 yards per rush. You’d think that a defense playing more conservatively because of a big lead, would invite and encourage the rushing game, but that wasn’t the case.

The passing game faltered late in halves as well. In the 1^st half, Kansas (namely Jordan Webb) averaged a 67.3 completion percentage and quarterback rating of 130.69. In the 2^nd half, that number plummeted to a 58.5 completion percentage and quarterback rating of 124.38. Even as the months wore on, the numbers worsened likewise.  The passing offense averaged 212.7 ypg in September, 186.0 ypg in October, and just 110 ypg in November. On the year, Kansas ranked 101 in passing ypg and 62^nd in passing efficiency.

I also found it interesting how Kansas fared at certain ends of the field…

Within the opponents’ red-zone, the Jayhawks were tremendous passing the football 11-20 for 91 yards 8TD and just 1 int. That’s winning football right there.

From the opponents 39 to the 21, Kansas was almost as good, completing 69.4 percent of its passes for 4 TD and 2 INT. Still winning football for the most part.

Just by looking at it, Kansas was at its best when they had the ball inside or near the opponents’ twenty, but outside of that, Kansas only threw for 3 TD and 9 INT. Basically, they capitalized when they were within striking distance, but they weren’t within striking distance often. Kansas simply had trouble getting drives going on a consistent basis.

It really defies logic. You would think that (in the opponents’ red-zone) with a smaller space to work with and seemingly more bodies on defense, the numbers wouldn’t be as good. This leads me to believe that things could have been worse for Kansas in 2011. Had played equally bad in the opponents’ red-zone, they could have very well gone win-less.     

Quarterbacks:

Jordan Webb had his moments, but they were few and far between. He threw for six touchdowns and 0 interceptions in the first two games against McNeese State and Northern Illinois, but combined for7 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in the final ten contests, including just two touchdowns over the final seven games, and 1 touchdown and six interceptions in the final three games.

Quinn Mecham rarely saw the field, but he at least served as a semi-reliable backup. Lack of arm strength really hurt his prospects of seeing the field.

Running Backs:

The group ranked just 9^th in the Big 12 in rushing offense. James Sims rushed for 727 yards and 9 touchdowns, Darrian Miller rushed for 559 and 4 touchdowns. Tony Pierson averaged 5.58 yards per carry and scored three times and Brandon Bourbon averaged 6.79, scoring once. FB Nick Sizemore was used sparingly, but was still effective at opening holes for Sims, Miller, and co. to run through. I am still excited to see what he can do next year with more experience, but my excitement is tinged with a little disappointment because he wasn't quite as good as advertised when he transferred from Buffalo (the same could be said for Darius Willis).

Kansas totaled 543 rushes for 1914 yards and 20 TDs in 2011. In 2010, Kansas rushed 470 times for 1615 yards and 13 touchdowns. In 2009, Kansas rushed 379 times for 1345 yards and 20 touchdowns. In 2008, Kansas rushed 445 times for 1648 yards and 23 touchdowns. And in 2007, Kansas rushed 512 times for 2464 yards and 30 touchdowns. The running attack simply doesn’t have the numbers to support itself as one of the best in the Big 12, much less Kansas’s past 4 years. James Sims was just 8 attempts shy of Brandon McAnderson in 2007, but was 408 yards behind.


Offensive Linemen:

C Jeremiah Hatch, LT Tanner Hawkinson, RG Trevor Marrongelli, RT Jeff Spikes, and LG Duane Zlatnik started in every single game this year. After starting off the year very strong, forging huge holes for the running backs and a nice pocket for Jordan Webb, the line struggled during the second half of the year. Jordan Webb found himself under barrage in College Station, Texas, and we could only hope that he would make it out of the game in one piece. Granted, it doesn’t help when your receivers consistently get jammed at the LOS and can’t hold a block for beans, but, the cold hard truth is that the linemen couldn’t be depended on late in the year. The big uglies separate the boys from the men, and compared to the giants of Texas, Oklahoma, OSU, and K-State, the Jayhawks looked like pre-pubescent school boys.

Hawkinson, Marrongelli, and Zlatnik return next year, and I expect that they will make tremendous headway with Scott Holsopple at the helm. If not, then let’s pray that Dayne Crist can scoot.


Wide Receivers:

Outside of a few outliers, the core as a whole was non-existent.

The early injury to Daymond Patterson hurt, but aside from D.J. Beshears and Kale Pick, this position was weak and often a liability. Chris Omigie continues to drop passes, Andrew Turzilli gets jammed at the line of scrimmage every other play, Marquis Jackson showed potential, but dropped too many catchable balls, and Jacorey Shephard disappeared like Houdini in the second half after a strong first couple of games.

Kansas totaled just 191 receptions for 2008 yards and 15 TDs in 2011. In 2010, Kansas had 203 receptions for 1942 yards and 11 TDs, so although there was improvement, it’s not terribly conspicuous. In 2009, the Hawks tallied 320 receptions for 3724 yards and 22 TDs, in 2008, 333 receptions for 3965 yards and 33 TDs, and in 2007, 301 receptions for 3773 yards and 36 TDs. Those were mostly winning football teams. Just keep that in mind. If Kansas wants to win, they have got to get more from the wide-outs.