The rhythm, it’s going to get ’ya. What say you, Gopherholers? Does the short passing game not apply to 1st and 10?
WHEN YOU LOOK AT YOURSELF AS A COORDINATOR, WHAT DID YOU FEEL LIKE WASN'T WORKING FOR YOU LAST WEEK AND WHAT AREAS DO YOU WANT TO IMPROVE ON YOURSELF?
Sanford: "I think just doing everything in my power with the staff to stay in rhythm offensively. That's a big one is just to find that rhythm.
And rhythm leads to staying at or out ahead of the sticks. Getting into 2nd-and-6's and being in third and manageable. So just doing whatever it takes, and obviously every game plan is different. Every defensive structure is different. That's why matchups are very unique. Look across our conference, there are certain matchups that it seems like every year Purdue gives certain teams have fits and then other teams, they don't. And the same thing with us.
You got to do everything in your power with the matchups you're presented, with schematics and with the physical matchups, to keep our offense in rhythm. And that's the thing that obviously I take great pride in. Is wanting to keep our offense in a rhythm in which I feel like we had been through a big 10 play every game except for this one."
WITH HINDSIGHT BEING 20/20, DO YOU WISH YOU WOULD HAVE GONE TO MORE OF A SHORT PASSING GAME AFTER THAT FIRST DRIVE TO TRY AND GET TANNER INTO A RHYTHM AND SUSTAIN THAT RHYTHM?
Sanford: "Yes and no.
There's more to it than to just simply call short passes. There's coverages that were taking that away and then there were coverages that were really leaving that kind of 18 yard sweet spot area, as an area we wanted to attack on certain downs and distances.
So to say that, would love to have gotten just the the quick passing game going, there's more to it. In the sense of on 1st-and-10, they're going to play a certain coverage and then 2nd-and-10, they're going to play a different coverage. And the short passing game becomes more relevant on maybe 2nd-and-10 or 2nd-and-8 then it does on 1st-and-10. And so there's situational football, that as a coordinator that you have to manage what are the tendencies that a defense has put on tape. And then in a lot of the chunk attempts that we were making in the passing game were based off of our game plan of going into the game.
We wanted to attempt to get into the those two areas against those coverages. So to answer your question Ryan, rhythm whatever that looks, is of paramount importance. Both for Tanner and the offense. It's the complimentary piece of the run and pass. Obviously, that was the missing piece and that's where the the magic formula is going forward."