A big part of why our offense was great in 2019 was that when teams stacked the box we threw and when they dropped back in coverage we ran. You obviously have to have skill in both areas to be successful but the two do go hand in hand. If you can force the safeties to need to come up and stop the run it is going to make it much easier to find open space as a receiver.
I dunno I swear most of our successful crossing routes still had safeties behind them.
I thought a lot of those slants came off the RPO where the LBs moved up to play the run and opened up the passing lane. Without an effective run game, no reason to cheat up to play the run. That would negatively impact the passing game.
U of M qbs of the past haven’t really given us enough quality to prove or disprove any of this.
I mean if the measurement is 'effective' ... then yeah it helps, but that's a low bar IMO.
I would argue Mason had some good running teams ... QBs didn't seem to be suddenly better / helped much that mattered IMO.
I think people often overestimate the relationship, but I think some schemes do allow the run to set up the pass. I think the 2019 offense was one of those schemes. There were some big pass plays in 2019 that were successful because the WR initially faked a block before releasing downfield. I think that is a good example of the run setting up the pass, and the Gophers’ 2019 YPA reflected that.
Our passing game under Mason was better than a lot of people gave it credit for. It wasn't a very creative passing game but they were good at what they were asked to do and took advantage of defenses loading up on the run.
Mason also threw to the TE more.
There really were almost no teams that could slow down the Gopher rushing attack during some of those years. Maybe Iowa, but even they struggled to contain it. As you mentioned, the lack of defense was the glaring issue.
Not so much the safety, but the linebackers. If linebackers have to shoot gaps to stuff a run, then there will be more passing routes that are open. As a linebacker you get to choose, focus on stopping the run or focus on dropping into pass coverage.
Not to mention play action becomes more effective with a dangerous run game I would imagine.
Yes, but as Slab of Bacon said above, if the running game is very effective, many defenses will start to bring a safety closer to the line of scrimmage (creating an 8 man box). This doesn't make our WRs or TEs any better at catching the ball, but it often makes the slant route more open for a moment or two (or creates a downfield home run opportunity). When our RPO running game is working well, the QB's key is often what the run-side safety--who is put in a real quandry--does immediately after the snap. If the safety stays back, Morgan hands off; if safety moves down into the box, Morgan pulls the ball and throws. One of the reasons Morgan has been so effective in our RPO offense, I think, is because he makes this read well.
Yeah that's my thing.
The folks on this thread might just be using different terminologies. One says the run game sets up the passing game; another says the passing game becomes more effective when the D (LBs and safeties) are forced to respect the running game, i.e., commit extra resources in the box. Both statements are the same, at the concept level. Sometimes the pass "sets up" the run by forcing teams to "respect" the downfield pass (forcing both safeties to stay home). I have seen the Gophers open some games throwing downfield in order to rattle teams that have started the game in an 8 man box because "they aren't going to let MO beat them." Urban Meyer had a great segment on the B1G network in 2019 dissecting how the Gophers RPO play puts the run-side safety in a very tough situation. For the Gopher RPO to work, of course, both the running game and the passing game must be equally effective and skilled. Both must deserve respect. A strong running game never "set up" a weak passing game for success, and vice versa. Meyer also thinks the Gophers "cheat," by sending their OL downfield a tiny bit on pure RPO calls, depriving the safeties and LB of an easy read as to when Morgan will pass. Each play is a chess game.
A tired bit, you are.
How about the time Jerry tried to strong arm the u into making him the AD of gopher football.