In his weekly luncheon with the media, head coach David Cutcliffe made a joke when asked about the number of injuries his team has suffered at the running back position.
“To be honest with you, we have five people to put out there,” Cutcliffe said, referring to emptying the backfield and splitting five receivers out wide. “And, I’ve played offense that way before.”
What’s funny to me is that the pretense for his one-liner should actually be the direction in which he is taking Duke football. Coach, if you’ve done it before, let’s do it again. And let’s see it a lot more frequently.
In certain situations during his three-plus year tenure in Durham, we have seen Cutcliffe empty the backfield and make use of his talented receiving corps. In his two years directing quarterback Thad Lewis, he let the veteran signal caller throw 50-plus times in 3 games. Even last year, Renfree gave his receiving corps plenty of chances to make plays, throwing 39 or more passes 6 times, compared to a high of 33 attempts in the first two games this year. The point is that far too much emphasis is being put on establishing a running game this season, an area that is not Duke’s strength.
The Blue Devils may be able to occasionally overpower smaller defensive fronts as they did against FCS opponent Richmond while gaining 178 yards on the ground in the season opener. A squad like the Spiders, however, simply can’t recruit the same caliber of athlete as the ACC teams that Duke will see every week when it matters most. Case in point: the Blue Devils tallied a meager 30 yards on the ground, less than a yard per carry, against the physical Stanford front seven last Saturday.
Last week, I wrote a column that argued that Duke could win despite its high academic standards if it recruited players that fit its system—even if they are inferior from an athletic standpoint—using Stanford, Northwestern and Wake Forest as case studies. Looking back, however, the flaw in my argument was my assumption that the Blue Devils have a system that they can rely on.
By a system, I mean an innovative yet consistent offensive framework designed by a coaching staff that recruits players to fill specific needs. Past and present examples that jump to mind are June Jones’s quick passing attack at Hawaii, Mike Leach’s spread passing scheme at Texas Tech, Chip Kelly’s up-tempo spread outfit at Oregon and the option offenses at the service academies.
The identity that I think the Duke offense should take on is one that slings the ball around the field 50-plus times per game. This exciting brand of football would increase the excitement around the program, which would lead to fewer empty seats in Wallace Wade on Saturdays. Installing a pass-happy offense would offer a huge recruiting edge in enticing top quarterbacks and wideouts to commit to the program.
And the best thing about overhauling the offensive identity is that such a scheme aligns perfectly with where the talent falls on the Duke depth chart. Talented quarterback Sean Renfree receives constant praise from Cutcliffe, though at times he has struggled to find a rhythm. A quick-striking passing game would be the perfect remedy, allowing him to get his confidence going early in contests. Plus, the guys catching these balls make up the deepest, most talented group on the team.
Traditional football folks might argue that you have to run the ball to win. There is certainly merit here, and a strong passing game would allow Duke to catch the defense off-guard with a run play. Also, horizontal passes to backs and receivers in the flats might as well be considered runs, as they are low risk and keep the clock rolling.
While we may never see the reincarnation of a June Jones or Mike Leach high-flying attack in Durham, breaking away from a status quo that hasn’t led to an abundance of victories can never be a bad thing. Let’s at least give Renfree and an explosive group of receivers the chance to work some magic.
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