In my opinion, three stats sum up the woes of the offense throughout the season:
(1) Scoring Offense - 51st (29.2 PPG)
(2) 3rd Down % - 125th (.288)
(3) Red Zone TD % - 77th (57%)
What is interesting, is that Miami's offense was 15th in Red Zone Scoring %, but only 77th in Red Zone TD %... Too many times we had to settle for Field Goals, flat out didn't convert on 4th and Goal, or Malik threw an interception.
These three stats really sum up a lack of EFFICIENCY on offense, and the last 3 games against good defenses (Pitt, Clemson, Wisconsin) completely exposed the Achilles Heel on this offense, which was EFFICIENCY. Credit given to Richt for getting 3,600 yards and 31 TDs out of Malik, but Malik's Completion was an abysmal 54% (98th), coupled with a paltry Passing Efficiency of 131.1 (62nd).
Malik's athletic skill sets, toughness, and never-give-up fighting spirit made up for a LOT of his deficiencies as a QB. He is more of an athlete playing quarterback than a natural signal caller playing QB. We have to transition from the former to the latter to get this offense to another level.
The word "Efficiency" in the category "Passing Efficiency":
Malik (Miami) at 131.1 (62nd) Coastal Division, but 3 straight losses to finish 10-3
compared to
Mayfield (OU) at 198.9 (1st) in the BCS Playoffs
Milton (UCF) at 179.3 (2nd) undefeated 13-0 beating Auburn
Fromm (UGA) at 166.4 (4th) in the BCS Playoffs
Hurts (BAMA) at 153.7 (11th) in the BCS Playoffs
Kelly (CLEM) at 131.7 (59th) in the BCS Playoffs
So 3 out of the top 4 QBs ranked in Passing Efficiency were either in the Playoffs or on an undefeated team. And Hurts was 11th in Passing Efficiency on a mostly defensive team.
There were SEVERAL reasons why our offense was not efficient: (1) Malik's erratic play; (2) Richt's play calling; (3) offensive line; and (4) lack of true power back.
re: (1), you hope Perry can be "the man", but how "efficient" he can be as a redshirt freshman next year is a total crap shoot at this point. re: (3), I think it will be better next year than this year, and this year was slightly better than last year- so in my opinion our offensive line is getting there. re: (4) Homer proved he could be physical, Richt is bringing in a pure FB, and the stable of guys we have coming in should get the job done.
re: (2), Richt can improve the EFFICIENCY of the offense by incorporating more of the following three plays: (1) shallow crosses to slot receivers (like we used to do with Santana, Geathers, Roscoe, etc... in OPEN SPACE dragging across the field/formation); (2) RB Screens, with linemen pulling and having it be a true RB Screen play; and (3) sprint out rollout pass to the wide side giving the QB the option to run 3-5 yards if nobody is open.
Refine, revamp, and reload... This offense has to be a much more efficient machine in order to get us over the hump to being an 11-12 win team and winning the ACC Championship, ESPECIALLY when we face bona fide hard nosed defenses which will make us work for those first downs.
(1) Scoring Offense - 51st (29.2 PPG)
(2) 3rd Down % - 125th (.288)
(3) Red Zone TD % - 77th (57%)
What is interesting, is that Miami's offense was 15th in Red Zone Scoring %, but only 77th in Red Zone TD %... Too many times we had to settle for Field Goals, flat out didn't convert on 4th and Goal, or Malik threw an interception.
These three stats really sum up a lack of EFFICIENCY on offense, and the last 3 games against good defenses (Pitt, Clemson, Wisconsin) completely exposed the Achilles Heel on this offense, which was EFFICIENCY. Credit given to Richt for getting 3,600 yards and 31 TDs out of Malik, but Malik's Completion was an abysmal 54% (98th), coupled with a paltry Passing Efficiency of 131.1 (62nd).
Malik's athletic skill sets, toughness, and never-give-up fighting spirit made up for a LOT of his deficiencies as a QB. He is more of an athlete playing quarterback than a natural signal caller playing QB. We have to transition from the former to the latter to get this offense to another level.
The word "Efficiency" in the category "Passing Efficiency":
Malik (Miami) at 131.1 (62nd) Coastal Division, but 3 straight losses to finish 10-3
compared to
Mayfield (OU) at 198.9 (1st) in the BCS Playoffs
Milton (UCF) at 179.3 (2nd) undefeated 13-0 beating Auburn
Fromm (UGA) at 166.4 (4th) in the BCS Playoffs
Hurts (BAMA) at 153.7 (11th) in the BCS Playoffs
Kelly (CLEM) at 131.7 (59th) in the BCS Playoffs
So 3 out of the top 4 QBs ranked in Passing Efficiency were either in the Playoffs or on an undefeated team. And Hurts was 11th in Passing Efficiency on a mostly defensive team.
There were SEVERAL reasons why our offense was not efficient: (1) Malik's erratic play; (2) Richt's play calling; (3) offensive line; and (4) lack of true power back.
re: (1), you hope Perry can be "the man", but how "efficient" he can be as a redshirt freshman next year is a total crap shoot at this point. re: (3), I think it will be better next year than this year, and this year was slightly better than last year- so in my opinion our offensive line is getting there. re: (4) Homer proved he could be physical, Richt is bringing in a pure FB, and the stable of guys we have coming in should get the job done.
re: (2), Richt can improve the EFFICIENCY of the offense by incorporating more of the following three plays: (1) shallow crosses to slot receivers (like we used to do with Santana, Geathers, Roscoe, etc... in OPEN SPACE dragging across the field/formation); (2) RB Screens, with linemen pulling and having it be a true RB Screen play; and (3) sprint out rollout pass to the wide side giving the QB the option to run 3-5 yards if nobody is open.
Refine, revamp, and reload... This offense has to be a much more efficient machine in order to get us over the hump to being an 11-12 win team and winning the ACC Championship, ESPECIALLY when we face bona fide hard nosed defenses which will make us work for those first downs.
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