University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Using Time Wisely
September 15, 2005 | Football
Sept. 15, 2005
By Adam Lucas
Saturday night when the Carolina offense takes the field against Wisconsin, it won't take long to evaluate the progress the Heels have made after last week's game against Georgia Tech. In fact, it won't even take one snap.
The Tar Heels have spent significant practice time this week trying to rectify some pre-snap problems they experienced last week in Atlanta. They were cited for one delay of game penalty, had to burn a timeout when the wrong personnel took the field, and watched the play clock melt below three seconds on several other occasions.
"We were a little bit slow," guard Kyle Ralph said. "We didn't get to the line with a sense of urgency."
Offensive coordinator Gary Tranquill would ideally like his squad to break the huddle with around 16-18 seconds left on the play clock. That allows all 11 players the luxury of finding their alignment, perusing the defense, and making any necessary checks based on the defense.
Too often against the Jackets, the Heels broke the huddle with around 11-13 seconds on the play clock. Sure, it's just a 5-second difference, but it's enough to make a substantial difference in the outcome of a play.
"When you don't get to the line with enough time, you don't have time to make your reads," tailback Barrington Edwards said. "That's when you can miss certain things."
Certain things like a safety creeping up to the line of scrimmage, indicating a forthcoming blitz. Or a defense that's shifted to an unexpected side, or cornerbacks pressing on a receiver who might have expected a softer cushion. The play Matt Baker calls in the huddle is the ideal. It's up to everyone on the offense to alter it as necessary once they scope out the defense. Carolina's offense is complex--that gives them plenty of ways to beat the defense, but it also requires numerous reads at the line of scrimmage. It's rarely as simple as simply lining up and running the play that was called in the huddle. Pass protections are the most crucial change. One tiny error can leave the quarterback the victim of an unchecked blind side hit.
The play sequence actually begins as soon as the previous play is blown dead. This year's liaison between Tranquill and the on-field quarterback is Jay Spence, a walk-on quarterback who has assumed the duties of signaling in each play. Spence wears a headset with a direct line to Tranquill in the press box.
The venerable coordinator scripts the first 15 plays of every game. It's not an inflexible script--if the third play of the game is third-and-11 and the third play on his script is a power off-tackle, he'll deviate--but it provides the foundation for his offense.
"I always have a fourth-and-one call, one run and one pass," Tranquill said. "I have my first short yardage call, my first goal line call, my first third and 3-6 call, my first third and 7-11 call. It's not, `Hmmm, it's 4th and 11, what are we going to do?' I already know what we're going to do. It's not like I'm going to draw one up in the dirt. There's no hesitation. Boom, this is it."
That means Spence often gets the call before the 25-second clock starts. In his headset, he'll hear, "OK, it's 2nd and 5. Here we go. Right far fly, 492."
That play call covers formation, motion, and the play. Then it's Spence's job to translate the call into signals and deliver it to Baker, all with the play clock melting precious seconds.
"Rather than hearing the entire play before I start the signals, I try to send it in as it is called," Spence said. "I've been trying to memorize all the plays and signal them as they're spoken to me so they reach Matt more quickly."
While that's happening, position coach Dave Brock is surrounded by his receivers on the sideline. First Brock tells his pupils the personnel the Tar Heels will use on the next snap, then he tells them how many need to enter the game, then he specifies which receivers should enter the game. As they're running onto the field, he tells them the play, which they can relay to Baker if there is any confusion.
It's chaotic on the sideline, and the mass of bodies can be confusing. On one occasion Saturday, Brock barked for Mike Mason to enter the game. But unbeknownst to the coach, the Rocky Mount native had suffered a twinge of pain on a previous play and was getting treatment from a trainer. Carolina was left with just 10 players on the field and had to burn a timeout as Andrew Wasserman tried to dash into the huddle with the play clock already below 15.
Although the crowd wasn't particularly raucous at Bobby Dodd Stadium, the shape of the venue served to hold in the noise. And with the Georgia Tech students positioned right on top of the field and the band just steps from the end zone, Tar Heel players said it was a difficult opening assignment. Audible communication was difficult; visual communication was susceptible to confusion.
"When you're at the line in the shotgun and the band is playing and everything is loud, it's tough to get that communication," Ralph said. "We got to the line late and that didn't give the defense a chance to shift, which means we didn't have the chance to change the protections in response to the shifts. When you've only got four or five seconds on the play clock, you have to stick with what you called in the huddle or else you get a delay of game. It's all about seconds in this game.
"Georgia Tech deserves a lot of credit, because their crowd made it tough for us. Playing at home this week, we know noise won't be a problem for us on offense. We'll get into a rhythm and that will help in the weeks ahead."
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. He is the coauthor of the official book of the 2005 championship season, Led By Their Dreams, and his book on Roy Williams's first season at Carolina, Going Home Again, is now available in bookstores. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly or learn more about Going Home Again, click here.
