Washington State and Mike Leach Bring "Air Raid" Offense to Jordan-Hare
Spread Offense - Downhill Running Game & Great Defense/Coverage keys to Winning
For what it's worth this will be a pace-setting game for the Tigers. This game will set the tone for the rest of the season and show just how much progress the team has made since Gene Chizik was let go last December and Gus Malzahn returned "home." That feeling is rolling around and I for one am anxious to yell, "WAAAAAAAAAAARRRRR EAGLE! HEY!!"
Air Raid Offense
For those who are thinking this game will be a walk in the park think again. Mike Leach, much like Gus Malzahn, is an innovator in the offensive style and the creator as it were of the Air Raid Offense. Leach had quarterbacks with three consecutive years of 3,000+ passing yards and receivers that easily had 1,200+ receiving yards if not two. The offense works by spreading out the defense with multiple WR Sets (sound familiar?) with multiple reads by the quarterback. This allows for massive amounts of yards at a time [chunks] while also keep defenses honest and exploiting cover weaknesses. You may remember that Mike Leach's teams would score a lot of points and his players would have a lot of yards but they also played a sound defense. I for one am not expecting to be upset but I wouldn't bolster expectations too high and think it will be a walk in the park for our Tigers.
The video below shows Mike Leach going over the Air Raid Offense...
Gus Malzahn and the Refreshed Tigers
Anyone who hasn't heard, Gus Malzahn and the Tigers are back! Well, perhaps not officially back but their swagger and bite seems to be back. Much like Chizik before him Malzahn has assembled a world class staff with some of the best assistant coaches and recruiters in the country. We have Rhett Lashlee who's been with Malzahn since High School and pretty much knows the offense inside and out. Dameyune Craig, a former Auburn standout QB and dual threat man who coaches the WR and is a recruiting legend. Ellis Johnson with the 4-2-5 and is a defensive guru with stops at South Carolina, Bama, and Miss among others. Charlie Harbin has been coaching for years and handles the DBs. Tim Horton is an old pro with RBs and handles them and the list goes on and on. We've read about tremendous improvements on the defensive side of the ball but there is one thing that worries me....Safeties and Corner-backs. We've seen Kiehl Frazier switch over to safety (and a hulk safety he is at 6'4" and 225lbs) and have lost Senior Demetruce McNeil which is a huge blow with experience. Brandon King hasn't been making a splash lately but is looking to be the backup or third string in the DB order. With all this I hope we're prepared for some bumps because the Air Raid is no joke and Mike Leach can coach a program up with his players. This is his first year with his selected players so I look for it to be quite a fight.
Gus Malzahn going over his spread offense...
Ellis Johnson and his defense...
Final Thoughts
Don't come away from this believing that Auburn will surely lose as I do not believe that to be the case. All I am pointing out is that this is a real fight the first game and WSU being they are WSU shouldn't be overlooked with Mike Leach coaching them. I look to see us come out and play hard, have a few bumps and bruises [blow assignments, missed reads, dropped passes, a fumble or two, an interception or two, and missed tackles] but to ultimately win by a 14 point margin and look better on the defense than we have the past couple years. WAR DAMN EAGLE!
