John: Key for offensive improvement is simple: Give ball to Carter
Let’s not complicate things here.
Syracuse is a heavy underdog heading to West Virginia this weekend, and rightfully so. But to avoid a second consecutive blowout, Delone Carter needs to pull a Keyshawn Johnson and tell his coaches, ‘Just give me the (darn) ball.’
It’s really that simple.
Admittedly, watching Syracuse abandon the run in just the second quarter last weekend was puzzling. With three quarters still remaining in what would become arguably SU’s worst loss in the Doug Marrone era, the Orange opted to go with a more pass-oriented offense and turned Carter, its leading rusher, into a spectator.
Eleven of Carter’s 13 carries came in the first quarter. After that, he was basically done for the day. For the second time in as many losses this season, Carter watched the second half from the sidelines Saturday. Staring in the face of a 28-7 halftime deficit, Carter might just as well have not been in the building for the second half. He watched as his team failed to generate a sufficient amount of offense as it turned to the passing game in an attempt to forge a comeback.
During a critical second quarter, when Pitt began to separate itself, Carter was a non-factor. Down 14-7 and 21-7, on consecutive drives, the Orange ran Carter on the first play of each drive. On the first, SU ran Carter, then Antwon Bailey, before passing the ball and punting. On the second drive, the Orange ran Carter and then Bailey twice before punting. And then all of a sudden, down 28-7 on the next drive, the Orange completely dumped its rushing attack and passed six out of seven times before the drive ended on a Nassib interception.
By halftime, it may have been a lost cause, and perhaps the only way to get back into the game was to get the ball down the field for some quick offense. But not in the second quarter.
For three quarters, Carter — arguably Syracuse’s most valuable offensive weapon — stood helplessly on the sidelines.
‘Running the ball is where our offense starts,’ said Bailey, Carter’s fellow backfield mate, on Sept. 22 as the Orange prepared to take on Colgate. ‘That starts with Delone and the offensive line. When they have success, our team usually has success.’
The Orange finished Saturday’s game with just 77 yards rushing — easily its lowest total of the season. And surprise, it came in the Orange’s worst loss of the season. Syracuse’s obvious abandonment of the run allowed Pitt defenders to pin their ears back and rush quarterback Ryan Nassib, who also had his worst game of the season as a result.
Clear enough?
It’s easy to say it’s not that simple. But consider this: Carter gets most of his carries in the first quarter, which, not coincidently, is when the Orange typically has the most success offensively. Against Colgate, during SU’s most explosive second half of the season, it was Carter who carried the load and rushed for 146 yards and three touchdowns in the second half.
Against Pitt, the SU offensive line struggled to keep the Panthers from breaking into the backfield. Carter wasn’t going to do it all by himself. Nor should he have to. The line needs to start to pave the way, and Nassib and the receivers need to keep the opposing defenses honest and not allow them to stack eight or nine men in the box. And more than every so often, the coaches need to call Carter’s number time and time again.
This isn’t in opposition to what Marrone wants out of his offense, either. The Syracuse head coach firmly believes in running the football to control the tempo, open up the passing game and keep the defense rested and off the field.
The head coach has preached that to his players.
‘Our offense likes to have a good balance of running and passing,’ freshman tight end Beckett Wales said last week. ‘One can’t work without the other.’
This Saturday, Syracuse takes the field against the league’s best team in the league’s loudest, most disorderly venue. Mountaineer Field will be rocking, and that WVU defense — ranked No. 5 in the nation — will be relentless. That is the reality SU faces.
But if the Orange hopes to have any chance of walking away victorious, it needs to have Carter pound the ball early and often. It won’t be easy against a defense ranked No. 4 against the run this season, but we’ve seen the results of not doing that — and it wasn’t too pretty.
It’s really that simple.
