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PATEL: Virginia’s offense needs to innovate

An in-depth look at how Virginia can reinvent and reinvigorate its struggling offense

<p>Offensive coordinator Robert Anae has to diversify the offense if Virginia wants to get back on track.</p>

Offensive coordinator Robert Anae has to diversify the offense if Virginia wants to get back on track.

Virginia football has had a lot of highlights this season. A 4-0 start, heroic quarterback and premier defense are just a couple of them. However, one issue still plagues the Cavaliers six games into the season — an offense that lacks imagination and dynamism.

Virginia entered the 2019 season with hopes to win the ACC Coastal and secure a second consecutive bowl win. After a 2018 campaign that ended with a 28-0 shutout of South Carolina in the Belk Bowl, the Cavaliers had plenty of reasons to be confident. Many key players from the 2018 roster returned this year, including preseason All-American senior cornerback Bryce Hall and senior quarterback Bryce Perkins.

The Cavaliers’ confidence was soaring early, after opening up the season with four consecutive wins and peaking at No. 18 in the AP Poll. 

However, Virginia benefitted from an easy early-season schedule. The Cavaliers recorded an impressive road victory over ACC foe Pittsburgh in the opener. Their next three victories came against William & Mary, Florida State and Old Dominion — teams with a combined record of 6-12. 

After its comeback win over Old Dominion, Virginia’s attention turned to a road date with then-No. 10 Notre Dame — a football powerhouse and 2018 College Football Playoff finalist. 

Virginia led 17-14 at halftime and looked in control of the game. However, it didn’t take long for the Fighting Irish to find their rhythm and strike back. Notre Dame would go on to outscore the Cavaliers 21-3 in the second half on its way to a 35-20 victory. Despite a promising start, the end result left more issues unresolved than solved for Virginia. 

Going on the road to battle a top-ten team is never easy. With a bye week following the loss and a reeling Miami next on the schedule, the Cavaliers knew they were still in a position to reach their lofty goals.

That would change when Virginia ended up losing 17-9 to the Hurricanes Friday night. The Hurricanes started off the game with a long fourth down conversion that resulted in a touchdown to go up 7-0. However, from that point on, the Cavaliers looked in control. 

Virginia drove the ball inside Miami’s 25-yard line six times, yet only came away with nine points. In a game where the red-zone offense struggled and the running game failed to break through, Virginia’s recurring offensive issues caught up to them again — this time against a much weaker opponent.

Offensive coordinator Robert Anae’s offense was promising early in the year but, recently, his schemes have been exposed. If Anae doesn’t adapt his offense to the increasing quality of his opponent’s defenses, Virginia’s hopes of winning the ACC Coastal are gone. 

The Cavaliers’ offensive issues start up front. Against inferior opponents such as William & Mary and Old Dominion, the Cavaliers dominated the trenches. Against Notre Dame, they were the ones dominated, and the line struggled once more against Miami. While Virginia’s offensive line is critical for both the passing and running games and needs an influx of talent, there are still steps that can be taken to bolster the offense.

Diversify the running game

Anae’s inability to find creative ways to run the football has been a detriment to the team’s success. Despite having a power back in sophomore Wayne Taulapapa, a quick freshman running back in Mike Hollins and two elusive receiving backs in junior PK Kier and sophomore Lamont Atkins, Anae hasn’t been able to effectively utilize this plethora of talent. All of Virginia’s running backs combined have 94 carries, while Perkins has 84 himself. 

The feature back all year has been Taulapapa, leading all running backs with 57 carries. Anae has been adamant in sticking with Taulapapa, despite Hollins and other backs showing promise at different points during the season. The problem with Taulapapa is that he lacks the requisite burst of speed to reach the edge and explode down the field. Anae’s typical run design has been inefficiently plunging the ball up the middle with Taulapapa, who is averaging just 3.7 yards per carry on the season. Anae hasn’t been able to create wrinkles in the running game nor take advantage of Hollins, who has a quicker first cut and better burst, and is averaging 6.5 yards per carry.

Spread out the defense

At this point in the season, defenses know what is coming with the run game. With Taulapapa unable to hit the edge, defensive coordinators don’t have to worry about losing positioning on the defensive line or stacking more than four or five players in the box.

If Anae incorporates Kier and Atkins more on swing or screen passes to the outside, opposing defensive coordinators would have to gameplan for a lot more out of the backfield. Working the duo into the offense would create a balanced run-pass combination at the running back position with a unique blend of speed, elusiveness and power. Spreading the ball to the edge of the field would keep opposing inside linebackers and safeties guessing and prevent them from stacking the box — this would relieve some pressure on the Cavaliers’ offensive line and Perkins as well.

Incorporate Kelly and Kemp in the passing game

With the offense’s inability to run the football, defending against the Virginia passing attack becomes much easier. It allows opposing teams to rush four defensive linemen and drop seven into coverage. Without a dialed-up blitz, the expectation is that the offensive linemen will be able to handle the four-man rush. However, this hasn’t been the reality. Defensive ends have been able to use sheer power and speed to beat the Virginia tackles and get to Perkins. With seven players in coverage, it is hard for Perkins to hit his first read, as he needs time to work through his progressions. Against Notre Dame, the Cavaliers allowed eight sacks and had four total rushing yards in the game. Once the Fighting Irish figured out that Perkins would have to throw his way to victory, Notre Dame refocused on pass pressure and defense at halftime, and Coach Bronco Mendenhall and Anae failed to react.

Anae can improve his scheme by using speedy sophomore receivers Tavares Kelly Jr. and Billy Kemp IV more heavily. While the pair doesn’t have the ability to run precise routes into the middle of opposing zone coverages, the two wideouts possess elite speed on the outside. By throwing quick screens and running end arounds with Kelly and Kemp, it opens up the middle of the defense, which makes life easier for Perkins. Once the edge opens up, Anae could begin to incorporate motions into the offense, which would force the linebackers to cover shift to address the new threat. As a result, lanes for Taulapapa would open up between the tackles, and a running game would be able to develop. 

Take more shots down the field

A lot of what the Cavaliers do on offense relies on the success of the run-pass option, where Perkins has the decision to hand the ball off inside or pull it out to throw a quick pass. However, Anae has become overly reliant on the RPO and has failed to take shots deep down the field. In an RPO, the first read is often the only read as the play develops extremely quickly. Since the offense doesn’t call plays for Perkins to move the ball deep down the field, safeties can play up to the line of scrimmage and defend short routes. Taking more shots down the field will open up shallow routes. Ideally, Virginia would run play action passes that would create more holes, but until the offense establishes a run game, that option isn’t available.

Many of Virginia’s offensive struggles stem from the struggles on the offensive line. However, Anae and Mendenhall must accept that weakness of the team and find ways to deal with it. By using quicker receivers and running backs and attempting more deep passes, the offense can open the field up for Perkins and become multi-dimensional. At the moment, Perkins looks for his first read, and when it is not there, is forced to tuck the ball and scramble due to his poor offensive line. That won’t change until Anae mixes up the offense to keep defenses guessing and hold opponents accountable.

In a season where the Virginia defense has been excellent, the offense must find a way to produce. There is no questioning the talent on this Virginia team, but there are clear ways to utilize that talent better. If the Cavaliers can accomplish this, they will be well on their way to the ACC Coastal crown.

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