BLACKSBURG, Va.- Experiments are the most fickle things in life. They usually deliver results in black or white, with very little gray.
Take Western’s 2007 dual quarterback experiment with senior David Wolke and sophomore K.J. Black. Going into the season, it was going to end one of two ways, success or failure. It ended with success in the form of a 7-5 record, albeit against a schedule with more cupcakes than Dolly Madison, and looked to be a good deal for all involved.
This season, for some unknown reason, that system seemed to not be good enough for the Toppers, who abandoned it and went with a one-QB system. It, by most estimations, has failed miserably to this point, mainly due to the fact that the original starter hasn’t held his own.
Maybe it was time for a change. Because now we seem to have had a resurgence with the multi-quarterback system in the form of running back Dexter Taylor taking snaps in an option-style offense in a system that relies (all too heavily) on the run, with Wolke donning the role of dual-threat player with the pass and the run. The experiment began tonight. With Taylor running for 96 yards on 14 carries, a majority of those yards coming late in the game.
It seemed to have some effect, but something like this needs to be seen as cautionary.
Above all, this system leaves no defense guessing. When they see No.13 in the game, they know ‘it’s a run, bring ‘em all in the box.’ Granted, it’s not what you do, but how you do it, but this team doesn’t have that luxury. This is not 2006 West Virginia with Pat White and Steve Slaton. There isn’t enough talent to just rely on talent alone against more experienced Football Bowl Subdivision teams.
Throw a dump pass, a post route, pitch a reverse, run a bootleg, anything! If Taylor doesn’t develop a vaster repertoire of something other than his legs, his view from the field will be more of the sky than the endzone.
Taylor ran this offense as a quarterback in high school, so he knows what to expect. But after having limited success today in a 27-13 loss, in which the No.20-ranked Hokies played what was an average game at best at home, this game’s film will go to the locker room at Ball State this week and they’ll learn how to defend it with better success.
Running the ‘Taylor option’ is one dimensional, given the possible threat of a second ball carrier, I’ll say one and a half dimensional. Something has to be done to spread to defense. Passes downfield, even if they don’t work a good percentage of the time, would help. Utilize the talent that is available at wide receiver, even if it’s a decoy. The bread and butter may be the run, but every once in a while you need to add jelly to keep things interesting.
Did it mix things up in Blacksburg? Yes. Did it produce a lot of positive results? To an extent. Will it work in the long run? Not unless the offense adapts, improves and adjusts.
In order to mix things up, the quarterback needs to do what a quarterback is put in to do, regardless of his natural position. That’s to lead the offense.
Which bring me to another point, communication.
With Taylor in the game, there were very few signals. Everyone had an assignment: block and bust the hole or do your best to get yardage. They did that, but unless the guy can bring more than one dynamic to the field, a decent defense will be able to stop him, or at least contain him.
Can this work? Yes, but only if the players running it can leave something to the imagination and keep the defense on their heels.
Maybe it’s a more enhanced version of what we saw last season. Like Window’s Vista upgrading in the Mojave Experiment. Jessica Simpson making the move to country (well, maybe not that desperate.)
In a game with such as this, an experiment like this is warranted. It gave the Virginia Tech defense a different look than the one they saw on film. It worked to a degree, and it’s too early to tell what kind of final results this will yield.
But in order for this experiment to work, its research needs to be expanded.
Reach David Harten at sports@chherald.com.
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