Yes, it was a lowly opponent in Wake Forest, but newly appointed offensive coordinator Tim Lester has opened some creative floodgates for the Syracuse offense.
 
We saw a variety of creativity and mixture of personnel from the OC when the Orange possessed the football in its 30 – 7 win over Wake Forest, Saturday. Lester integrated plenty of balance at BB&T Field as SU accumulated 370 total yards of offense Р199 passing and 171 rushing. This stability speaks to the admirable work Lester has done on short notice, never mind using schemes he may not be the biggest fan of.
 
On the scoring end (the part that actually matters,) SU’s offense struggled yet again the red zone, scoring just one touchdown inside the 20-yard line. Lester appropriately did not overblow the production on offense. Sure, he was happy with a win, but he did not overreact. What can be said is it’s an improvement after missing touchdown opportunities four times against Florida State.
 
Lester has diversified the offense the last two weeks, unlike George McDonald had done. It was increasingly apparent against Wake. The Fizz explains why.
 
AJ Long is comfortable:
 
It‚Äôs no surprise to this point his confidence is through the roof, but Long, strictly from a football perspective, is poised in the pocket. He scrambled out of trouble in the 2nd¬†quarter to reach the front corner of the end zone to give SU the lead. You can‚Äôt teach those types of instincts. He‚Äôs aware, but more importantly informed. Long’s¬†connections with 2014 classmate Steve Ishmael¬†and cousin Jarrod West help a great deal. Plus, his relationship and communication with Lester speaks volumes. Long hasn‚Äôt fallen flat on his face when plays break¬†down.
 
All five running backs are significantly involved:    
 
Lester strategically involved the entire rushing attack Saturday, and it was great to see. The RB’s were all over the place. The game plan asked for a full effort: short yardage runs, screen plays and protecting with hard blocks. Ervin Philips actually got the nod to start the game, not Prince-Tyson Gulley. There was a George Morris sighting, and how about Devante McFarlane? SU‚Äôs only offensive touchdown drive does not happen if Gulley hadn‚Äôt applied a walloping block to allow Long to slither into Wake Forest territory. Later in the 3rd¬†quarter McFarlane broke free¬†for an 86-yard sprint to tie for the third-longest run in team history. Shafer was pleased with the ground game and stressed their importance:
 
‚ÄúI wish Devante could have got that touchdown,” Shafer said. “I was trying to tell him, ‚ÄúWeave! Weave!‚Äù There are not enough footballs to go around to get them all the touches they want. They really help us a ton in the kicking game. All of those kids are helping in so many different ways.‚Äù
 
The jumbo package is unveiled:
 
Back to Long’s 4-yard scamper once more:  did you see the formation Lester threw out on the field?  There was a vertical, straight line, similar to a stack in basketball, behind Long for consecutive snaps. Defensive guys Ron Thompson, who’s had plenty of position conversions, Micah Robinson and Rob Welsh, both eventual scorers in this game, all lined up on Lester’s play calls. Pretty gutsy move, but these guys are vets and perhaps it was a good time to see some shifts when red zone production has been down.
Posted: Brendan Glasheen
7 responses to “Fresh Fizz: Syracuse Offense Finally Clicks with Lester At Helm”
Brendan
That new “TANK PACKAGE” was a thing of beauty. Think of the possibilities that can be run out of that formation. You have two DE(Micah Robinson and Rob Welsh) plus a DT/TE Ron Thompson blocking for the RB,with a TE Josh Parris on the other side of the formation.
a) AJ Long running the option right or left.
b) AJ Long running a sweep either direction
c) AJ throwing the ball to Josh Parris for a TD
d) AJ fading to his right and throwing the ball across the field to Ron Thompson standing in the back corner of the endzone.
Using the Tank Package in the red zone tells me that play’s are endless and we’re going to see it some more ending by scoring TD’s.
Definitely like that Tank package…and yall won’t believe it. But I still play NCAA FB 12 and recycling the game since it came out using dynasty mode. I create recruits and try to make the SU roster as close to real as possible. In the 2012-13 season(aka last season), I actually used that version of the tank package with Ron Thompson although I converted him from TE to DE(like he did in real life). I had some decent success using it because in the season before that I had Ron Thompson as a mid 70 ovr freshman TE. I threw the ball to him alot(Nassib at the helm) and got him to be a freshman all american.
My current jumbo package actually uses backup tackle Michael Lasker as the fullback with AAM as the battering ram running back. Mixed results but I have SU at 6-0 with a matchup against WVU coming up
i beleive lester is doing really well calling the plays. were putting points on the board and seem to be getting more confidence as a whole. just need to keep it going .
If Lester bring us an offensive game plan with some imagination it would be huge! Big test at Clemson! Finding some freshmen that can play..a good recruiting class..a solid OC…
2014 not so bad..even with a 4-8/5-7 record..
We should all be excited about it..Maybe not as excited as Ron…I’m only kidding..we may see some real good football before this season is over!
My question “Cuse17” is how far away do you live from syracuse. Remember now NC State and Duke are coming to dome over the next three weeks. Are we going to get together for a tailgate party over to South Manley in front of the new IPF building? If your coming let me know which game it’s going to be and I’ll start planning for it now. the clemson mis going to Saturday night,again syracuse is gpoing to be on NATIONAL TELEVISION. Got to be the play of our freshmen that’s getting some attention from outside of this group,which in the long run will help recruiting. Thanks for the comment and your right I am excited.
I said last year that the “Winds of Change were starting to blow across the fields of Syracuse University”. Now I feel those winds are starting to blow so hard that one might think we’re in the middle of a hurricane.
Totally concerned about the Clemson game this weekend!!! Long could(strongly feel) will get crushed out for the year here. The Clemson DL/LB are not pansies at all. Might be better than FSU!! WF nearly killed his so called 177lbs frame!! OL is terrible at quality pass blocking so he’s meat to those sharks. I would worry more about keeping him healthy than a win(no chance)!!
Ron you talk tank package, hell SU has to get there first. I like Long but he needs all around tools to be competitive and so far they are not on campus yet. Good luck AJ!! You’ll need it.
DO NOT FORGET THE KIDS OF PSABUSEDU!! THE NCAA DID!! Go OSU!!
Terry
When in the redzone setting up and using the “TANK PACKAGE” in my opinion provides endless opportunities for the Orangemen. I would use the Tank Package starting at the 5 yard line. Your right they do have to get there first and I’m more than sure that Syracuse will get there for the remainder of the season,more than what you and I think possible.
I thought Terry with the colder weather coming you’d gone into hibernation. Nice to hear from you again.