Volume 126 Issue 17
kansan.com
Thursday, September 19, 2013
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY GANSAN
COMMENTARY Dropped passes hurt scoring chances
After two of its three easiest games of the season, Kansas is averaging 140 passing yards per game, good enough for 113th in the country. During similar struggles last season, it was quarterback play that doomed the Jayhawk offense. This year, the receiving corps has looked like the worst unit in the country, dropping too many well-placed throws from junior quarterback Jake Heaps.
"I couldn't sit there and identify dropped balls as a problem because a lot of the balls weren't close enough to be caught," head coach Charlie Weis said of last season's offensive woes. "Now the ball is getting to the spot most of the time, we just need to do a better job of throwing and catching."
Throwing and catching.
It seems easy enough,
especially when Heaps has
shown he is capable of putting
the ball where it needs to be.
But eventually, the inability to
haul in passes is less of a case of
the yips and more of a case of
skill. Or lack thereof.
Charlie Weis was proactive after last week's 23-14 loss to Rice, benching starting tight end Jimmay Mundine and wide receivers Justin McCay and Christian Matthews in favor of tight end Trent Smiley and receivers Rodriguez Coleman and Tre Parmalee.
Weis would be wise to figure out how to get the ball into playmaker Anthony Pierson's hands as much as possible. Pierson turned a simple five-yard catch into a 77-yard touchdown against Rice, tying the game at seven and reminding Kansas fans that he and senior running James Sims should touch the ball nearly every possession.
Weis rightfully admitted that Rice double teamed Pierson a number of times and stacked the defense near the line of scrimmage to contain Sims, and both strategies worked for the most part. But players with that kind of talent under a three-time Super Bowl winning offensive coordinator should be able to get the ball in situations where they can score a number of times each game.
Weis knew he had to make personnel changes offensively this week, and he did.
Whether he can tweak his playbook to utilize his two scoring options could be the difference between a pleasantly surprising season and another off-season of Kansas fans hoping for the best but expecting their shadow to jump out and scare them.
Or just drop a pass.
Edited by Evan Dunbar
IDENTITY CRISIS
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Pierson is Kansas' key to offensive success
KANSAS INVITATIONAL
Georgia, North Dakota State and Notre Dame face the Jayhawks this weekend
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