Call me crazy, but I like what Cal is doing on offense using two QB’s

[iamthepreacher]

Teams use 2-3 different running backs depending on the situation. Same with WR’s. Same with DB’s. Same with just about every other position on the field.

It’s conventional to only use one QB, but if you want to be innovative, you’ve got to be willing to break convention.

If you have two guys who are solid and bring different wrinkles, why not play them both in different situations? That’s exactly what Cal has and I was impressed with how they use both and leverage each player’s strengths.

Obviously this wouldn’t work for every team. Not everyone has two QB’s that can ball out and have different strengths. But my guess is that there are a good number of teams that could successfully pull this off the way Cal is doing.

Another benefit: For most teams, they have a QB battle (at some point), name a starter, and watch as their backup(s) transfer out of the program over time. Makes you wonder if a 2 QB system would mitigate some of transferring.

[EagleMountainUte]

I never liked the Louks packages and Asiata wildcat plays. It just seemed to disrupt the flow for the QB. Even Wilson his freshman season seemed silly to me but worked for a score once. 

Now the Cal RPO guy did get the first down run which closed the game out. It seemed so unnecessary earlier on other series when the Cal QB had just got a score. 

[iamthepreacher]

Not talking about simple Wildcat packages. Lots of teams do that with mixed success. What I’m talking about is 10-15 plays that each player specializes in, that causes that much more that a defense has to prepare for.

[EagleMountainUte]

Yeah unnecessary that Cal kid shouldn’t have come in the series before the Mangum score. 

[Wilson’s Mustache]

I don’t think Cal will be all that good this year and I think using two QBs are for teams that don’t know who gives them the best chance to win.

Using two QBs is hardly revolutionary. It seems to happen pretty frequently in college football and rarely works. Show me a top 25 team this year that uses two QBs consistently. 

You go with the guy that gives you the best chance to win and you stick with him. QBs rarely perform well when they are constantly looking over their shoulder and wondering if they’ll get to play the next series if they take a risk and screw up. 

[iamthepreacher]

Who knows how Cal will be this year. They were 5-7 last year (2-7 in conference). They are 2-0 now with some decent wins over NC and BYU on the road. Whatever they are doing differently seems to be working so far.

15 years ago someone could have said “show me a top 25 team running a spread offense…there aren’t any, so clearly it doesn’t work.” Urban Meyer changed that thinking in a hurry.

Like I said, if you want to be innovative (and have the early mover advantage), you have to be willing to do something that no one else is doing. I’m not talking about teams that are trying out two QB’s to see who emerges as the best. I’m talking about using two QB’s in a planned, strategic way.

[prestitute]

This year, Bama is doing it, but they are so much better than their competition that it really doesn’t seem to matter. It also seems like they have a clear #1/#2 pecking order. 

I don’t like doing this from a flow perspective, and I don’t think it makes a ton of sense, so I am with you. I do like some of the special packages, but only if you actually have special skills for one versus another. I don’t think Huntley and Shelley are different enough that we would want to swap them a whole lot. 

[Wilson’s Mustache]

Playing a backup QB in garbage time is not a two QB system. Alabama does not does this. 

[FtheY]

I’m with you on this. I’ve also had the same thought. 

IF the continuity can be maintained with the team with both QBs AND the expectation is set that they don’t need to look over their shoulders, then I’m all for it. Maximize the talent you have. 

I’m not a football coach so I have no idea how easy that is. In theory, it’s money.

Another comparison might be the jumpshot in basketball – top teams at one point didn’t shoot that way either.