Final thoughts on Sooners vs. Kansas Jayhawks

Jeff Lebby wants to play fast. That’s been the thing we’ve heard from him and the offense since coming on board last winter. Playing fast is great, but if you have a defense that is struggling to get off the field, the offensive philosophy on tempo needs to be adjusted.

An offense can “play fast” without snapping the ball quickly.

When Peyton Manning was terrorizing teams with Indianapolis’ and Denver’s no-huddle offense, he’d get his guys lined up and then take his time to run through his checks, see what the defense shows, and take as much time off the clock as possible. Playing no-huddle football stresses defenses because they can’t get off the field, and draining the play clock before the snap helps protect your defense a bit.

Playing fast is fun, and it has its advantages. When the offense is clicking. If the offense can’t get a first down or it’s struggling with inconsistency, playing fast can be a detriment.

This Oklahoma Sooners team, particularly the defense, needs the offense to sustain some drives and play complimentary football. Scoring points will help, but Lebby should roll with a slower tempo this week against Kansas to help protect a defense that’s been struggling the last few weeks.