Possible Hurry Up Offense Solutions (and the End of the SEC Championship Game)

I've been pretty quiet on the hurry up offense thing for several reasons. I think it is grousing by coaches who aren't comfortable with change. Why?

1. Football is a sport where 300+lbs men run into each other. A lot. There will be injuries.
2. Any coach saying hurry up offenses are an injury concern is doing so because it advantages their particular philosophy, not because they are concerned about injuries, because
3. If they were concerned about injuries, they'd corner kick, take touch backs or fair catch kickoffs and punts when they could, as a start.

Oh, and they'd be crowing about the lack of advances in head gear, too many full contact practices, concussion treatment protocol, and uniformity in drug testing, all of which are far more important to the health and safety of their players than if an offense gets a play off when you are trying to get set or runs too many plays. And if you are concerned about hurry up, why not lump in no count/quick count snaps? Wouldn't those be injurious, too?

Once you step on the football field, the ball might be in play. Deal with it.

But Ellis Johnson has ideas, such as a short count off after the ball is set before the offense can snap it

Besides, if everything was equal, Johnson said there would be a rule in place regulating the amount of time between each snap. 

“I’d want a minimum of five seconds, three seconds, whatever,” he said. “When that ball is put on the ground, you will not snap it for five seconds. If you can’t get lined up by then, then tough.”

This does mirror some of what Mark Richt said at media days about being organized on defense and whatnot. And that is another post in the making.

Here's the thing, I thought this was why the official stood over the ball for a beat before whistling the ball in play. I don't take Johnson's 'it ain't football' view. In fact, it is football and very much so. In the same way folks complained in supper clubs, Union Halls, and burlesque theaters in the 1910s about the forward pass being dangerous, I view this as folks not liking hurry up offenses challenging their own personal philosophy of football, and I say this as a former defensive player and one who loves to see great defenses play.

And I love #MACtion as much as the next guy. If teams can't stop each other, then they can't stop each other. And now I'm having a flashback to the 4th quarter of the 2006 Tennessee game.

One last thought, while I'm at it:
If there were a 3 to 5 second count after setting the ball down, how many people would think spiking the ball at the end of the SECCG is the right call?

TD

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