TCU's offense is catching up with its defense
November, 12, 2009
Nov 12
2:29
PM ET
Posted by ESPN.com’s Graham Watson
When talking about TCU, defense is the first word that comes to mind.
Since 2006, TCU’s defense hasn’t ranked lower than No. 15 nationally and two of those seasons it’s been in the top 2. So, it’s easy to understand why the defense gets a lot of credit for the success the Horned Frogs have had the past few years.
But this spring, the offense made a pact. It was tired of being overshadowed by the defense and it thought it had enough talent this season to be an offense that created as much buzz as the Horned Frogs' defense.
“We had a couple games [last season] where we only scored 13 points, 10 points, and as an offense that’s not how you want it,” TCU quarterback Andy Dalton said this summer. “I feel like we got a lot of work this spring and we improved a lot in the passing game. That’s one aspect we went into the spring saying we’ve got to improve. We’ve got a lot of talented receivers, so we need to get the ball in their hands and let them go play.”
And play they have.
Although the offense started the season slowly, it’s really come on the past month to become one of the most dominant offenses in the country. During the past four games, the Frogs haven’t scored fewer than 38 points and have outscored their opponents 178-25.
Dalton, who last season didn’t have a touchdown pass until the eighth game of the year, already has 16 passing touchdowns and just three interceptions. He’s thrown for 1,881 yards and rushed for 341 yards and two scores.
“I think since TCU has been in this league, I think that this is the best offense that they’ve had,” said UNLV coach Mike Sanford, whose team was defeated 41-0. “I think that they are the best combination of a good, hard, physical run game and a very efficient passing game where Andy Dalton is making good decisions and getting the ball to some very athletic guys. I think they give you a lot of variation, a lot of different looks, but they do a nice job of executing and they don’t hurt themselves.”
Despite a much more efficient passing attack, the Horned Frogs have not gotten away from their running roots. During each of the past two games, the running game has accounted for more than 300 yards, the first time that’s happened since 2000.
The Horned Frogs have notched more than 500 yards of total offense in each of the past two games after doing it just twice all last year, and one of those games a year ago was against Stephen F. Austin.
“We’re averaging almost 500 yards a game and we’re just trying to win,” TCU coach Gary Patterson said. “We’ve stayed healthy because we’ve spread it around. It’s the family approach; that’s kind of the way they look at it. One week it’s this guy, the next week it’s that guy, the next week it’s that guy. When you can use your whole football team and it’s not just five or six guys making all the plays, it gives you an opportunity to be successful.”
This season, three of the Frogs' running backs -- Joseph Turner, Ed Wesley and Matthew Tucker -- have rushed for 400 or more yards through nine games. Six players have double-digit receptions and three have more than 20.
Several Mountain West coaches credited the offensive line for helping the offense be so successful. TCU allows just one sack per game and just 3.56 tackles for loss per game, which is tied for sixth in the country.
BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall, whose team lost to the Horned Frogs 38-7 this season, said that while the defense is still one of TCU’s strongest attributes, the offense shouldn’t be overlooked.
“This particular year, when you look at how their offense is playing, any of us that have played against them or anyone in the league will note that both sides are pretty equal and their special teams are strong as well,” Mendenhall said. “I think they’ve done a nice job after not winning a couple conference championships and assessing what they needed to do to return to the top of the league. I think that wasn’t so much from the defensive side, but it was the ability to score more points.”
When talking about TCU, defense is the first word that comes to mind.
Since 2006, TCU’s defense hasn’t ranked lower than No. 15 nationally and two of those seasons it’s been in the top 2. So, it’s easy to understand why the defense gets a lot of credit for the success the Horned Frogs have had the past few years.
But this spring, the offense made a pact. It was tired of being overshadowed by the defense and it thought it had enough talent this season to be an offense that created as much buzz as the Horned Frogs' defense.
 | |
| Christopher Hanewinckel/US Presswire | |
| Andy Dalton and the TCU offense are starting to play at the same level as the Horned Frogs’ defense. |
“We had a couple games [last season] where we only scored 13 points, 10 points, and as an offense that’s not how you want it,” TCU quarterback Andy Dalton said this summer. “I feel like we got a lot of work this spring and we improved a lot in the passing game. That’s one aspect we went into the spring saying we’ve got to improve. We’ve got a lot of talented receivers, so we need to get the ball in their hands and let them go play.”
And play they have.
Although the offense started the season slowly, it’s really come on the past month to become one of the most dominant offenses in the country. During the past four games, the Frogs haven’t scored fewer than 38 points and have outscored their opponents 178-25.
Dalton, who last season didn’t have a touchdown pass until the eighth game of the year, already has 16 passing touchdowns and just three interceptions. He’s thrown for 1,881 yards and rushed for 341 yards and two scores.
“I think since TCU has been in this league, I think that this is the best offense that they’ve had,” said UNLV coach Mike Sanford, whose team was defeated 41-0. “I think that they are the best combination of a good, hard, physical run game and a very efficient passing game where Andy Dalton is making good decisions and getting the ball to some very athletic guys. I think they give you a lot of variation, a lot of different looks, but they do a nice job of executing and they don’t hurt themselves.”
Despite a much more efficient passing attack, the Horned Frogs have not gotten away from their running roots. During each of the past two games, the running game has accounted for more than 300 yards, the first time that’s happened since 2000.
The Horned Frogs have notched more than 500 yards of total offense in each of the past two games after doing it just twice all last year, and one of those games a year ago was against Stephen F. Austin.
“We’re averaging almost 500 yards a game and we’re just trying to win,” TCU coach Gary Patterson said. “We’ve stayed healthy because we’ve spread it around. It’s the family approach; that’s kind of the way they look at it. One week it’s this guy, the next week it’s that guy, the next week it’s that guy. When you can use your whole football team and it’s not just five or six guys making all the plays, it gives you an opportunity to be successful.”
This season, three of the Frogs' running backs -- Joseph Turner, Ed Wesley and Matthew Tucker -- have rushed for 400 or more yards through nine games. Six players have double-digit receptions and three have more than 20.
Several Mountain West coaches credited the offensive line for helping the offense be so successful. TCU allows just one sack per game and just 3.56 tackles for loss per game, which is tied for sixth in the country.
BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall, whose team lost to the Horned Frogs 38-7 this season, said that while the defense is still one of TCU’s strongest attributes, the offense shouldn’t be overlooked.
“This particular year, when you look at how their offense is playing, any of us that have played against them or anyone in the league will note that both sides are pretty equal and their special teams are strong as well,” Mendenhall said. “I think they’ve done a nice job after not winning a couple conference championships and assessing what they needed to do to return to the top of the league. I think that wasn’t so much from the defensive side, but it was the ability to score more points.”
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