Miketag already touched on how Coach Sherman wants Jerrod Johnson to pick up the pace in which he calls plays and gets the play started below, but I wanted to expound on this issue. Certainly, Jerrod needs to work on his touch on the short passing game, an area he can improve on. A bigger concern this year, however, is the pace at which the offense works. Jerrod said he wants to get the ball out quicker to take pressure off the offensive line:

The offensive line gets criticized for giving up sacks and things like that," Johnson said. "But as a quarterback, if you get the ball out quicker, it helps your offensive line and the whole system out. Defenses get tired if they keep rushing to no avail, and it takes hits off of you. That's a key factor."

The key factor this season will be how Johnson operates in our no-huddle offense. Teams that run a no-huddle system usually work at three basic tempos: a quick tempo, where they will run the play with 5-10 second left on the clock, a furious tempo, where they will run the play inside 10 seconds of the previous play (some teams refer to this tempo as NASCAR, or racecar; this tempo is the team operating as fast as humanly possible), and a slow tempo, where the QB will wait until there are two or even one second left on the clock before beginning the play. There are reasons for and advantages to using each tempo.

You go no-huddle because you want to control the pace of the game, and dictate to the defense how quickly they will play. A side effect of an increased tempo is that you get more offensive plays in the game, and you can tire out the opposing defense.

You use the quick tempo to set the standard tempo at which you will be playing, to make the defense move and get ready for the play quickly. A quick tempo means the defense doesn't get to relax while the offense is in the huddle and then walking to the ball. There is no break for the defense.

You use the furious or NASCAR tempo to really mess with the defense's mind, and force them into mistakes. When you are playing as fast as possible, it is harder for the defense to get their personnel substitutions in for the correct offensive personnel, because there is less time for the defensive coaches to see who has come onto the field. It is also harder for the defense to make adjustments to changes in alignment or motion, and for them to rotate properly in coverage pre-snap. The mistakes in alignment can also frustrate the defensive coordinator, who is having problems getting the correct adjustments in to his players, and he will often just tell the defense to go to 'base' defense. Hurrying up the tempo as fast as possible has now forced the defense to go to their optimal alignment for the offense to take advantage of what the defense does. The furious pace also quickly tires out the defense, especially the line, because no sooner has a play ended than they are beginning the next play.

You use the slow tempo after using the furious tempo for the few plays. After forcing the defense to get ready to go immediately and having them up and in their stance and ready to rush up the field, you now slow it down, and make them stay in their stance for multiple seconds, dragging out the time for the play to begin. That defensive tackle who is used to getting into his stance and staying there for a maximum of five seconds on a regular play and one second in the furious tempo is now leaning down in his stance for twenty seconds, waiting for the play to begin. His arms are shaking, and he is beginning to feel tired. This is also where you get your offsides calls on the defense, because the DL is so ready to go after being conditioned to the furious pace, they are jumping the gun to begin the play.

Using a no-huddle offense will help us control the tempo, tire out opposing defenses, cause defenses to simplify their scheme by forcing them into a base set, and give us free yards on offsides penalties. The increased tempo will also help Jerrod get into a rhythm, get the ball out quicker, take pressure off of our OL, and hopefully help our short passing game, too.